December 14, 2003
By Jack Price

Today is the third Sunday in Advent, the season of preparation for the celebration of Christmas.  Each of the four Sundays in Advent is given a theme.  Two weeks ago, the theme was "Hope."  The Old Testament prophet inspired us with the power of sacred imagination, enabling us to find our own way to Bethlehem and there to kneel at the manger.  Last Sunday, the youth of our congregation presented the theme "Joy."  They helped us understand the deep joy that is available to us in helping others; that in giving we discover God re-born in our hearts

Today's theme is "Peace."  The angels at Bethlehem sang, "Glory to God" and peace to people."  Peace is God's gift to us.  The Hebrew word for peace is shalom and it means much more than a cessation of violence.  The peace of shalom carries with it the idea of wholeness and of connectedness with each other and with God.  Shalom is God's goal for creation, the "end" of all creation and the final culmination toward which we are moving. 

Peace is not straight or simple path.  There are distractions, false gods, and false visions of reality.  Walking this path, we learn to touch the Spirit and to be conscious of the Spirit's touch in our lives.

The apostle Paul gives us guidance.  In a letter written as a captive, to a beloved community of Christian friends in Philippi, Paul helps us appropriate the Christmas angels' promise:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your gentleness be known to everyone.  The Lord is near.  Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

            Based on this scripture reading, there are ten steps to peace.  The first step is simply, "Be joyful, rejoice!"  Last Sunday, the youth Sunday preachers interpreted their theme of joy.  They helped us understand "joy" as a sense of well-being, of being in touch with our own deepest values.  Alex Jaros quoted C. S. Lewis, who defines joy as a quality of experience "of unsatisfied desire . more desirable than any other satisfaction."    Joy has some commonality with, but must be "sharply distinguished from [feelings of] happiness and from pleasure."  Lewis was writing about three specific experiences in his young life that were for him defining moments - experiences of beauty, longing, desire, and truth that shaped his understanding of life and called forth his passion for living.  In all three, he experienced a sense of joy.

         Paul tells us to rejoice and be full of joy.  This is not exactly the same thing as feeling happy.  It's usually a mistake to seek happiness as your goal because, in truth, it is most often a by-product of something else.  When you try to grasp and hold onto happiness, it generally slips through your fingers.  Joy is also not the same thing as pleasure.  Seeking pleasure as a goal leads only to self-absorption and inevitably a diminishing sense of both happiness and pleasure. 

Seek joy.  Rejoice.  That is the first step.  Fill your time with what is meaningful and passion-full for you.

The second step toward peace is to "Be joyful again."  Paul writes, "Again I will say, Rejoice.  In other words, keep choosing joy.  Keep filling your life with the quality of experience that is "joy" (that unsatisfied desire . more desirable than any other satisfaction).  Let go of what keeps you from truth in life and from what is authentic in yourself.  Practice prayerful living and spiritual growing.  Rejoice and be joyful -- again and again. 

The third step to peace is to "Be gentle;" let your gentleness be known to everyone."  Being gentle is to be approachable and easy to touch physically, emotionally, intellectually, and interpersonally.  A gentle person listens and desires to hear you.  So, be gentle in the presence of others.  Be gentle within yourself -- not harsh, not judgmental.  Be gentle.

The fourth step is to be present to God as god is near to you.  Be present to God's presence.  Be focused and not scattered in your thoughts and desires.  Learn the blessing of "it is enough."

The fifth step is to "Be mindful."  Stay in the present moment, not living in the future (worry) or in the past (guilt).  Take care that your dreams and hopes don't take us out of the present moment.  Develop gentle disciplines to nourish yourself in mindful living.

The sixth step is to "Be faithful;" that is, be consistent.  Try not to second guess yourself.  Trust the pathway you are walking even as you trust the changes you make.  Be faithful to the truth you know at the core of your being and, in the words of Winston Churchill, "Never, never, never, never, never give!"

The seventh step is to "Be thankful."  Give thanks that all of life is connected; that God is present in every other person.  God is present in you.  God is present in the best and worst of all situations and all institutions.  God's gift of joy is present in feelings of happiness and of sadness, even in feelings of ambivalence.  Joy is God's gift in every circumstance.  We can be thankful for the joy, even if not for the circumstance.

The eighth step is to "Be specific" in prayer.  This starts with learning to know what you really want; then learning to want what you want to want.  Then, pray specifically and watch specifically for "answers."

The ninth step is to "Be genuine."  Only the clear vision of God sees to the authentic heart and motives of a person.  Only the Spirit of God enables us to know ourselves, even a little bit as well God knows us.  Remember that the truth of God is a poet's truth.  The poet Ann Weems writes -

In each heart lies a Bethlehem, an inn where we must ultimately answer whether there is room or not.

When we are Bethlehem-bound, we experience our own advent in his.

When we are Bethlehem-bound, we can no longer look the other way conveniently not seeing stars not hearing angel voices.

We can no longer excuse ourselves by busily tending our sheep or our kingdoms.

And remember, only we have the ability to make room for the living Christ in our "Bethlehem."

Finally, the tenth step is to "Be at peace."  The gift promised is given.  In each life, in each circumstance, the blessed gift of peace waits to be received and opened.  Peace, the biblical concept of shalom is much more than a cessation of hostility or the absence of war.  Shalom is wholeness, connectedness to all of life and to the source of life.  Peace means living with a sense of joy, living in joy.  Angels are bending near the earth.  Hear their song as it sounds in your own heart:

"Peace on earth, goodwill to all" .

The song came out like on loud hosanna

hurled through the earth's darkness,

lighting the Bethlehem sky.

Sometimes I hear it now,

but it means a baby in a manger;

It means a time of year, a cozy feeling,

a few coins in the Salvation Army bucket.

It doesn't mean much-and then it's gone, lost in the tinsel.

Where did the angels' song go?

Who hushed the alleluias?

Was it death and war and disease and poverty?

Was it darkness and chaos and famine and plague?

Who brought violence and took away the sweet plucking of heavenly harps?

Who brought despair and took away hope?

Who stole the music and brought the silence?

What Herods lurk within our world seeking to kill our children?

Are there still those who listen for the brush of angel wings

And look for stars above some godforsaken little stable?

Are there still those who long to hear an angel's song and touch a star?

To kneel beside some other shepherd

in the hope of catching a glimpse of eternity in a baby's smile?

Are there still those who sing "Peace on earth, goodwill to all"?

If there are - then, O Lord, keep ablaze their flickering candle in the darkness of this world."

Phil.4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your gentleness be known to everyone.  The Lord is near.  Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Zephaniah 3: 14

Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!

Isaiah 12: 2-3, 6

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.  With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.  Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.