Advent 2 Good Hope for Peace on Earth

Today, we light the candle of Peace. There is considerable comfort and peace, in the assurance that all of us “share in the grace of God” together. Blessed voice in the midst of a hard place.  

That Advent Reflection from the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine, marked the lighting of the Candle for Peace on the Second Sunday in Advent.  This is indeed a hard place that we find ourselves in a world that seems to be anything but peaceful.  Reflecting on this brought to my mind the beautiful carol Christmas Bells which is based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and was written during the American Civil War.  As a reminder, the carol begins (please exclude the masculine language):

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet their songs repeat
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

The verse that came to my mind was actually a middle verse:

And in despair I bowed my head
"There is no peace on Earth, " I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

That seems to me exactly what I was thinking when I thought about the birth of the Prince of Peace which we are preparing for this Advent.  Admittedly, there is peace on earth but it seems to be receding into the distance and becoming a goal which is less achievable these days.  Admittedly, there have been other times in the world in the not too distant past that peace seemed to be even a most distant hope.  When I look around, I see divisions growing deeper and wider and the chasms that divide us seeming to become insurmountable.  It has been two thousand years since the Prince of Peace was born in Bethlehem so why has not peace taken a stronger foothold in the world and in the hearts of men and women? 

How then do we, who follow the Prince of Peace, respond to this?  Last week I wrote about the lighting of the candle for Hope.  There is still hope for peace within us and in the world.  However, that hope needs to be based on concrete action and not just wishful thinking.  If we are to hope for peace, we must each seek the peace of God which passes all understanding by seeking peace within ourselves and with each other.  A commentator on cable news in the United States speaks of “good trouble.”  It is the kind of trouble which seeks to disrupt and change the unjust systems in the world – that is good hope.  For this to be good hope and good peace, it cannot be accomplished through violence.  That is the message of the Prince of Peace.  Jesus taught that you are not to return violence with violence – you are to turn the other cheek – you must love your neighbour even if he or she is the despised Samaritan. as difficult and seemingly unnatural that is.  There is a turn towards good hope in the carol a few verses later:

Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep
(Peace on Earth)
(Peace on Earth)
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, good will to men

That is the good hope for each of us and for the world – wrong shall fail and right will prevail - we need to work for peace through good hope and good trouble.  The carol Christmas Bells is a carol for our time and for our world today so if you have the opportunity join in and raise you voice and sing.  Here is a link to it on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOGz9WqNQoI. 

May we all be blessed with good hope for peace on earth on our journey.