Money stresses me out.
It really does. No matter how much I
have, I feel like I do not have enough. I could be a millionaire and
I would still stress over money. Of course the stress may be a little
different but I do not find any peace when it comes to dealing with
money. I could take every Dave Ramsey “class” offered at a
variety of churches, buy every financial book available, and be the
best money manager in the world and money would still stress me out.
It is impossible for me to have any peace when it involves money.
I have been told that if you want peace
then you need to prepare for war; and of course, to an extent, it is
true. Peace cannot be achieved without engaging in some conflict.
Conflict though does not always have to be an extreme such as war.
But if you want peace you are going to have work for it and give up
something to achieve it. It is interesting that we light the candle
of peace today because Jesus himself said that he has not come to
bring peace but a sword; that sword, not meaning war, would be a
divider. He would divide friends, families, neighbors, and kingdoms;
yet, Paul tells us that Christ unifies us and that Christ is our
peace. So, is there peace with Christ? Is there peace in this coming
manger?
Yes, yes there is. The issue though is
that the peace of the kingdom of heaven comes at a cost. If we are to
prepare the way of the Lord and if we are to make his paths straight,
then we are going to have to give up something. We are going to have
give up our pride and sense of control and desire for power. The way
of the Lord is not these worldly things. The way of the Lord leads to
peace. The way of the Lord fills every valley, lowers every mountain
and hill, and straightens the crooked, and smooths the rough paths;
and the salvation of God is seen by all. The way of the Lord leads to
peace.
If we do not expect to find hope in a
manger then we also do not expect to find peace laying there beside
it. Our unexpected journey to the manger not only gives us hope but
it will bring us peace. The way of the Lord that John preaches is a
way of life. To prepare the Lord's way is to set our own paths
straight and to find peace in our own lives. What is it that steals
our peace away and replaces it with stress, anxiety, anger, or
frustration? What is it that seeps into our lives giving us restless
nights of sleep? The way of the Lord leads to peace if we are willing
to work for it; if we are willing to lay down our own arms at the
foot of the manger we could very well find the peace we are searching
for.
This past week has been a struggle for
me. There is so much angst in our world and society that results in
children being shot because they didn't turn their music down, or
they crossed the road at the wrong time, or they stay out late. It
seemed on every news page there was a link to a story about a murder
suicide, a fight between friends that escalated into shots being
fired, sports fans jumping and beating fans of other teams, and
babies being orphaned because of violence. I felt tired this week. I
began to long for a time when there would be no guns, knives, or
weapons of destruction of any kind. I longed for a time when no one
would die as a result of a violent death. I longed for a time of no
illnesses taking people's lives. I longed for a time when the wolf
and the lamb would lay down beside one another. I longed for the
peace Isaiah writes:
For I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice for ever
in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain,
or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—
and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
says the Lord. (Isaiah 65:17-25 NRSV)
I long for such peace. I long for such
a time. I long for such a time when we our Christianity is not judged
by where we eat or who we voted for or what we drive but how we love.
I long for such a time on the holy mountain. I long for our
unexpected journey to the manger to lead us to the still waters and
lay down beside the Christ child and forever be at peace. I long to
prepare the way of the Lord so that everyone's mountains and hills
will be lowered, their valley filled, their rough and crooked paths
made straight and smooth. I long for such a day and as I gaze up on
the manger and the expectant child, I find myself filled with hope
and with peace.
Yes, I believe a day is coming when
there will be no more tears, sorrow, war, or famine. I believe that
day is being ushered in before our very eyes. I believe such peace is
found in the unexpected manger. So I wait patiently for his arrival.
Until then, until that day comes, let us work together to lay down
our weapons of violence and hate; our arms of pride, prejudice, and
envy; our destructive choices that lead us to death and chaos. Though
it will take some work, we can help bring forth the peace of the
kingdom of heaven, if we try; if we start with our lives and if we
choose to work with God, the peace in the manger does not have to be
a far off reality. The peace of the manger can be in the right here
and the right now because God is doing something amazing in the most
unexpected of places and we are being called to join with him as he
brings forth the kingdom of heaven.
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