December 12, 2025

SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT: PEACE

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4.7)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

I enjoy plays on words. I have often wondered that if in the formation of language God had it in mind that words actually have such “sound alikes” to cause us to seek a deeper meaning and truth. One such word for me is that one that has led us through this second week of Advent. As if I need to remind you, mighty ones of the One True God, that word is peace. Of course, you can guess, at least I hope so, what its “sound alike” is. That word for me is “piece.” It is a noun and a verb. It represents a part of something such as a piece of a puzzle. It also speaks to connecting a part of something into its greater whole such a piecing the puzzle together. By itself, a piece is not the whole of its reality. Its true reality is known when it is pieced together. This is significant to me in many facets of my own life as I am sure it is for you. In deeper reflection, I am a piece of a greater work which God has created and empowered by His Spirit to exist. That existence, from a world perspective, is life on earth. Yet even the ancients were aware of a greater work in which this world on earth was just a piece. The creation story (or stories) in Genesis express that profound longing for the greater meaning of all there was. Interestingly enough, the revealed or conceived conclusion put such emphasis on humanity that we forget the “piece” we are and stopped seeking “piece” things together for the greater glory and wonderful truth. Over the centuries, the false concept of “being the center of the universe” or “it all depends on me” has influenced life formation in a disturbing way. It has expressed itself in what I would suggest to you, mighty ones of God, as a lack of “peace.”

That “peace” of which I speak is the connection of the whole. It is the synergy of, for this purpose of this reflection, the heart, mind, body and soul coming together to be not the whole but a whole piece. It is a holistic pursuit which sees “all things working together for a good.” Does that scripture sound familiar? Romans 8.28 says this, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” If we are honest with ourselves, then let us recognize that we are not the whole of the existence of God. Our existence, however, is not lost on God. He is constantly piecing things together for our wholeness and our holiness. Yes, I said that God is working all things together for our holiness. God desires that we be holy and blameless in His eyes. What He desires is to see the whole of creation come together for good. That good, if you remember my suggestion of understanding for that word, is what happens when what is of God actually functions and performs as it was intended. God made everything with such a purpose and such an existence. His act of creation was making “peace” with chaos (admitting it was disparate pieces unconnected and thus purposeless and useless) and making “peace” out of chaos (connecting the pieces together together so that what seemed impossible and improbable or even invisible became possible, real and visible.)

That is the story of the true Christmas. Literally it is the celebration of Christ, or Christ Mass (not as in Catholic Church but as in Latin.) It is not supposed to be remembering a piece of His life, that is His birth. It is to remember and celebrate the whole of His life from the cradle to the cross; from a stable made in the hollow of a rock to a tomb of the same fashion; from Heaven above to here on earth to hell “below” and back again to earth and then to Heaven. Yes, it is a whole cycle of life as well as a holistic way of looking at “faith, hope and love with the greatest of these being love.” We wear ourselves out trying to piece meal things together. Such randomness is ineffective in building sustainability with ourselves, our family/community and the “world” as a whole. Christmas peace is more powerful when we stick to the gospel message it proclaims. We, and we all are guilty of this, have turned Christmas into more of a modern-day celebration of self (self-aggrandizement, self-soothing or downright selfishness asking “What’s in it for me? What’s in it for me?”) than the celebration of, as John declared “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to it so that all who would believe in Him shall have life everlasting and in abundance.” (John 3.16) Isn’t it time we put all the pieces together again for what truly “makes for peace” and see that it is in Christ alone that we have peace, not as the world gives it but as it is in Heaven and intended to be on earth.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.