Henry David Thoreau famously observed, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Do we see this at some level every day? Do we feel it from time to time? Desperately seeking fulfillment, yet quietly going about one’s daily life. Keeping your head down, not rocking the boat, or making a fuss. It is a code of silence that has always plagued human hearts.   
 
Advent reminds us that we have a powerful peace in knowing Emmanuel, God is with us! Advent steers us toward our solemn responsibility to break this code of silence and any other codes that signal it is still "business as usual." No, God is doing a new thing in our midst, and we need to live that out in “Loud Exclamation!” Calling people’s attention to the mission of Christ - bringing eternal peace to his creation. Do you know this peace? Do you know only moments of quiet desperation? This Christ child, born into this world in the humble and desperate circumstance of an animal barn hears your quiet plea. He knows you and loves you and wants you to desire his ways for your life because they lead to the abundant life. That starts with the peace of the shared relationship with God.
 
Thoreau also wrote, “… if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” Imagine how much greater your “success” could be if we adapted this wisdom to include God – advancing in the direction of God’s dreams, living the life which God imagines for us, what might unexpected “success” might we find there? My prayer for you is that you might have a confident peace giving you the courage to live … truly live a life of loud exclamation!
 
“Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God!’”
Isaiah 35:4
​

​The scriptures are full of stories that that made visible, to sensitive observers, the miraculous power of God. Upending the natural order of this world producing decay and leading to death, miracles bring renewal and life. Advent is a time of miracles and during this sacred time we prepare to celebrate again the miracle by which all others are measured: the coming together of divine word and human flesh, the grandest elevation of the human condition imaginable! Perfecting it with possibility and connecting through it to each of us, Jesus of Nazareth is the complete disclosure of God’s heart.
 
For Christians, this is not hard to acknowledge the unique nature of these events in history. More difficult to grasp is that we are given the power to become miracles ourselves! To make visible, in the life of another, the healing power of God. That is the very definition of miracle. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are a people of miracles (bringing renewal and life)! Ponder what great good you can do today and resolve not to wait a moment longer to do it. 

​Everyone says they want “peace on earth.” But do they? Do we? I shudder as I ask myself, “Do I?” If I do, indeed want there to be peace in our world, then I need to start somewhere. I need to start with me.
 
In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven”.  We are called to create the peace we seek through praying for our enemies, loving even them! Not belittling them or continuing the cycle of hatred that inevitably leads to violence. In the opening of this “Sermon”, in the Beatitudes, Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.” That is the vocation of God’s children, to make peace. And we start by making peace within ourselves (often our greatest enemy).
 
Recently I came upon this powerfully moving poem by David Whyte, which I feel captures the challenge of beginning the peace making process within ourselves and gives a hopeful reminder that we can begin that work right now … where we are standing (or sitting) … this very moment. Within the ground we occupy. With the questions that inhabit our minds. In the voices we follow. Finding our voice singing in harmony with the Prince of Peace, so we can truly let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me!
 
START CLOSE IN - David Whyte

Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.

Start with
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way to begin
the conversation.

Start with your own
question,
give up on other
people’s questions,
don’t let them
smother something
simple.

To hear
another’s voice,
follow
your own voice,
wait until
that voice
becomes an
intimate
private ear
that can 
then
really listen
to another.

Start right now
take a small step
you can call your own
don’t follow
someone else’s
heroics, be humble
and focused,
start close in,
don’t mistake
that other
for your own.

Start close in,
don’t take
the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.

We say it every Sunday. I said it today many times during our "Passing of the Peace" portion of the worship service. The initial line is"Peace be with you.." The response is oftern, "and also with you.". If you are enterprising, you might say, "May the peace of Christ be with you ..." (I think you get my drift. Feel free to put your own spin of things!)

I enjoy this part of the becasue we get up and move around and make the effort to greet one another in a very intentional way. Sharing the peace of God. Does that mean we always feel at peace when we do it? No, although I will only speak for myself here. For me, it isn't about speading my peace, bu t that of Christ, the Prince of Peace.

