Daily Advent devotions, week 2: Peace

We are called to plant the seeds of peace in our hearts, our communities and our world. Then we ask God to nurture them and bring forth good fruit.

Day 8

Malachi 3:1-4: See I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight – indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will set as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

Being refined is not an easy process. Materials like silver are heated up and beat with a hammer to remove impurities. Some of us go through experiences where we feel like we are being beaten up or beaten down, where nothing is easy, and we are changed, or “cleansed.” 

When I think of a cleanse, I think of a dietary cleanse, like a juice cleanse, or some other elimination diet, where we rid our bodies of what could be causing inflammation, or to provide a reset, or to prepare for a medical procedure. A dietary cleanse is not an enjoyable experience, and yet sometimes the results are worth it. Submitting to God’s refining fire, to let go of habits that may be detrimental, beliefs that may be holding us back, or addictions that enslave us, is probably not going to be an enjoyable experience either. However, we will hopefully learn and grow during the process. 

Read “The Refiner’s Fire” by the Rev. Arthur F. Ingler.

Pray: Cleanse me, O Great Refiner, that I may be pure of heart.

Day 9

Luke 1:67-79: Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

“Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

The Song of Zechariah is called “The Benedictus” because in Latin it means blessed, and the song begins “Blessed be the Lord God.” The Angel Gabriel visits the priest Zechariah to tell him about his son, who will be John the Baptist. Because Zechariah questions how it could be, given his and Elizabeth’s age, the angel makes him mute. When John is circumcised and Elizabeth names him John, Zechariah concurs by writing on a tablet. Immediately, his voice is restored, and he gives these words of praise, thanksgiving, and prophecy.

Have you ever lost your voice? Either due to a physical ailment like a cold or laryngitis? Or maybe you lost your voice due to oppression. Maybe you were silenced because of a “non-disclosure agreement.” When your voice was restored, did you immediately praise God and give thanks? 

I have rarely physically lost my voice, but I have felt silenced, and turned to God for help. I hope that when voices are restored, they are used to praise God and give thanks. It would be tempting to use restored voices to “set the record straight” or condemn those who silenced us instead. 

Peace comes from knowing that you are doing what God has called you to do. Being who God has called you to be, despite what is going on around you. You may feel wronged, but with God’s help you can focus on what is right and good and not on all the hurt.

Listen to “Bendictus” by The Priests.

Pray: Let me be a voice for the voiceless.

Day 10

Philippians 4:4-7: Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Rejoice! Christmas, Easter and Pentecost are the times we focus on rejoicing as a people of faith.  However, this text reminds us to rejoice always. When we place our hope in God, we will receive the peace of God that passes all understanding. 

If worrying were an Olympic sport, I would be a gold medalist. Give me a topic, and I can spend days worrying. It is not my best quality. My primary spiritual gift is intercessory prayer. Give me a topic, and I can spend days praying about it. These two contradictory parts of me actually work well together. I turn my worries into my prayers. Every time I don’t let go and give my worries to God and find myself ruminating on my worries, I go back to prayer. Thankfully, God is always ready and available to listen.

Rejoicing is easier for me when I know I have spent time with God in prayer, in quiet and stillness.  Reading Scripture and other’s writings on faith, and journaling, have the same effect for me. I long for peace, and I know that for me, it only comes from God. That peace enables me to rejoice wholeheartedly, knowing that God is the same yesterday and today, and will be tomorrow.  

Listen to “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” by Frank Sinatra.

Pray: Unchanging God, give me a joyful mouth to sing your praise.

Day 11

Isaiah 40:3-5: A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all the people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

In college, I was a member of the choir for three years. We had the opportunity to sing beautiful pieces. I can’t read this passage without breaking into song, at least in my head. 

To me, this passage is hopeful. Sometimes during the valleys of life, I long for a mountaintop experience, but I know how briefly they last, and I’m right back low in the valley. The path I walk is often uneven and it is hard to get my footing. I know with God’s help I will get back on track. 

When I read this passage, I think of justice. Not all of our paths are the same. Some are rockier than others, some are more uneven, while others are paved and flat. It is not fair, and those of us who have privilege have the opportunity and responsibility to help others’ paths become less treacherous. Whether that be through donating, volunteering, building relationships, or working through government to make changes, we can work towards equity and justice. It is not easy, and we may have to leave our paved path in order to help others.   

