2349AFC120823 – Peace be with you. (2nd Sunday of Advent) ← Podcast
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Isaiah 40:3-5 –
3 A voice cries out: (↔ Music Link)
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Psalm 85:8-10 –
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
2 Peter 3:9-10, 14 – 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed. 14 Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish
Mark 1:2-3, 7-8 – 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope and Peace. Before we go any further with this post, I wish to pause and acknowledge that today, December 8, 2023, is Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This celebration is not well understood outside the Catholic Church, and – in all honesty – not many Catholics understand it well. Often when asked what “The Immaculate Conception” means, folks will state it’s when Mary got pregnant by the Holy Ghost. Not even close. The Immaculate Conception refers to how Mary was conceived as the daughter of Saint Ann and Saint Joachim. God prepared her as a special vessel to carry the Christ of God, and he did so before her birth by allowing her to be the first to be redeemed by Jesus’ willing and loving sacrifice on the Cross. Mary was the First Disciple, and the First Apostle because she was the first to know who Jesus was, is, and would be, and because of that God allowed her to be conceived without the stain of original sin. If we think that is difficult to understand, that it is because it is a Mystery of Faith, and we simply must trust that God, who cannot lie, is telling us the Truth about this tender child he chose for a very BIG responsibility. Much to his delight – and to hers and ours as well – she humbly said “Yes. Let all this happen as you have said.” But sixteen or so years before that, she came to this world as a sweet little infant girl-child who grew up loving God and all his works and words. THAT is what we celebrate today, the conception of the Ark of the New Covenant. I believe pretty much every kind of Christian there is in this world can agree with the fact that Mary, as the Mother of Jesus, is a V.I.P. in the inception and spread of Christianity.
Now, let us begin with today’s post. Every day now for over a year, I have prayed for peace in Ukraine with Ukraine remaining independent and Putin disempowered. The war rages on. For months now I have been praying for Hamas to be wiped out and for Israel to honor its moral obligation to minimize noncombatant deaths. The war rages on. For months and months, I have been praying that ethnic-based violence and racial prejudices be eliminated in East Republic of Congo, Somalia and Darfur in Sudan. The war rages on. I have prayed sporadically for years for the Islamic oppression in Iran to end there and around the world. I’d like for all of them to become Christians. It is changing ever so slowly. All of us in some way with some sort of frequency pray for Peace even if it’s only in the General Intercessions on Sundays. Peace always seems to be elusive, perhaps even impossible. “Let there be Peace on Earth” is a beautiful anthem that just doesn’t seem to get off the ground. Recently I came to understand that perhaps it’s because we forget the second line of that prayer – “and let it begin with me.”
Sometime in the late 60’s I wrote a lyric called “Man of Peace.” I mentioned it in a post in 2019 called 1945AFC110819 (←find it here) – ALL For Christ (←read this Scripture first) The gist of it went like this:
I am a man of Peace. I own no other name.
I stand before you, gird about with gifts of Love.
You ask me of my Peace, and how I hold it so.
Good listener, I do not hold my Peace.
I am held in Peace.
During Advent we prepare for the coming of the Prince of Peace, who is the King of Glory, and a Priest in the Order of Melchizedek. As we prepare, we ask ourselves, “Am I ready for him?” Oh, Belovéd! How much of our energy is spent “getting ready for Christmas,” or living for the Happy Holidays, or caught up in the powerful Joy of Chanuka? We know there are other celebrations of other interests that occur during this same time. All of these celebrations celebrate Peace and Brotherhood, and most of them have been taken over by worldly commercialism. The Reason we’re easin’ into the Season is lost in the tinsel, glitz, greediness, and confusion of what to do about a gift for so-and-so. There are cards and letters to send (which reminds me, I haven’t written our 55th annual Christmas letter yet!). Here’s the rub: TOO MUCH HUBBUB! “So, Chick, you’re saying to ignore all that and just get all Holy and everything?”
Well, no, not exactly, but the Key Verses today have some useful ideas about making Advent more than just a shopping adventure. What great amounts of time we waste when we spend hours at the mall, and what small amounts of time we chafe against to spend an hour with the Lord in the Eucharist! [1] We feel anxiety waiting for the FedEx truck because we want granny’s present to be on time, but we can’t watch for Jesus in the people around us. How do we make waiting for the Lord more like Peace?
Take the passage from Isaiah, for example. We all know it – almost by heart we’ve heard it so often. The literal sense is pretty clear: God’s going to do something amazing so we need to get ready. The wilderness is a tough place to be with mountains and valleys and deserts, and bandits, and … Scary Stuff! But if we listen intently to the whole reading this Sunday, there’s a lot to be excited about. God is coming to relieve Jerusalem from all the chastisement they have received for their sin. There is a reason for the sentinels to cry out with joy about the Hope the Lord brings! God the Almighty is coming, but he comes as a wise shepherd who carries the lambs in his arms and guides the expectant ewes with care. That is an Advent of Peace as in “he leads me beside still waters.” You know how to look up that one!
The Ideal Shepherd Isaiah talks about is the Davidic Shepherd in Psalm 23, and in Ezekiel 34, especially 34:15-23 (←Don’t skip this!). Isaiah portrays this shepherd carrying the lambs (←read this post) with tenderness and care. Little lambs have a lot of energy, but they also tire easily. When they are moving with the flock as they graze, the little guys sometimes get tuckered out and just can’t go any farther. The good shepherd will pick up that little one and carry it for a while so it can rest without being left behind. As for the ewes, especially those still carrying their progeny, they must be led with care – slowly, with an eye toward safe paths, gentle slopes, adequate water, and quietly so as not to endanger their lives. When Jacob and Esau were going through the process of reconciling with one another, Jacob makes a comment that driving the herd hard would kill the future of the herd – the ewes and the lambs they carried. Here’s the thing: If there are lambs around, there will soon be more during the herd’s birthing season. A wise shepherd will lead (not drive) his flock over gentle slopes, still waters, and find rich, verdant pastures. That is the kind of Shepherd Isaiah is speaking about.
Isaiah says to make the roads in the wilderness straight and level. Why that allegory? In ancient times, when an important leader was coming to town, the roads would be leveled out, cleared of debris, the hills would be lowered and the valleys filled up to make the journey of the dignitary easier. Isn’t that somewhat like what we can do with our lives? We can level with God, tell the truth, reduce our pride and fill up our shortcomings with humility. We can stop muting our conscience and tune in to those broadcasts about using moral decisions to map out our lives instead of our materialistic wants. Doing these things only once makes that act an historical moment, but doing that always makes that a lifestyle – a Christian lifestyle. When we get to the sorting of the sheep and goats, Jesus won’t be standing there with a Sorting Hat. He will look for the evidence that we lived according to the Word of Truth. The Book of Life has left and right pages, just as our Judgment has left and right outcomes. And we must remember, it is The Book of Life, so YOLO-F definitely applies. That Word of Truth contains a lot of good information about Peace, so instead of just asking God to do something about it, how about we do something about it?
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak … Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. That’s a pretty big hint, isn’t it? Our Key Verse from The Apostle Peter says when Jesus does return, there won’t be any escape and there will be nothing recognizable left. What is his advice about that? Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish. How in the World can we do that? (←Trick question!) You are right, camper-in-the-know (or now)! We cannot do that in the world. We can only be found by him at peace by learning to cultivate Peace in all we do. That is so HARD! Indeed. It is surely difficult, but think about another passage about Peace in The Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the church in Corinth:
2 Corinthians 12:10 – 10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul’s statement should not be interpreted as fatalism, or as false humility, either. In his perspective there is a complementary and harmonizing connection between suffering and sanctity. When his mind, his spirit, and his body are at rest in Christ, he is “in the world but not of the world.” The verb translated “content” in the above passage is εὐδοκέω (eudokéō) { yoo-dok-eh’-o} which carries connotations of to think well of, or to choose gladly, or willingly accept, or to think best. It is like our expression “It comes with the territory.” If someone had told Paul that his stance was heroic, Paul would reply much the same way suddenly-noticed heroes do: “I’m no hero. I was just doing my job.” And so, Beloved, we are called to look on our own actions when encumbered with weakness, mistreatment, hardship, persecution, and difficulties suffered for Christ. Do we become histrionic like the Pharisee in the temple, tooting our own horn about how deeply we suffer? Do we become tranquil and self-restrained like Paul? Not that The Apostle Paul didn’t moan and groan a little about his suffering as a prisoner; he let others know he was hurting, but he also let others know that the hurt he experienced was gladly and fervently offered up for the sake of the Body of Christ (← Check it out!). Belovéd: All who are of the Body of Christ are called to serve as Paul served – For the Sake of Christ. (↔ Music Link) NEVER forget! We are the Body of Christ (↔ Music Link) – the Church – because we become what we eat. 1 That’s the Absolutely Perfect Plan.
That Grace-at-work (↔ Music Link) fortifies, enlivens, and encourages us. Through this, we show others the centrality of Jesus in our lives and God is therein glorified. Though on the Road to Calvary, we are also climbing the road to Zion and God’s own Heaven. When we are humble enough to glorify God, we are strengthened in ways that overcome every trial, every false accusation, every painful torment our adversary imposes on us. In that way, also, the adversary is defeated and Christ is victorious.
Philippians 4:5-7 – 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Become the Presence of Christ as an intimate part of the Life of Christ 1. For example, being humble enough to wash and kiss the feet of the outcast, sharing food, giving shelter, being compassionate to all as Christ is compassionate. We can work at living as he lives as a living presence. We are commanded to go tell the Good News, the Gospel, at home, at work, on the soccer field; wherever we are, there we are to share the Gospel by how we live. 1 That is our mission – to be Jesus for everyone around us. Please call to mind the words of St.Francis: “Preach the gospel at all times. Use words only when necessary.” And “Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
We don’t have to limit ourselves to being “with Peace,” as in “Peace be with you.” We can – and should – carry Peace within and around us at all times. That may sound difficult, but it is necessary if there is to be Peace anywhere at all. It is possible to carry Peace with us, and as we do that, we can eventually arrive at an intimacy with Jesus where we are enough like him that we can BE Peace. And so, Belovéd, I say to all of us now:
John the Baptist said, “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” We say in return, “Come Holy Spirit, and enter the hearts of thy faithful.”
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
[1] From the Mission presented by Reverend Father Herman Gomes, SS.CC. at Saint Catherine of Alexandria Catholic church December 5-6, 2023. Used with the presenter’s permission.
