Advent begins today.
Advent is a season of waiting, hoping, and trusting. We wait again for the coming of Christ. We hope that in Christ’s coming all things will be made new. We trust that faith will one day become sight.
Each year we return to particular passages to ponder in light of this season of hopeful waiting. This year is no different. We will reflect and hope and pray.
As I grow older, I’m finding something new stirring in my soul. When I was younger, Advent brought a sense of excitement. It was a spiritual challenge to imagine—again and again—what it might feel like if Christ had not yet come. The philosopher Peter Rollins practices something he calls Atheism for Lent, and for a time I tried to take on a similar mindset during Advent.
But now something new has sprouted in me. The only word I have for it is longing.
Longing for Peace
The Old Testament reading today is Isaiah 2:1–5. It’s a well-known passage—the one about beating swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks:
This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
“In the last days
the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.Many peoples will come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.’The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD.”
— Isaiah 2:1–5, NIV
As I meditate on this passage, the sense of longing grows within me.
Recently, I’ve found myself weary as I scroll through my social feeds. Day after day I’m bombarded with the awful things happening in the world. And every day it seems that Christians fall short of the name we collectively bear. Yes, many are doing well. The congregations I serve are filled with people who love well. Are we imperfect? Of course. But on the whole, I am deeply encouraged by how well we love.
Yet day after day I am confronted by others who do not love well. Many who bear the name “Christian” seem consumed with longing for power and control—things thoroughly antithetical to the way of Jesus.
It seems that fear has become the currency many Christians trade in. This fear is nothing new; it has fueled Christian anxiety for decades. Somehow, we have lost the spiritual awareness that in Christ we are more than conquerors, and that at the center of who he is we find sacrificial love.
Too often we confuse sacrificial love with weakness. But there is no weakness in the meek Christ. To love as Christ loves—sacrificially—is to draw from a strength rooted in eternity. When we give ourselves over to fear, we move away from the love found in Christ. Fear is the old way. Love is the new way.
I am confident that love is strong because of its effect.
The Effect of God’s Love: Peace
Read Isaiah’s passage again.
The people come to the mountain of the Lord—and what is the result?
Peace.
But what do you think of when you imagine “peace”? Do you picture quiet? Or do you think in terms of justice?
The peace described here is the latter. Notice that Isaiah says the Lord will “judge.” This judgment is not the petty kind found in middle-school hallways. It is the judgment that brings justice by settling disputes. And when justice is established, nations stop taking up swords against one another.
The effect of God’s love is justice through righteous judgment—justice that produces peace. And this peace is not just individual; it is global.
I long for this peace.
Living as Peacemakers
So what do I do? It seems to me that I must seek to practice this peacemaking in my own life. This means:
- Intentionally setting aside fear and embracing love.
- Seeking to understand what justice looks like in any particular situation.
- Judging in accordance with justice.
- Acting on that judgment through sacrificial love in order to make peace.
During this Advent season, I am praying that this longing inside me moves me to action.
Readings: Isaiah 2:1-5, Psalm 122, Romans 13:11-14, Matthew 24:36-44