The second Sunday of Advent invites us to grasp for Peace in the midst of despair, comfort in the midst of dissonance. Not to stubbornly shout “PEACE!” when there is no peace, or to gloss over the reality of the pain and distress of life, but rather to notice what is in need of peace, and to notice the glimmers where peace is breaking through even now. In the midst of this, we ask the Eternal One to shape our imaginations toward a world where peace pervades our communities, and pray that God would draw us into that reality, setting our feet on the way of peace
• Reflect on where you have found comfort over the past year. What moments brought a (positive) stillness to your life?
•Reflect on where you have noticed a lack of peace in your life, your neighbor’s lives, and your community in general. What is in need of repair?
• Invite the Spirit of God to shape your imagination toward the work of God in the world, wondering how you might join God’s work of reconciliation in the world. What does it mean to seek the Peace of God with the whole of your life?
May these reflections settle into a prayer this week—of gratitude for the peace you’ve found, of mourning for the peace found absent, and of anticipation for the peace yet to come. We light this flame to reveal the path for our feet on the way of peace.
[Light the Peace candle]
Hear now the oracle of comfort from Isaiah 40:
Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
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.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
A voice says, “Cry out!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.