Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27
The theme for the fourth Sunday of Advent, this Sunday the 22nd is “Peace.” In our service on Sunday, we will light the fourth and final candle which is the candle of peace. Many see peace as being an absence of conflict. When nations are no longer warring, we say that we are at peace. The peace that is the peace of Christ is not the same. It is not the absence of conflict but attaining a state of being “whole.” The Hebrew word is Shalom. It is a greater peace than we can fathom here on earth. Or as Philippians 4:7 states, it is a peace that comes from God that, “surpasses all understanding.” This peace is a peace that is hard to describe, for it is way beyond anything that our human experience can fathom.
It seems that peace is something that is in short supply in our day and age. Something we desire so deeply, especially after this tumultuous year. Not only does it appear that peace is absent in our world today, but that even during the season of Advent we cannot seem to find peace. We have turned the Christmas season into a stressful time of the year. So, we are tired and exhausted. We need peace and we need it now.
Multiples times in Scripture, the name of Jesus is linked with peace. The words of Isaiah 9:7, which are well-known in this season of Advent, foretell the coming of the Messiah. He will be named, “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” In Luke 2, the angels came to the shepherds tending their flock by night to give them the good news of the birth of Jesus. They announce, ““Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
Right before Christ is taken up on the cross, he repeats the words from the Scripture above “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” As we focus this time of the year on the birth of the Christ child, we fast forward to the ending of Christ’s earthly journey to remember the reason he came to earth. And as he is leaving the earth, he gives to us, in a way, his last will and testament. He leaves someone for us, each of us. Something that will be meaningful and significant for us. Peace.
Think of all that he could have left for us as his final words on earth. But he willed to us “peace.” A lasting and enduring peace that can only come from God. Peace – something we spend so much of our earthly time, effort, and anxiety trying to find. And eventually we are disappointed and stressed all over again. Because it is a worldly peace that we are seeking. Which is short-lived. But Christ offers to us a peace that is lasting and fulfilling. The peace of Christ is truly what we are getting for Christmas. “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”