A Peace the World Cannot Give

On this Second Sunday in Advent, we light the candle dedicated to peace. Thinking about peace in our war-torn world made me revisit what peace is. I have always thought of peace as being external to myself. Peace is a state of affairs in my family, community, and world. Peace is a lack of war. It is a sense of security. Peace is kindness, not harshness and anger. It is a time when violence is no more. We yearn for peace and pray it will shower down on us like rain.

That may be backward thinking. Peace is not “out there” or something that descends from above. That is far too passive. Passivity puts the gift of peace out there in someone else’s control. Jesus incarnate placed the power to bring peace and be at peace firmly in our hands and our souls. 

God gave us peace through His Son, once and for all time. It is a gift; we must open our hearts and accept it. God’s peace is not an inch deep and easily disturbed. God’s peace is intrinsically bound to the very cells that make up our body. It is a peace that takes up residence in our DNA.”

Jesus said, “I give you peace but not as the world gives it.” 

The peace of Jesus keeps us bound to God no matter the unrest or the chaos of our lives. Jesus’ peace is dynamic, energizing, and engaging. The peace Jesus promised is not meant to calm but to energize. Jesus’ peace is robust, forthright, and demanding. 

Jesus’ gift of peace is vibrant and powerful. It is not intended to bring a state of sedation.

The peace of God incarnate is awe-filled and overwhelming. The peace that came into the world at Christmas is a siren’s call. We must come to terms with ourselves and push the junk of our lives out of the way. It is a call to make room for God and to allow Him to take up residence in the very cells of our bodies. 

In Advent, we are asked not to seek a faith life filled with quiet contentment. We are being asked to seek power and light from within that no amount of darkness, however profound, can overpower. We are challenged to live, move, and have our being in God as Jesus did. That is the gift of peace.

No one ever faced more discord and political unrest than Jesus did. He met the Pharisees’ hatred, the challenges of the government, accusations of working with the devil, personal loss, extreme abuse, abandonment, and even death. But the peace within him, as deep as the DNA, coursed through His being, never left Him. He handled adversity and all manner of upset without losing the nucleus of peace that held together His being. He gave us that gift of “cellular peace” when he promised His peace — a peace the world cannot provide.

When we hold the cellular peace of Jesus at the center of our lives, we can stand in the middle of the angst of our world and speak God’s truth. We do so without the fear of losing heart or being swallowed by the criticism and judgment of others. We can coexist with unrest and anxiety when we are centered in God’s peace. Rather than being overpowered by upset, we have the power to transform it. The capacity of our inner peace does not unbalance us; instead, it changes hearts and brings about the Kingdom of God in our world. 

Advent peace, the peace of God, is fearless. It stands for His message of love in the storm of the world’s discontent. God’s peace is vibrant and powerful; when we accept it, it embraces and takes possession of us. We become vital and powerful witnesses to the Gospel. 

God is not incarnate among us so that we can float along through life without worry, pain, or anxiety. God is incarnate among us to bring a confident peace that will transcend and transform both our personal and the world’s turmoil and bring about the Kingdom of God. 

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen