Hope and Peace
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Advent, already?! It seems like this holy season of expectant waiting and prayerful preparation has arrived so suddenly. I imagine that’s how it felt to Mary of Nazareth too, when her world was turned upside down by a visit from the angel Gabriel and an unplanned pregnancy. Perhaps it is in the very nature of Advent to surprise us with its suddenness. One moment we’re carving pumpkins, roasting squashes, and gathering around tables for Thanksgiving, and then, whoosh! We’re lighting Advent candles and singing, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.
On the first Sunday of Advent, we lit one candle for Hope, remembering the hope that sustained ancient Israel in their struggles with oppression and injustice. That hope was no passive optimism. It was an active, living hope, that waited and watched, that anticipated, even against all the odds the suggested hope was futile. And our world needs that hope today as much as then. Amidst a year of pandemic, of social isolation, of political hostility, and deep divisions, we need that hope. That living hope. A hope that creation will be liberated from death and suffering and brought into new life. A hope that we will come together as a human family in unity, to create a world of justice and joy for all. A hope that even in the valleys of despair, we can never be separated from God, who is with us in our struggles.
As advent continues, we will discover the fullness of the gifts that God offers to the world in Christ: love and joy are on the horizon, but before than, we focus on the gift of Peace. Throughout these past nine months of pandemic, we may each be navigating the sea in different boats, but we’ve all been stranded in the same storm. This storm has rained down torrents of grief, blown around gusts of fear, and shaken us with thunders of anxiety. Just as our souls’ hunger for a living hope, so do they thirst for a deep and abiding peace. A peace that surpasses understanding. A peace that comes through the presence of Christ, who is Emmanuel: God with us.
