Sermon 12-4-22 Peace and Preparation
Isaiah 11:1-10
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
We pray for the coming of the birth of Jesus
We pray for the coming of the time of peace. Amen
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’[a] 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ 34 Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’[b] 35 The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[c] will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.’ 38 Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.
Here we are at the second Sunday of Advent. The theme for this Sunday is peace and preparation, or preparation for peace. We think of this season as a season of preparing for Christmas. We take time during this month to buy presents, put up a Christmas tree, bake cookies, send cards. I imagine you are doing most or at least some of these. We want to be prepared so we aren’t doing all of those things at the last minute. So we are not stressed out. So we can feel peaceful on Christmas, knowing all is prepared.
This is how we prepare for the coming of Christmas. But how do we prepare for the coming of Christ? Not just the baby Jesus, but the time of peace that is promised? The time when there is world peace. When the hungry are fed, the homeless are housed, the sick are cared for. The time when all have the love we are promised.
Sometimes it feels like this time of peace is so far away. It feels like there cannot be world peace when we cannot have peace in our own state, our own community.
I personally hate guns. I grew up the daughter of a bird and deer hunter. Being a responsible hunter, Dad made sure that we ate what he provided, but occasionally, when I would bite down on a piece of buckshot, I was not too happy about it! Anyway, as a child I accepted rifles in my life as sports equipment.
Today, there are more guns in the United States than people, and that includes all men, women, and children, even infants. The number one reason to own a gun, according to Pew Research, is for protection, not sport. Now, it seems to me, there would be no reason to fear your neighbor if you knew your neighbor was not carrying a gun. The fear of others owning guns creates a situation where more people carry guns. During 2020 when the pandemic created so much more fear and isolation, new gun ownership rose by 50% over 2019.
One night, a couple weeks ago, in my city of Saratoga Springs, there was an old-fashioned shoot out. Two men were having an argument and went out on the street in front of the bar they were drinking at, to settle it. The story goes that one man, an off-duty deputy from another town, showed that he had a gun. The other man then showed his, and so they shot at each other. Three people were hospitalized. It makes we wonder, are we so worried about other people carrying guns, that we all start carrying guns, and start shooting each other like that? Where is the peace of Christ?
We all know about the war between Russia and Ukraine. We know that many people have died, have been tortured, and been severely wounded. Where is the peace of Christ?
This past October, the USDA found that food prices were over 10% higher than in October 2022. Where is the peace of Christ?
Homelessness is on the increase this winter. Where is the peace of Christ?
While writing this part of the sermon, I could feel myself getting more and more agitated. Can you feel that too? A lack of peace? Where has the peace of Christ gone?
Well, let’s get it back. Sit back in your chair or pew. Cast your eyes down or close them. Take a deep breath in. slowly exhale. Remember where you are, either in the sanctuary or safe at home. Where you are is safe, where you are is where God is. The peace of Christ is here if we only let it in. So, take a deep breath in again, this time with the prayer, Christ, please let me feel your peace. Hold it in your heart and gently exhale. And again. Breathe in peace, hold it in your heart, and gently let it go. Last time. In… out… While your eyes are still closed, move your attention into your heart center. Imagine a glow there, a warm glow, the glow of Christ’s peace. Imagine that with each breath you are stoking that fire, those embers. And notice the glow getting bigger.
Here, now, is the peace of Christ. You may open your eyes.
You see, the world outside of you reflects what is within. When you poke the bear of violence and chaos by engaging with the news, or by arguing with a relative or by being curious and looking up statistics, you lose the peace of Christ. It cannot live within you while you are engaging with its opposite.
But you can always find it. Because the love and peace of Christ is what keeps you alive, keeps you coming back to church, keeps you searching for more and more peace and love. It can always be found in your heart. You only have to slow down, breathe the breath of the Holy Spirit, look in your heart, and there you will find it.
And should you decide to look elsewhere, outside yourself, you can find it.
I have a friend who told me last week that she and her husband are thinking about moving to Costa Rica for a better life in retirement. Why Cost Rica? Many people are leaving other countries in the Latin American region to come to the United States, yet there are United States citizens who would rather go to this particular Latin American Country. Why?
In 1948, the government decided to eliminate their military, and instead spend the money on education and healthcare. Basically, instead of funding weapons and military personnel, they spent the same amount on their people. Their standard of living went up, they built big hospitals, and there was a big boost in education. In 2016 they had the second lowest infant mortality rate in Latin America, after Chili, and a 98% literacy rate.
2018 marked 70 years of this experiment. At that time, Costa Rica ranked first in Latin America and 12th in the world for happiness, according to the 2017 World Happiness Index. It was ranked first in the world by the Happy Planet Index.
It feels like the Peace of Christ can be found in Costa Rica. You and I cannot change the United States of America today, with its love of guns and war. But, as preparation for the day when peace comes to all the world, you and I can do a few things:
First, we can practice finding the peace of Christ in our heart, daily, even several times a day. Definitely every time we are feeling the chaos of the world.
Second, we can pray for peace. Often.
Third, we can share our peace with everyone we know just by being peaceful, which will change the atmosphere in the rooms we are in. We can send messages of peace in our Christmas cards.
Fourth, we can share the peace, by saying as they did centuries ago: May the peace of Christ be with you. And answering, And also with you.
Fifth, if we own any guns, we can model the peace we want to see in the world and dispose of them.
Sixth, we can tell others about the example of Costa Rica. The more people who know that peace exists in the world, the greater possibility it can happen in other countries too.
Finally, we can pray the prayer of St. Francis of Assis. Let us pray.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
So, prepare for peace, my friends! Put up your tree! Write your cards! Bake your cookies! Find the peace in your heart and share it with everyone! Christ is coming! Peace is coming! So go prepare!
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