December 7th to 13th

Second Week of Advent

Peace and Reconciliation

 

Reading: Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV)

 

6 For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given,

    and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

    Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7  Of the greatness of his government and peace

    there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

    and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

    with justice and righteousness

    from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty

    will accomplish this.

 

In verse 6 we are start by looking at the child Jesus, but we see a glimpse of the King when in the same verse He is called the Prince of Peace. Having Jesus in our lives means that He can give us Peace in our hearts with a few spoken words, even when the external turmoil threatens to overwhelm us (see Matthew 8:23-27 where Jesus calms the storm).

 

But what does Peace actually mean? It is more than simply the absence of conflict; we pray that the war in Ukraine will give way to peace. Certainly a Ceasefire is a first step, but a lasting peace has to be worked on, negotiated, agreed and documented, then implemented and monitored. The Peace which Jesus brings is so much more. It is peace in our hearts, wholeness, calmness, optimism for the future; it is all that is embodied in the Hebrew word Shalom. This can simply mean “Hello” or “Goodbye”, but it also carries all of the deeper meanings above.

 

Depending on the circumstances the Peace of Jesus can also be instant. To take a personal example, when I was diagnosed with kidney cancer a few years ago (I already had prostate cancer).  My wife and I were sitting in the Consultant’s office receiving this news, I turned round to her and said, “Oh well, we’d better get the Prayer Team moving again”, and I instantly felt at peace about it. I knew that it was in no way trivial, but that God was in charge and so all would be well.  In fact I later had the offending kidney surgically removed and 2 years later there is no sign of recurrence.  Another factor is that my cancers have given me many opportunities to witness to medical staff about my faith – see Romans 8:28.

 

Lord Jesus, come and reign in our hearts we pray; give us that inner Peace that comes from knowing you and accepting all that you have for each one of us. We ask this in your Precious Name. Amen.

 

 

Peter Sebborn

Christian.Footsoldier@gmail.com