This Sunday, we come to the second week of our Advent journey, waiting with grand expectations for the birth of Christ. This week, we light the Peace Candle. So, what is peace for us? Is peace the abscence of conflict and quiet moments in our busy lives that are seen as refuges? Is it "getting away for it all"? Is it "peace and quiet"? I would like to suggest that the Hebrew understanding of Shalom is most helpful in oour quest to live out the peace that Jesus lived out. Shalm is the peace that results from a right relationship with Yahweh. The confidence and security that we know that God is present with us through all the different times in our lives. 

Jesus' peace offered a challenge to the status quo and, as history constantly tells us, the status quo will always put up a fight to maintian it's power and privilege over us. Jesus audaciously offerred an alternative to the status quo of this world. He offers Himself. All of him. And is seeking all of us to respond with our whole being, belonging to God. A relationship. A Shalom that surpasses all our understanding. A deep and abiding peace resonating and growing. Remember john 15:5 - "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." My prayer, this week, for you is that this divine relationship impact everything you do in order that 'Peace be with you."

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love." - John 15:9

I recently saw a child's T-shirt that said, “Color My World with Hope” with all kinds of rainbows on it. In this Advent season, that got me wondering, what does hope look like? How do we comprehend it, notice it, color it?
 
For the prophet Isaiah, Hope looked like Yahweh. In Isaiah 2:1-4, I often like to focus on the image of “swords being beaten into plowshares” as a beautiful picture of serenity and peace. But what comes before that? In this passage God’s judgement precedes peace, not after. Isaiah’s vision is not about Zion subduing the surrounding peoples militarily, but on hailing the special nature of Zion precisely because that is where God resides, with God’s people. God’s presence is attractive and draws them there. It is God’s presence which forever changes hearts and history, bringing love, instruction, judgement, and peace. Hope looks like Yahweh.
 
Let us, this Advent Season as we prepare again for the coming of the Christ child, see again with new eyes what true Hope looks like. Let us not be drawn for what this baby can do for us in the future, but simply by who he is now. We, in turn will be changed. Our history taking a new path as we realize that Hope looks like God Incarnate. Can we color our world with that hopeful message?
 

(I’m a little late with this reflection, but I “hope” you can forgive!)
 
When I was a hospice chaplain I had the priviledge of ministering to many war veterans, I was once told a story about a ship that lay at anchor a few hundred yards offshore Okinawa in the East China Sea. The memory recounted the tropical sun glistening off her battered white superstruction. From her mast a large Red Cross flag waved in the wind. Printed on her bow in large black letters was the name: USS HOPE. It was a Navy Hospital ship, well remembered by many wounded combat veterans of World War II. This ship, unlike other Navy hospital ships, were intended for triage and evacuation. Transporting wounded soldiers after primary care had been given to other ships or bases.
 
The “Okinawa Operation” in particular was very dangerous arriving just after a bitterly contested battle for the island. Over the following month, the USS HOPE shuttled the wounded from the island to the relative safety of US installations in Saipan. Despite her clear markings and being unarmed, she was attacked many times. I was told of the screams of the wounded and the stoic suffering in silence aboard her decks. To all the wounded, the USS HOPE was more than a name, it was respite from the horrors of war, hope of relief from pain, the gift of healing given by dedicated nurses and doctors, the glimpse of their path home.
 
Hope is a word heard every day in normal conversation. We so often mistake it with having a wish. We hope to pass a test, get a new job, get a Black Friday deal on a television … but hope, real hope is so much more than wishing for something.

Advent is a time for Christians to reflect upon our true hope. Found in God’s presence with us, God’s Messiah, in Jesus Christ, Emmanuel. A real hope we can cling to when pain and difficulty come to each of us, where our agonizing screams and silent sufferings are heard. Where we are known and loved no matter what! A real hope that can empower and embolden us to live a life of sacrifice and service, knowing that this brings pleasure to God! It is my hope that in our Advent waiting, we might be the evidence of God's hope in the world for others.
 
“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” – Andy Dufresne, Shawshank Redemption