Advent week 2 is about Peace. Back in July, I asked whether peace was achievable in a peaceless world. As I believe that peace starts with us and our relationship with God, whether naively or not, I still believe peace is achievable, if only on a micro scale. Like gratitude, which I have also written on, peacefulness is contagious.
Consider this verse from Isaiah:
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6, ESV)
In considering what to do with this notion of peace, a couple of thoughts come to mind. The first thought has to do with our notions of God and our notions of atonement. Traditionally, we have seen God as an all-powerful deity who while loving, is incredibly brutal and unforgiving when it comes to meting out punishment for our sins. This then brings me to my second thought, being a therapist, when one comes from a dysfunctional family system with an alcoholic or authoritarian parent, one becomes reactive, scared and hypersensitive to criticism. One’s sense of self is diminished and in the system, and that person or someone else becomes the scapegoat.
Peace then starts with dismantling our broken idea of the system we have intellectually inherited from our ancestors.
It Starts with Love
If you turn on the news right now, at least in my cultural context, you will be bombarded with an us versus them mentality. The migrants, the LGBTQ+, the fill in the blanks person who does not fit our cultural norm. And if you take a stand against it, you are “woke”, unfaithful, ungrateful, or un-American. In therapy speak, we are bombarded right now with a lot of defensiveness. Defensiveness is often met with more defensiveness, criticism, contempt, and stonewalling. Check out my other post this week on civil discourse to learn how to work through this peacefully and respectfully.
Love is an oft misunderstood word and often portrayed as a MacGuffin in our society. Love in the relationship sense is an active, life sustaining posture one takes to maintain a relationship. Both participants in the relationship are actively involved in working on understanding each other, mutually engaged in the awareness of the other. As the relationship matures, both sense shifts in emotional energy, mood and thoughts. Carefully asked questions and an endless sense of curiosity sustains the relationship. This posture is not mutually exclusive to a partnered relationship, it is the posture we must all have as Christians to all we encounter in our walk. This posture of love cultivates an attitude of peace.
Peace for a Peaceless World
From the war in Ukraine to the ongoing violence in Palestine, from the devastating conflict in Sudan to the violence, division, and inequity across North America, our world is far from the harmony Isaiah describes. These conflicts remind us of the human cost of division. It propels us to recognize the urgent need for peacemakers. In Ukraine, families are torn apart as missiles rain down on cities and millions are displaced. In Palestine, enduring endless cycles of violence, discrimination, and unimaginable devastation has left generations longing for justice and security that simply never comes. In Sudan, ethnic and political strife has led to communities being devastated by famine and war. In North America, peace feels fragile as communities grapple with violence, systemic inequities, and political polarization. And this is only a few of the hundreds of armed conflicts across the globe today.
In the face of such brokenness, how do we live into the promise of peace we proclaim during Advent? How do we bear witness to the Prince of Peace in a world so often ruled by the powers of fear and violence?
A Posture of Peace
First, we must not become reactive. Reactivity always leads to problems, on my side of the chair, often anxiety, worry and other pathologies. When reactive, we must examine our minds and consider carefully why we are being moved to strong emotion. In the West, we are taught to be individuals, and we exist for ourselves, often unaware of the influences that shape our thoughts and ultimately our actions. By sitting with our thoughts, examining them, then deciding on what to do, we begin to cultivate an inner peace.
Secondly, Jesus and the Stoics tell us not to worry. The Stoics specifically would challenge us to focus on our internal response to these events, emphasizing:
Acceptance: Acknowledging that such events occur and are part of the natural world, without judgment or emotional attachment.
Focus on the present: Rather than dwelling on past events or worrying about future ones, a Stoic would concentrate on the present moment and their own actions.
Practicing virtue: This includes cultivating wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. A Stoic would strive to respond to these events with reason and compassion, even in the face of adversity.
Taking action where possible: While recognizing the limits of their control, a Stoic would take action to promote peace and justice within their sphere of influence. This could involve peaceful protest, volunteering, or simply treating others with kindness and respect.
Jesus challenges his disciples and us when he offers, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (John 14:27, NRSV). We must understand that while we cannot control the world around us, we can control our own thoughts, emotions, and actions.
Peace is achievable. The promise began in the manger and that Christ presence dwells within all of us. We must turn to Jesus and to our inner Christ nature to guide us on the path to peace.
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