We’re told that in this Second Week of Advent we are to think about peace, but how is it possible when every morning all we hear or read is about a war launched to destroy a nation and a people? As Putin constantly shells Kyiv in an attempt to freeze Ukrainians into submission, it’s not easy to think about peace
However, if we look back at our own history, Advent was not always peaceful as well. In the midst of our own fight for freedom and independence from the British, Patriot forces fight in the Advent season, many skirmishes and battles even before the Declaration of Independence was signed.
As Christians we are usually conflicted over issues of war and peace. What are our responsibilities to others? Although we may not be able to stop the wars created by tyrants and autocrats, one way of creating pockets of peace is to welcome the many refugees from war and to give safe harbor to those who flee from its violence.
Prayer for the Day
This morning we think about the victims of war and violence,
But we know we must do more than just consider their plight;
Hold us to our commitment to your Gospel, O Lord,
So we give refuge and peace to those fleeing violence.
Grant, O God, that we truly live the words on Lady Liberty,
And welcome the exile fleeing persecution to our shores.
In the name of the One who fled to Egypt,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home:
- Edward W. Said, Palestinian-American professor (1935-2003)
Pretend this is a time of miracles and we believe in them
- Edwige Danicat, Haitian-American writer
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,
To open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
From the prison those who sit in darkness.
Isaiah 42: 6-7