Advent: Paradox of Peace
Photo by Franz Seelman
Why is peace of all things one of the themes of Advent? In war-torn parts of the world, millions of people grapple with untold loss, millions more have been tossed and turned by weather-related calamity, and still more have experienced economic woes, job loss, and fractured families. This kind of disruption threatens an already fragile sense of well-being.
Is peace even possible?
The rhythm of Advent reminds us that peace on earth, as far-fetched as it sounds, is more than a possibility, but is in fact, a reality. The Christmas story reminds us, every year, that the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, set into motion peace on earth.
Yet, if I am honest, I cannot help but notice that the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus are anything but peaceful.
Remember when the angel hails Mary and addresses her as God’s favored one? She is greatly troubled by this greeting as she well should be. God has chosen her to bear God’s Son. She bows in humble obedience to the will of the Lord. But, she has just one quick question.
How will this be, since I am a virgin?
Imagine the mix of emotions that must have whirled around in her mind. Fear, astonishment, a thousand worst case scenarios, anticipation, anxiety, and wonder. But peace?
Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, takes the news of her pregnancy pretty hard and resolves to divorce her quietly to minimize her shame—the punishment for adultery in those days was stoning. So, an angel appears to him in a dream and verifies her story.
Take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
He too submits willingly to the Lord’s request. No questions asked.
Imagine their families. What was their reaction to this unbelievable turn of events? Peaceful is not the adjective that comes to mind.
Then, a government-mandated-census requires Joseph, a descendent of King David, to register in Bethlehem, a seventy-mile trek on foot from Nazareth … in Mary’s ninth month. Then the unthinkable happens. Mary, in the little town of Bethlehem, goes into labor.
Imagine her cries as she strains to give birth for the very first time, in a stable, and far from home. Childbirth even under the best of circumstances is anything but peaceful.
On that same night, a band of shepherds tended their flock in a field like they always did, when an angel suddenly appears wrapped in God’s glory. The shepherds quake with fear.
Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
Then, suddenly a great multitude of the heavenly host bursts into song.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.
The shepherds, now captivated by this stupendous announcement, go in search of the child whistling a new song. Once they find him, they repeat the angel’s announcement to Mary and Joseph, which surely confirmed and validated their present circumstances. Then these ordinary shepherds teach them the new song—the very same song we still sing today (Luke 2:8–20).
Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.
Peace on earth presents a paradox. It is made possible by the Incarnation, the miraculous albeit disruptive birth of Jesus, but is impossible apart from the agony of the crucifixion, and is finally celebrated and realized by his resurrection and ascension.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross (Col. 1:18–20).
Advent reminds us that we worship Christ the Savior, the Son of God and the Son of Man, the center-piece of the true story of the whole world. He is the very source of an inexplicable and often incomprehensible sense of peace that sustains us even in the worst of times times just like it did Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds. Advent reminds us to sing the new song.
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.
(You can find the passages mentioned here in Matthew 1 and Luke 1–2.)
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