Advent Peace

Several months ago I received an email from my cousin Mary Ann, asking for prayers and political action. Her children were at risk in a region of Africa where violence and inter-tribal conflict were commonplace. As background, you might want to know that I have many cousins on my mother’s side who are missionaries, several of them in places like the Congo, Central African Republic (CAR), and Chad. And many of the people they are serving have recently come under threat of a rebel/terrorist group who call themselves the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

What kind of “lord” would resort to terror? I suppose a war lord. The LRA are led by Joseph Kony a self-styled “prophet” who sees himself as some sort of apocalyptic apostle of the wrath of god (I use lower case on purpose here), carrying out the necessary business of ridding the world of undesirables. A sad and even evil misreading of any scripture I know.

In any case, cousin Mary Ann was asking me to write to President Obama to encourage him to sign into legislation a bill which would place the U.S. in serious opposition to the LRA, including plans to defuse its power and influence. I was happy to do so and am equally happy to report that the legislation is now passed and the Obama administration has a strategy in place. Hopefully it will do some good. I do know that hostilities in the CAR have diminished and the threat to my cousins and the people they live among has been reduced.

All this makes me think about one of the themes of Advent – Peace. So many of the scriptures surrounding the anticipation of Christmas have to do with peace – angels sing of peace on earth, prophets expect a Prince of Peace, and the root of Jesse will reign over a peaceable kingdom.

Most of the time, I find Christians throwing up their hands in despair over the hope of peace among the nations, and then convincing themselves that perhaps the peace that Christ brings is only that sense of tranquility that is possible to the individual soul – “the peace that passes understanding.” And while I long for that peace of heart and mind within me, I am convinced that such a peace is not the only peace God has in mind. There are too many scriptures that point us toward a “healing of the nations,” or a “beating of swords into plowshares,” for us to so readily toss aside the Christmas promise of peace on earth.

I am convinced that one of our principle tasks as Christians is to be peacemakers. It is hard work. One of the repeated themes in apocalyptic literature (if I could only teach Joseph Kony), is not about lifting up swords to smite the enemy, but about patiently enduring hardship. Working for peace is a labor of patient endurance. And it does begin inside the human heart. I must be at peace with God and myself if I am to live in peace with my neighbor. Sometimes it is all the challenge we can handle just to live peaceably with our family, so obviously the task of living peaceably with people of different nationalities, languages, cultures, etc., is incredibly difficult.

Maybe, as some say, there will never be peace in the world until Christ comes again. However, that’s no excuse for us not to try. After all, Christ is already here isn’t he? Isn’t that what the resurrection-leading-to-Pentecost-Holy-Spirit-inspiration is all about?

As Paul says, “if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18).” So, yes, peace begins with me. But it doesn’t end there.