REFLECT
At first glance, being “surprised by peace” seems like an oxymoron. Surprise implies something that pops up unexpectedly, and our view of peace sometimes presents like an impossible goal that motivates (or discourages) us. It can feel like an elusive mist that too quickly evaporates no matter how hard we strive to hold onto it.
Frustrated parents mutter “If I could just get a little peace around here” and work so hard to organize children and sports schedules and meal times and upset stomachs to maybe, if they are lucky, achieve five min of peace.
The single person living alone laments “There is too much peace and quiet”, because the silence that once offered respite, now dissolves in an encroaching black shroud of loneliness that steals away peace.
Over-worked managers dream “If I could just solve these (many!) problems, then I could (maybe) have some peace on the weekend”.
Patients cry out for peace in their bodies, for the pain to stop.
Battle weary generals strategize, yet again, for another attempt, at winning an impossible war.
Life can feel like that battle field, as we fight hard for a peace that never comes, and casualties fall all around us, and sometimes the casualties are us.
Sure, we may know that the angels came to shepherds proclaiming “Peace on earth” at Jesus birth. We long to enter the idyllic peaceful scenes on Christmas cards, but anxiety creeps in because there seems to be no angels singing here in our private world of suffering ....
BUT ...
What if peace doesn't require all our (exhausted) actions? What if peace is actually a PERSON?
Hundreds of year before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah declared one of the names of Jesus to be “Prince of Peace” (Is 9:6). Jesus IS Peace.
The ancient word for “peace” was “shalom”, a Hebrew word so rich in meaning it takes many English words in an attempt to capture the nuance. Shalom encompasses concepts of wholeness, completeness, and restoration, not just for individuals but also for families and societies and cultures, and for the environment of the whole earth. Holistic healing in the full spectrum of physical, emotional, relational, spiritual.
Those angels so long ago weren't declaring that there was just one peaceful moment on earth, in a stable in Bethlehem so many years ago. They were announcing that SHALOM had arrived, that PEACE in the form of the PERSON of Jesus Christ was now here on earth!
He arrived on Earth in the form of a baby, grew up to demonstrate for us what it means to live a life of peace, and after His death and resurrection, offered His Presence, to be with us at all times, through the Holy Spirit.
If PEACE is the PERSON of Jesus Christ, then PEACE also PURSUES us with great love and intentionality, longing for relationship. Peace then is not about achieving, but rather accepting. Acceptance that begins by simply saying yes to Jesus. A yes to beginning a relationship with Peace. A yes to surrender our anxiety and our attempts to control the chaos of our lives. A yes that indicates that we want the Prince of PEACE to reign in our lives.
DISCUSS
Are you more likely to settle for anxiety as you try to control the chaos or substitute true PEACE with simply aiming for lack of conflict or an ease in your situation?
The definition of “self-consciousness” is “an undue awareness of oneself, one's appearance, one's actions”. In striving for peace, where does self-consciousness show up in your life?
PRACTICE
Listen | Jesus, what do you want to say about PEACE in my life?
Write down specifics - memories, words, phrases, lies, attitudes.
Ask | Jesus, awaken me to the ability to be surprised by PEACE.
Give Thanks | Read John 14:27 and Philippians 4:7. Use these verses for worshipping Jesus for being the full embodiment of PEACE.
RESPOND
This week, embrace PEACE by doing something to help your attention to focus on your relationship with peace when the chaos feels overwhelming. (eg a scripture verse, an object to hold, a painting to look at, a candle to light, a piece of jewelry, a word etc)
In my own life, this practice became a life line when serious illness stole away my ability to connect with God in any of my usual ways (eg reading scripture, reciting a memorized verse, listening to worship music, lighting a candle, being in Christian community, forming thoughts for prayer, writing in a journal, walking in nature, sitting in sunshine etc). While rocking in extreme pain, my cross necklace would gently bang on my chest, tapping out a cadence of “I am with you. I am with you. I am with you.” In the darkest moments of my life, when utter chaos reigned in my body, I was utterly surprised by the very real sensation of peace infusing my whole being. Truly the “peace of God transcends all understanding” (Phil 4:7).
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