’Tis the season for peace on Earth. We sing about it, hear scriptures prophesying it, listen to sermons expounding the urgent need for it. But is it possible?
One time, in the middle of a sermon, I asked, “Is peace on Earth possible?” A few seconds of silence lingered before an honest soul in the congregation said out loud, “I don’t think so. No.” Some nodded in agreement. Some looked at the floor. No one pushed back. That preaching moment always haunts me this time of year. It’s not because that response—that “no”—is disappointing, but because I wonder if I, in my heart of hearts, think the same thing: that peace on Earth is impossible.
Over time, what I’ve come to discover is that peace isn’t impossible; I’d just been looking at it from an impossible angle.
When we hear “let there be peace on Earth,” we might think of peace being accomplished on a grand scale from the top down, where the mighty powers of the world are miraculously enlightened like the Ebenezer Scrooge who awakens on Christmas morning, blessing everyone under the yoke of his authoritarianism with permission to say, “God bless us, every one.” That may work in A Christmas Carol, where one powerful man’s transformation trickles down to everyone beneath him. But in God’s world—our world—the transformation that makes peace possible begins with you and me. Real peace is only possible from the ground up.
The Christ child grows up and instructs his followers to go out and say to each household they encounter, “Peace to this house!” And then Jesus says, “If anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you” (Luke 10:5-6). In Names for the Messiah: An Advent Study, Walter Brueggemann writes, “Peace is a specific, personal, interpersonal transaction, so that the peace extended by the disciples is a people-to-people happening that lies beyond the conventions of imperial expectation.” The peace of Christ defies what we passively accept as normal, the patterns of this world that lead us to believe that peace on Earth is a humbug. If we can’t see peace demonstrated by the powers that control everything, we will never believe that it is possible. This is where the faith we practice comes in.
The peace of Christ is activated person by person, household by household, community by community. It’s not peace between nations from the top down. It’s not a forced disarmament left to those in positions of utmost worldly authority to enact as they see fit. Peace starts with us. Envisioning it begins with you and me. And the peace that we extend to one another—peace that forgives, seeks justice, practices humility, extends grace, prioritizes restoration and denounces retribution, and always loves; the peace of Christ that transcends all human understanding (Philippians 4:7)—that peace confounds indifferent perspectives molded by the authoritarianism of our world; perspectives like mine that are accustomed to looking at peace from an impossible angle.
Brueggemann writes, “Jesus’ mission from God is ‘peace’ that defies the way the world is organized. More than that, his disciples are sent by him to defy imperial notions of order for the sake of real peace.” Real peace is the shalom that we share with one another every time we say “peace be with you” in a worship service, and then offer one another handshakes, hugs, and intentional eye contact that acknowledges our powerful personhood. This is peace on Earth. It has the strength to transform God’s world one act of love at a time. It is mighty enough to resist, confound, and reshape the authoritative powers that be. And I believe that it’s entirely possible. The extent of its possibility is in our powerful hands.
Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with us. The peace of Christ be with you. Merry Christmas.
Comments