Listen to “Ev’ry Valley Shall Be Exalted” from Handel’s Messiah, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. 

Pray: God of justice, give me strength to work for equity and justice.

Day 12

Isaiah 11:1-10: A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 

The Peaceable Kingdom is often depicted in art. Setting aside their instincts, animals rest calmly together. I wonder how that translates to humanity. Setting aside our greed? The millionaire sitting with someone who is homeless? The legislator who wants to build a wall instead eating with an immigrant? We tend to surround ourselves with people like us. Whether it be racially, socio-economically, politically and even spiritually. Social media algorithms can create echo chambers, where we only see content that will go along with what we “like” or “share” or post about. Unless we have a diverse group of “friends” on social media, we can get confirmation bias that everyone thinks like we do, and our opinions reinforced. 

The Peaceable Kingdom is the opposite. It is being able to be with someone different; we can have peaceful conversations where we actually hear each other. We can disagree in love. We can stop “othering” and living out of fear and reacting rather than responding in love and care. It is not easy to override our human need to be comforted by being around only those like us, but God calls us to risk discomfort and see God in other humans and in all creation. 

Check out these different depictions of The Peaceable Kingdom.

Listen to “Nothing But a Child” by Kathy Mattea, one of my favorite Christmas songs.

Pray: God of the wolf and the lamb, give me courage to seek relationships with those who are different from me.

Day 13

Philippians 4:8-9: Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

I am now nine years cancer free. The day of my diagnosis, I went from having my first mammogram to a biopsy. As I was lying on the table, the doctor and I chatted while we were waiting to see if the sample was “good enough.” I said, “calcifications mean no cancer, right?” He shook his head, “No.  You’ll very likely get a call tomorrow confirming that you have cancer.” I smiled at him.

That smile haunts me. Why did I feel the need to smile and make him feel like the news he gave me was ok? I think about my reaction all the time. I know why I smiled, thanks to therapy, and it still bothers me. 

However, what doesn’t bother me is the peace that I had that day. I felt like I was in the eye of a hurricane. I couldn’t see anything except what was right around me. I knew that it was going to be challenging. It was the day my world changed, but it is not a day that I hate remembering or talking about. It is very vivid in my mind, as is the peace that surrounded me that day, and throughout the entire treatment. 

The peace God gave me allowed me to continue life with hope. I could be honest about what was happening, and also know that I would get through it all. I don’t want to sugarcoat the months that followed, they were tough physically, mentally, and emotionally. Spiritually, however, I was at peace. 

Peace does not always mean that you are not in the storm. When I think of the first Christmas, I think about how it was not perfect. I doubt Mary felt good riding a donkey in her last few days of pregnancy.  I am not sure giving birth in a stable, as a young girl without her mother or aunts or support system was a fun experience. I expect she was scared, but I hope she had God’s peace in the midst of it all.

Listen to "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" by Casting Crowns.

Pray: God of Peace, thank you for being with me.

Day 14  

Isaiah 9:6-7: For a child has been born for us, a son given to us: authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.  

The prophet Isaiah promises a child that will be born to us who will be the Prince of Peace. As Christians, we believe Jesus is the child. These verses describe an earthly authority. I am thankful that Jesus is an eternal authority. No matter what is happening in the world, Jesus is still the Prince of Peace. Natural disasters are destructive, human beings are violent and much of the world seems chaotic. No matter if our political party is in charge or not, or wars rage, we know that no earthly leaders have ultimate control. God does. We put our faith, our hope and our trust in God. We ask God for help to find the peace in the midst of the chaos. We pray for the Prince of Peace to reign in our hearts. We ask God to help us be peacemakers. 

Listen to “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy” by Bing Crosby and David Bowie. 

Pray the Franciscan blessing:

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.

Reprinted from the Rev. McDonald’s blog: redheadedrev.org

All Scripture is from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

The Rev. Tiffany McDonald is an Ordained Elder in The United Methodist Church serving in the Minnesota Annual Conference. She has served as a University Chaplain, solo pastor and associate pastor, and is currently appointed to family leave. Tiffany lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota, with her husband and two daughters. 

This page was published on November 20, 2024. The contact is Laura Buchanan.