THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT: PEACE

How quickly life can change.  One minute we have the hope for a better future and the next our future is not exactly what we had hoped for.

Mary had so many “hopes” as she prepared to become Joseph’s wife.  Her future was set and …

Mary’s day had been like every other day.  She had helped her mother cook.  She had checked her small stack of items she would move into Joseph’s house.  Her day had passed quickly and she was looking forward to a few minutes alone.  How precious a few quiet minutes were.  Taking a deep breath, Mary relaxed …..

An angel came to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

The angel continued, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.”

Joseph was, to say the least, shocked when he found out Mary was pregnant.  They had plans.  Yes, she was young, but he would be a kind and understanding husband, but to find out she was pregnant made him question their future.  Quickly, he decided he would quietly divorce her.  That would be the best for them.  Yes, a quiet divorce.

A dream and now it was clear.  He was no longer afraid to take Mary as his wife.  The angel had told him, “What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”  He found Mary and “took Mary home as his wife.  But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son.  And he gave him the name Jesus.”

PEACE

What picture comes to mind when you hear the word peace?  Do you see a world without wars?  A country which maintains public order?  A society which lacks hostility?  These would certainly be wonderful.  But – do you ever consider peace as a personal thing?

Peace can also have meaning to each of us, individually.  Peace can mean a state of quiet or tranquility without mental stress or anxiety.

On the All Time Short Stories website, there is a story titled The Real Meaning of Peace.  The story tells of a king looking for a picture of peace.  Wonderful calm paintings were presented, but the one he picked was a great surprise. 

The picture was of a ragged, bare mountain and angry weather.  It did not look peaceful, until you looked very closely. The story explained: “As the king inspected the picture, he could see a tiny bush growing in the cracks in the rock.  In the bush, a mother bird had built her nest.  In the midst of the rush of angry weather, the bird sat on her nest with peace.

The peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise or trouble.  Peace means to be in the midst of all the chaos and still be calm in the heart.  The real peace is the state of mind, not the state of the surroundings.”

PEACE

But how did Mary find peace.  God was asking much of her.  God asked her to change her life and all she had hoped for.  How was Joseph to find peace?  God was asking him to be a father to a child which would fulfill the words of a prophet.

We so often think of peace in global terms, but peace is also a personal thing.  How did Mary and Joseph find their personal peace?

The angel spoke to Mary and Mary answered: “I am the Lord’s servant.  May your word to me be fulfilled.”

The angel spoke to Joseph and “Joseph woke up and did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him …”

Mary and Joseph found peace by hearing and obeying God.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT:  JOY

Joseph and Mary have a journey ahead of them.  They must travel to Bethlehem, the town of David, because Caesar Augustus ordered a census be taken.  Will joy come at the end of this journey?