Day 9 • The Week of Peace

Scripture Readings:
Psalm 27
Isaiah 26:7-15
Acts 2:37-42

One of the beautiful things about Advent for me is how it allows me to approach scripture through the lens of Christmas a bit more freely than other times throughout the year. It’s like reflecting on a relationship with a loved one or a favorite memory, and then because of a certain experience or time of the year, you see it in a deeper way than you did before. It’s hard to explain why. You thought you had understood it as deeply as you could, yet there you are. You somehow value that person or that memory more deeply than you had before, and you are profoundly grateful for it.

Reading the apocalyptic scriptures that we have through the hopeful and even festive lens of Christmas adds different and deeper layers for me. It critiques the fear I have always been told to have around the “end times” and makes me ask the question, “If I am this hopeful and excited about Advent and Christmas, which recognizes Christ coming into the world, then why don’t I have that same posture when it comes to Christ’s second coming?”

Unfortunately, the answer to that question is that we have radically altered the Jesus of the second coming to look nothing like the Jesus of the first coming. The first Jesus is said to have come with humility and compassion, taking up a cross out of love for the world. Then, the second Jesus is so often presented as coming with wrath and condemnation, taking up a sword out of vengeance against the world. In so many ways, they might as well be two different people.

Yet, what Advent and Christmas have taught me is what so many Biblical scholars throughout the ages have tried to teach us. The real Jesus of the gospels is the interpretive lens through which we are to read books like Revelation, which uses rich metaphors to convey the gospel message to a particular people, time, and context. Not the other way around. Our expectation of Christ’s return should fill us with the same peace we experience when we celebrate his first arrival.

It is this theme of peace that you will find spoken of throughout our scripture readings for today. The Lord is not only framed as a rescuer and vindicator but a great unifier and redeemer. For me, this culminates in the passage from Acts 2:37-42. As you probably know, this is the chapter that is often referred to as the “birth of the church.” It is Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit is described as coming down and breaking all barriers that we humans use to divide and control one another. Barriers like language, age, gender, religion, nationality, class, status, and wealth are all brought together, not in denial of such diversity, but elevating diversity as a great strength. It’s all there in Acts chapter two!

Then, our passage for today is the people’s response, “What shall we do?” What shall we do to join this great work of peace we are seeing in our midst? Peter responds with that same theme of repentance. They must change their minds and hearts in order to fully accept and be transformed by this radical work of God being done in the world. A work that isn’t oriented towards the obliteration of all things but the dismantling of things that hurt and harm humanity and creation. It is the work of making peace.

When it comes to achieving peace in our world, we are all still asking, “What shall we do?” Perhaps a shift in perspective, a fresh look at the way God worked on days like Pentecost in Acts two, and maybe even reinterpreting our perspectives of the end times through the lens of Christmas might help us to “change our minds” and give us a better grasp on God’s desire for peace.

Reflection Steps:

What inspires you? What fills you with comfort and peace? Do you find those things in your journey through Advent and the Christmas season? I want to invite you to lean into those things a bit more in your reflections today. How can you be more intentional about allowing those things to define your walk with Jesus and possibly even your view of his return? The holidays can be times of tension and stress for many reasons. Using what inspires us as lenses through which to see our experiences can be a powerful way to make peace in those situations. It can even help us to understand our own beliefs in a more profound way.