I enjoy Advent. It is a special time of the year as preparations are made to celebrate the birth of the Christ child. It is the beginning of the church’s year, a time to reflect on the past and anticipate the future. It is part of the rhythm of life, the circle that keeps turning. My hope is that the busyness at this time of year will not supersede the meaning of the season.
In our household the first physical preparation is to unpack the Advent Wreath and place the new candles therein. Three purple candles representing hope, peace and love, a pink candle reminding that even in a solemn season there is joy, all surround the Christ candle which will be lit on Christmas Eve. The tradition of lighting a candle each week is part of Advent for me.
Today is the second Sunday of Advent. As the second purple candle is lit, it is time to reflect on peace. What is peace? It is a word that is used often and has several different meanings — tranquility, calmness, ending of a war, absence of violence, etc., etc.
The lectionary today (Luke 3:1-6) speaks of John, Son of Zechariah coming out of the wilderness to prepare the way for the revealing of Christ. I know that many have heard me say this before, but I think the reference to wilderness is not about John living rough in some wild terrain but is talking about the ascetic communities located in the wilderness to which John would probably have been sent to be educated and maybe remained. It would be there the “word of God” (2) came to John.
As I think about the mission of John, I’m not sure that it was very peaceful. At least, that is the image given in the few passages about him and he certainly met with a violent death. Hopefully he found peace in knowing he was fulfilling his destiny.
Peace has been a big part of +Andy and my lives. In our work peace is defined as nonviolence. Hence, together we have written two books about nonviolent re-parenting. (Welcoming Strangers, Transaction 2016; Nurturing Strangers, Routledge 2018). The whole of Andy’s work at the university is centered around peace resulting in several books on the topic — most recently Talking to Terrorists (Palgrave Macmillan 2018) and Pragmatic Non-Violence (Brill/Rodopi 2021). So probably, the absence of violence will always my first thought about peace.
Yet, I will also use peace in a myriad of other ways. As Andy and I walk our pugs, we often comment on how peaceful the ocean at Delaware is, or the trails at Sapsucker Bird Sanctuary and Cornell Botanical Gardens. Here, I think peace is about the serenity of nature at its best. Sometimes we talk about making peace with getting older or finding peace in the midst of unrest and chaos. Often peace is just within ourselves, a state of wholeness and well-being. When someone dies the most frequent comment is “may they rest in peace” or RIP. Yet, if I think deeply about each of these usages it does really come back to the absence of violence in each situation.
Today we celebrate Eucharistic together, as will millions of others worldwide. Always the peace is exchanged:
“May the peace of God be with you.”
“And also with you”
I think this week I will ponder about what I mean when I utter those words to someone. I want to say them with a depth of meaning rather than just a repeated weekly phrase said almost by rote.
So, as I light the second candle for peace this morning, I will wish a gift peace to all who are reading this — Peace be with you as you prepare to celebrate the birth of the Christ child.
