12/8/24-12/14/24: ADVENT READINGS:

Read Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11; Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 3:1-6. 

Second Sunday of Advent - PEACE

Did you know that as of October, there are 40 countries currently embroiled in war? We tend to just hear about Russia/Ukraine and Gaza/Israel. But there is civil war in Sudan, claiming over fourteen thousand lives, and civil war in Myanmar, claiming over twelve thousand lives. Thankfully, the United States is not at war, but there is a huge ideological divide over our national identity, bringing riots, disinformation, and political violence on a scale I have not seen in my lifetime. I am sure that you experience chaos even in your own life. Broken relationships, financial chaos, mental instability, and the list goes on. I think it is safe to say our world is broken. It wasn’t always that way. When God created the heavens and the earth, He said it was good. Could you imagine living in a world with perfect peace? It didn’t stay that way for long. Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s one rule and traded peace for chaos. This reminds me of being a kid putting together Lego sets. I would work for hours following all the instructions, and once it was finished, I would proudly put it on display for all to see. Occasionally, my brother (2 years younger) would come and purposely knock down my Lego creation, breaking it into a bunch of tiny pieces. I was obviously devastated, sad, and angry. I often think about how God responded when Adam and Eve sinned, destroying God’s perfect creation. 

One of the main pillars in the Christmas narrative is peace, in fact peace is what the angels proclaim in the announcement of the birth of Jesus, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” You may think that peace is just an end of conflict, you may think “who cares if the Russians and the Ukrainians get along, as long as the fighting & killing stop”, you may call that peace. That is not how the Bible defines peace. I read that Biblical peace is, something that is complex, with lots of pieces, that is in a state of completeness. Biblical peace would be the Russians and Ukrainians working together for the benefit of each other. As a verb the word refers not just to the end of conflict and chaos but to restoration. 

The birth of Jesus marks the arrival of true peace. Jesus was born to be a perfect sacrifice for our sins so that He could restore (bring peace) the broken relationship between humans and their Creator. You see after my brother had broken my lego creation I had a decision to make, I would either put all those pieces back together to complete my creation or I would put the scattered pieces back into a bag and just leave them in chaos. More often then not, I chose to take those broken pieces and put them back together. You see, God made us in perfect peace (completeness), we were broken into a multitude of pieces because of sin, but praise be to God that Jesus comes as our Prince of Peace offering to put us back together again and make us complete. 

This Christmas season remember that the Prince of Peace came for you, to put back together the broken pieces of your life, to make you whole. Yes, gifts and traditions are fun and exciting but the greatest gift this Christmas season is the Giver of Peace to all those who would receive.

(written by Josh Ness)

CONTINUE WITH WEEKLY READINGS AND DEVOTIONALS: