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Truth, Justice, and the Holidays — Peace of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezra 3 Listen: (3:01)

Read: Revelation 2 Listen: (4:59)

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 9.6-7

6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.

Reflection: Truth, Justice, and the Holidays — Peace of Advent

By Erin Newton

Peace does not come without change. If it did, it would be a false peace—a mere pacification. It’s not that we only long for the cessation of war, we want things to be made right. The peace promised through Christ is the peace of truth and justice.

Isaiah speaks of this child, Prince of Peace, who will reign forever, establishing and upholding justice and righteousness. If peace was merely stopping war, there would be no need to establish something new. Not only is the current situation of conflict and strife not good, but the system that allows and perpetuates such conflict is not good.

The prophet speaks to a community that is riddled with injustices—affliction of the weak, oppression of the poor, corruption of the greedy, and the immunity of the wicked. Peace could not come to them without the removal of their power and establishment of someone who would rule in righteousness.

How could a child be the bearer of such great change? The promised peace through justice and truth was coming, but it was beginning in infancy. Peace was going to take time.

Waiting for the peace of Advent looks very similar to how it did thousands of years ago. The part of peace that brings the removal of conflict and the establishment of justice seems to be happening slowly. And I think that’s hard to handle sometimes.

Swift justice is probably not good justice. Immediate peace is probably empty pacification.

But just as the child is promised to reign in truth and justice upon King David’s throne, his peace is promised to last forever. Peace is slow to come but eternal in its stay. That gives us some footholds of hope to cling to.

Looking at peace reveals many layers. We have seen the spiritual layer of peace as wholeness within our souls. We have seen the promise of peace that removes all conflict and strife. In many ways, we’ve been able to see these firsthand when we experience salvation and when fractured relationships are repaired.

But some peace is still yet to come. We wait for wrongs to be made right and for justice to be the law of the land. Advent is an exercise in waiting. Let us look for the peace that calls into account all that has been done wrong.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. — Matthew 5.6

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more about A Time of Peace and Favor — Peace of Advent

Now the manger holds him
Now the child sleeps
The cross will one day hold him. There he will make peace.

A Time of Peace and Favor — Peace of Advent

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Conflict-Free Holidays — Peace of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezra 2 Listen: (5:25)
Read: Revelation 1 Listen: (3:43)

Scripture Focus: John 14.26-27

26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Reflection: Conflict-Free Holidays – Peace of Advent

By Erin Newton

Jesus was born during the Pax Romana—the peace of Rome. It was a period between wars and a time of relative prosperity. Peace is nearly always thought of as the antithesis to conflict or war. And the Bible refers to peace as the future hope during the midst of pain and suffering.

When we think about God coming to dwell among us, the peace of Advent usually includes the vision of a conflict-free eternity. It is this Prince of Peace who brings the promise to eliminate combat and end all struggles.

We long for the days without strife and without war. It is an age-old plea. The psalmist cries out, “Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war” (Ps. 120.6-7).  

Not only does peace bring us wholeness, it is meant to bring us freedom from conflict. But that is far from reality. We enter this Advent season with wars raging across the oceans, conflicts brewing among friends and family, war and strife growing between neighbors—we are a far cry from peace it seems.

The baby lying in a manger would become a man who warned that peace would not always be reality. The cost of following Christ may mean division among friends, families, and neighbors. It is the sword that He warned was coming to disrupt so-called peace. Sometimes the conflict we face is because we have chosen to follow Christ, and the so-called peace of our world was simply a dishonest harmony.

So how do we wait this week meditating on the peace of Advent? I think we look to Christ’s birth as the inauguration of the future peace. It is the “already but not yet” peace we are promised. The gears are set in motion even when the grinding clamor of war reverberates worldwide. The first peace to be won was that within our souls. And it continues to win the war of souls.

And then we see the peace he has left with us. The peace he promised would be with us is a non-earthly peace, peace mediated through the Holy Spirit. Yes, national wars and domestic battles continue today. But peace is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is by His power we can seek peace, and sometimes, win peace. Let us seek peace and wait expectantly.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Look upon your covenant; the dark places of the earth are haunts of violence. — Psalm 74.19

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more about The Arm of Flesh versus the Prince of Peace

How can we tell the difference between Sennacherib’s propaganda and Hezekiah’s true faith?

The Arm of Flesh versus the Prince of Peace

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Wholeness for the Holidays — Peace of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Ezra 1 Listen: (2:03)
Read: 3 John Listen: (1:51)

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 9.2, 6

2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.

6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Reflection: Wholeness for the Holidays — Peace of Advent

By Erin Newton

The thing about Advent is that it is just a waiting game. We know to wait with hope for Jesus’s birth. We know that we will receive love through him. We know that joy will follow this grand event. But what does the peace of Advent offer us?

What are we hoping to find in peace? The feeling of hopelessness, that’s familiar. The heartache of being unloved, we know what that’s like. The weight of sadness and lack of joy is a regular routine. What is life without peace? It is chaotic, broken, raging, tumultuous, scary, fear-driven, uncertain.

Peace is a noun and, within the original Hebrew context, it came from a verb meaning “wholeness” or “complete.” Peace also carries other connotations such as calmness or freedom from conflict. But in the most basic essence of the term—peace is that which fills all voids.

So when Isaiah proclaims the coming child who is a counselor, deity, and father—he is also a prince of wholeness.

The gift of the season is Someone who makes things whole. He mends tears. He binds wounds. He fills chasms. He makes all that is insufficient sufficient.

There is a Japanese technique for mending broken pottery—kintsugi. Many have seen the beautiful pieces that were formerly broken shards of bowls or plates, delicately repaired using golden lacquer. The gold seams not only repair that which was broken but reinvent the beauty of the vessel. The bowl, albeit beautiful as it was before it was broken, becomes an exquisite piece of artistry in kintsugi.

The peace of Advent is like these mended pots. The peace of God is a promise of mending, repairing, and completing all that was broken or lacking. But it is more than just taking the pieces of our lives and putting them back into working order. The peace of God is reinventing our lives, binding the pieces that make us who we are and then shining the golden rays of Himself amongst the pieces.

Isaiah speaks of the people walking in the darkness, living in deep darkness. But the light breaks through. The radiance of Christ, an infant born in a lowly place, illuminates all that they could not see. It is the wholeness of life and light that overcomes the darkness here.

With the Holy Spirit, we no longer lack anything. The pieces have been spiritually mended. The golden seams are already there.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

For who is God, but the Lord? Who is the Rock, except our God? — Psalm 18.32

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

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Read more about Truth and Love — Love of Advent

The love we receive and the truth we believe, are to be passed on. John testifies that joy comes from walking in love and truth in this way.

Truth and Love — Love of Advent
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A King to Hope In — Hope of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Esther 7 Listen: (2:08)
Read: 1 John 4 Listen: (2:58)

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Esther 8 Listen: (3:41), Read: 1 John 5 Listen: (3:00)
Read: Esther 9-10 Listen: (6:15), Read: 2 John Listen: (1:50)

Scripture Focus: Esther 7.3-6

3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. 4 For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.”

5 King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?”

6 Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!”

Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7 The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.

8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.

The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”

As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”

The king said, “Impale him on it!” 10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.

Matthew 2.16-18

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”

Reflection: A King to Hope In — Hope of Advent

By John Tillman

Kings have always been replacements for God. (1 Samuel 8.7)

Some ancient kings only claimed to “represent” or “manifest” a god and others to descend from a god or gods. Many modern kings and politicians still do this. They are just more subtle about it.

Neither Xerxes nor Herod are righteous kings.

Kings don’t usually take well to criticism, the pointing out of flaws, or to being tricked. When Herod discovered the Magi’s deception and his first violent plot against Jesus failed, he ramped up the violence, murdering innocents as Christ’s family fled into exile.

If Xerxes had felt manipulated or accused when he realized he was Haman’s partner in the violent plot Esther exposed, he could have turned on Esther instead of Haman. God’s providence and Haman’s actions ensured he did not. However, after all the drama of getting Xerxes on their side, he couldn’t stop the violence or establish peace. He executed Haman but, as for the coming attacks, he couldn’t stop them or defend the Jews. He only allowed them to defend themselves. He added war to destruction and blood on top of blood. Afterward, mothers still wept for their children, refusing to be comforted.

God charges all kings, Herod, Xerxes, and our leaders, to establish righteousness. Yet most of the tools kings have destroy rather than cultivate. They wield the sword, not the plow. Even in brief moments when kings of the earth might support us, they are not as helpful or powerful as they seem. They are vulnerable to betrayal, assassination, and overthrow. Kings seem glorious in throne rooms yet their glory is an illusion of wealth, lacking any transcendence.

It’s easier than we might think to fall into the dangerous trap of replacing God with a king who is only an illusion of the power, glory, and righteousness of the Messiah. Herod’s soldiers and advisors did it. So might we.

Jesus is the one king we can hope in. He will not add war to violence and call it peace. His power is unassailable and unselfish. His glory is not an illusion of wealth or fine clothes, but the transcendent truth of existence. His righteousness is established not only by cutting down enemies but by cultivating goodness, growth, and godliness. His reign is both already and not yet. His kingdom is coming. His Advent is near.

Come quickly, King Jesus.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

Hosanna, Lord, hosanna!…Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; we bless you from the house of the Lord. — Psalm 118.25-26

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more about Another Love Chapter — Love of Advent

One purpose of Christ’s advent was to show what God is like. The Holy Spirit’s advent in our hearts shares that purpose. 

Another Love Chapter — Love of Advent
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Regular Reversals — Hope of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Esther 6 Listen: (2:40)
Read: 1 John 3 Listen: (3:21)

Scripture Focus: Esther 6.6-13

6 When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”

Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” 7 So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, 8 have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’ ”

10 “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”

11 So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!”

12 Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, 13 and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him.

Luke 1.50-53

50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.

Reflection: Regular Reversals — Hope of Advent

By John Tillman

In one of many famous scenes from When Harry Met Sally, the pair, played by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, are shopping for friends. However, Harry keeps finding gifts that are more for him than their friends, including a karaoke machine that we see later in Harry’s apartment.

We’ve all experienced shopping for someone else and being drawn to look at presents for ourselves. This little selfish tendency we often experience is miniscule compared to the egotistic self-centeredness of Haman.

Xerxes asks Haman how to honor someone. Haman is so egotistical he assumes the honor will be for him. Haman then describes the extravagant gifts and honors that he desires. Then, in painful and humorous irony, he is forced to give the honors he desires to the person he hates, Mordecai.

Mordecai, a few pages before this, was mourning at the king’s gate in sackcloth and ashes and refusing Esther’s gifts of new clothes. It is reasonable to assume that Mordecai is still in his mourning clothes when he experiences a remarkable reversal. The ruler intending to crush him must lift him up. The one intending to hang him on a pole must hang a robe on him instead. The one breathing threats against him must sing his praise.

After Haman robes Mordecai in the king’s robe, places him on the king’s horse, and praises him in the king’s name throughout the city’s streets, Mordecai returns to the king’s gate and Haman goes home, “head covered in grief.”

The reversals of Haman the proud and Mordecai the mourning should not shock those familiar with our God. God lifting the humble and opposing the proud is not a one-off or outlier. Reversals are the regular pattern of God’s action in the world.

Mary, when encouraged by Elizabeth, bursts into prophetic song describing the magnificent reversals God has and will perform through Jesus. Those proud in their inmost thoughts are scattered. Rulers are brought low and the humble lifted up. The hungry are full and the rich empty.

Let us rely and set our hope on God’s reversals—especially those that come through the gospel of Jesus. Sinners will be saved. The blind will see. The deaf will hear. The dead will be made alive.

These gifts are better than any we could selfishly wish for ourselves and they are the best gifts we can imagine giving to our loved ones.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

For God alone my soul in silence waits; truly, my hope is in him. — Psalm 62.6

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

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Read more about See What Great Love — Love of Advent

Even the purest and most idealistic family we could imagine is insufficient to express the love of God for us.

See What Great Love — Love of Advent