Peace

Readings: Isaiah 41: 1-11 and Luke 1: 57-79
This is the second week in Advent; the candle theme for today is peace. Yet we know what is to come: John whose birth we hear about today will be killed by Herod; and Jesus, the one whose birth we await, is also killed by the rulers of the day.

The theme of the second Sunday in Advent is peace; I wonder what makes for peace. Certainly there are places in Africa and the Middle East at the moment where people are rising up against governments and leaders. There are many places in the world where it is dangerous to live. There is no peace if people are afraid to walk outside their front door. There is no peace when girls are attacked with acid for refusing to marry. There is no peace when people seeking asylum are treated as less than human. There is no peace when people are stereotyped rather than treated as individuals. There is no peace when we are too busy to waste time with God. There is no peace when …

Sometimes it seems that peace is elusive, sometimes people look to violence as the way to peace. The peace that is spoken of in Isaiah and in the Luke reading is not just the absence of war.

Luke records words of Zechariah at the naming of his son, John; words of praise, words of remembering, words of trust and words of faith. In speaking these words, and in remembering the salvation and mercy of God, Zechariah speaks not only of salvation from our enemies, but being saved to or for acts of righteousness, justice and peace.

In the same way peace is not only peace from conflict, but peace for life; where people can live in safety, with adequate food supplies, clean water, education, and medical resources. Peace from war, peace from shame and guilt bring the opportunity of new life, and of hope.

Peace is also something we can talk about is an internal thing, a spiritual state. Sometimes we are aware of a place deep within us where the peace of God dwells, even when life is in turmoil. I can remember some difficult times as a new Christian, my father was not happy with his newly church going daughter, but deep within I knew I had made the right decision, somewhere within me, there was peace.

The story of Zechariah starts with him going to temple to fulfil his duty, Zechariah was from the priestly tribe, and was rostered for duty at certain times. He was chosen to burn incense in the holy place, and while there an angel told him his wife Elizabeth would bear a son. Zechariah and Elizabeth were old, too old to have a child, just like in the story of Abraham and Sarah. Zechariah questions the angel, and is unable to speak until after the baby is born. It is at the boy’s naming, that Zechariah can speak again.

And the neighbours wondered: “what then will this child become?’ For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.”

Then this lovely poem/song from Zechariah; Zechariah praises God for raising up the one who will save the people of Israel. The covenant is remembered, the way the prophets spoke of God’s mercy. Many translations say that Zechariah spoke this prophecy – that means truth, not a prediction. The same with the prophets, they are speaking a truth from God, often something that goes against the culture, but it is telling the truth, not predicting the future. While we think of time as linear, the Bible doesn’t present time that way, which is why sometimes prophets speak of the future in the present tense or even past tense.

The last verse of the reading: ““By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon* us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’”

Light will come to us, God will come to us. Christianity is a religion of incarnation. In Christianity we don’t have to earn love, or salvation. In Christianity, God comes to us, in the form of a little baby named Jesus, in the form of the Holy Spirit. We don’t have to climb a theological or physical mountain, to meet God; God comes to meet us. And we are transformed. Just as darkness is transformed by the coming of light, changed into something different; we are transformed by the coming of God into our lives.

After praising God and speaking of God’s salvation in the present tense, when Jesus is not yet born, then he speaks of his own child:

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,”

We know Christmas is coming in 21 days, we know the story, we hear it each year. So what does it mean for us to wait, to prepare?

How do we proclaim God’s faithfulness, God’s blessing, and God’s salvation as we wait?

Can we confidently say with Zechariah: “‘blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them.”

If we were to write a song, or poem, what would we say; About God’s activity in the world, in our past, our present, our future?