Second Sunday of Advent: Peace

The second Sunday of Advent focuses on peace. Just as hope is woven into Scripture, so too are descriptions of the peace that will be established by the Messiah:

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

--Isaiah 9:6-7

In Luke 3, we see John the Baptist quoting Isaiah 40 when he said:

"And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

It may be hard to see the peace that Jesus brought in our current world, but it is important that we keep our eyes focused on the bigger picture. Jesus' birth and subsequent death allowed for our atonement and brought peace to our relationship with God the Father. It is because of Jesus that we can draw close to the Father and know in greater measures aspects of His character like peace, justice, and righteousness. It is because we know His character that we can fight for peace in our world while sharing the peace that comes from accepting the truth of the Gospel. And finally, Revelation promises us a future peace that will be found in both the Millennium and in the New Heavens and New Earth:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." -- Revelation 21:1-4

Just as we hold on to the truth of the hope found in Scripture at the same time we keep our eyes on our future Blessed Hope, when we light the second candle we remember both the peace that Jesus established in our imperfect world and the beauty of a peace we cannot begin to comprehend that He will surely establish at the end of days.