Luke 1:68-79 & 3:1-5
We are in the new season of Advent when our focus is on waiting for something important to happen. Sometimes in this season we lose the sense of anticipation because we’re so busy making things happen – shopping, decorating, baking, partying. It’s good for us to pause a moment and remember that we are expecting something to change – some improvement which Advent promises is just around the corner.
Luke locates our scripture today in a very specific time and place by listing off all the people who are in charge of the world – the rulers and the priest who have control over how the system works, or doesn’t work, for everyone. In spite of, or maybe because of, these people this is a time of great fear and violence. Roman soldiers patrol cities and towns and keep order by randomly harming people. A population that’s afraid may be more easily controlled. They will obey oppressive laws and taxes because they fear the consequences of disobedience. If innocent people can be punished, guilty folk are in even more danger. It wasn’t a good time to be alive.
Into this troubled time comes the prophet John, whom we know as the baptizer. He quotes the Jewish prophets who promise peace and well-being to the people. He is an unknown person, living in poverty, who stands in stark contrast to the people of power. He preaches peace, not by calling for political revolution but by asking people to change the way they each live their own lives. Both John and Jesus asked for this change in lifestyle. Rather than attacking Rome from the top down, they advocated for reform from the bottom up – change the way you think and live and the world around you will change in response. This change begins by not being afraid.
Throughout its existence the Christian tradition has stood for peace – and in over 2000 years has more often created violence than ended it. Common wisdom is that peace is a nice idea and not actually possible. That human beings cannot live without the kind of competition which leads to warfare. That seems to be true. It’s also true that the folks who make decisions have rarely if ever actually tried to be peacemakers. It seems to me that we shouldn’t give up on the idea until we actually try to implement it.
You’ve heard me say before that I used to suggest that no nation be allowed to go to war unless the actual battles would be fought by rich white men. It’s the people in power who choose conflict but they aren’t the ones who suffer the gravest consequences. In our nation, and in many nations, the soldiers on the ground are disproportionately men and women raised in poverty, who enter the military because they can’t afford to go to school or enter other careers. This became clearer to me when I met my son-in-law who is a man of great skill and commitment and serves our country well through the National Guard. We can be so proud of those who serve us. At the same time we can acknowledge that in our nation those who are poor make greater sacrifices in times of war than those who are in power. When conflict was forced on us by the decisions of other nations, we have responded. It’s possible to honor those who have fought in our wars and at the same time work so that the next war doesn’t happen.
I’ve come to say that rather than being fought by powerful men, all war should be fought by grandmothers and their only weapons should be pictures of their grandchildren. They would harm many fewer people, destroy much less property and be highly motivated to reach nonviolent solutions. It seems new to me to hear folks talking now about how the United States can impact the world more through diplomacy than through military action. Our armed forces can use their power to create incentive for conversation rather than to attack. They can use their skill to make life better in places prone to despair and then to conflict and so avoid the need for combat. It seems like progress to hear people openly talking about new ways of relating to other nations.
In our support of peacemaking as an endeavor of faith and the faithful, we don’t want to lose sight of John and Jesus suggesting that we begin to make peace by being at peace in our own lives. We can learn to live at lower levels of anxiety and greater openness to others. We can teach ourselves to be slower to take offense and quick to collaborate for the common good. Even in violent times, we can be centers of peace that infect the world around us. Consider if inner peace was as contagious as Covid 19, how quickly the world might change, how we could come together.
Some years ago someone gave me a list of the Symptoms of Inner Peace. I’ve printed that for you and will enclose it when we mail the sermons and post it to our facebook page. I keep them on my refrigerator so that I can read them from time to time. In this busy time of year, we could still make a beginning at being a more peaceful people.
This Advent we’re also encouraged by the ELCA Hunger Action team to be intentional about standing with those whose needs are greater than our own and who would benefit most from changes in our world. Today we remember those who are without adequate shelter. We read of Hala, a Sudanese mother of four who is a refugee in Cairo, Egypt. Her husband died early in the Covid pandemic and from a Lutheran organization she received a grant which kept her family from being evicted. She then was helped with training so that she could get a job and provide both food and shelter for her children.
In our own community both Northlands Rescue Mission and LaGrave on First meet the needs of people without shelter, each connecting with different parts of that population. In addition, Homeless Helpers and others meet the needs of those waiting to qualify for services or those who fall through the cracks of the current system. We’ve been a part of helping in all those ways.
It’s almost impossible to be at peace and to live without anxiety if you don’t know where you will sleep at night or if you will be warm enough during winter days to be safe. When we first started cooking at LaGrave, there were frequently arguments and altercations among residents who had lived on edge for so long. Now the stress level is visibly lower as people have learned to trust that they will have a warm place to live. There are rarely arguments and people are clearly in a much better place.
Jesus told us that we can’t just wish for people to be at peace, “go in peace, be warmed and fed,” unless we’re willing to make that peace possible. So we do. We help people stay in their apartments and we make sure they have good food to eat. We are waiting for peace to come to our world. In the meantime, we’re creating a little peace along the way.
Symptoms of Inner Peace
A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences
An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment
A loss of interest in judging other people
A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others
A loss of interest in conflict
A loss of the ability to worry
Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation
Contented feelings of connectedness with others and with nature
Frequent attacks of smiling
An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen
An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it