Advent 2 - Peace

Thank you to everyone who contributed in any way to the spectacular St. Nicholas Bazaar last week. The grand tally of revenue will be revealed this Sunday, but anecdotal evidence concludes that the bazaar was a happy place to be last Saturday. There was a lot of laughter, smiles, animated conversations and general jolliness all around.  

This Sunday, Dec. 7, the second Sunday in Advent, we celebrate Peace. This evokes a heavy sigh, just writing it… How is it that generation after generation, peace seems such an elusive way of being?

In scripture this week, we’ll head back to Isaiah and the prophet’s dramatic images of a time to come, when “the wolf shall lie down with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.”  Was Jesus that hoped-for child?

Part of our Communion liturgy last week was about how Jesus’ birth frightened the most powerful tyrant of his day. Perhaps it is small things that put tyrants on the run. One thing we do know is that in the face of so many violent global issues that make us feel helpless, we can cultivate peace in our own bodies and minds. So, part of our service will be learning a breath prayer for peace. We’ll start there.

In the meantime, read Isaiah 11:1-10 and ponder the following:

1.      In Isaiah’s dramatic images of natural prey and predators existing in peace, what do you think he’s trying to say?

2.      How do you work and live for peace?

Image: Edward Hicks, 1780-1849. "Peaceable Kingdom," from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.