Chapter I: Advent – The Candle of Preparation (Peace)

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

- Collect for the Second Week of Advent from the Book of Common Prayer

In our world so filled with political activism, court cases, and psychotherapy all designed to bring 'peace' and 'justice' to the world, we often lose sight of what Peace has traditionally meant to the Christian. For this reason, I have noted that the primary theme for this week's candle is Preparation with Peace in parentheses.

It is not in parentheses in order to demote it but in order that we may better understand it. Peace comes, not through the absence of conflict (whether among people or inwardly), but through Preparation for the coming of God.

Sometimes, this Preparation may cause profound turmoil, as it did with St. John the Baptist:

In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying,

     “The voice of one crying in the wilderness 

     Make ready the way of the Lord

     Make his paths straight"

Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. Then people from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them,

“You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! Don’t think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

“Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.” - Matthew 3:1-12 (WEB)

Pretty tough words for someone who was supposed to be ushering in the Jewish Kingdom of Peace and supposedly announcing the arrival of the One Who would fulfill this prophecy:

A shoot will come out of the stock of Jesse,
     and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit.
Yahweh’s Spirit will rest on him:
     the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
     the spirit of counsel and might,
     the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh.
His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh.
He will not judge by the sight of his eyes,
     neither decide by the hearing of his ears;
     but with righteousness he will judge the poor,
     and decide with equity for the humble of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
     and with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.
Righteousness will be the belt of his waist,
     and faithfulness the belt of his waist.
The wolf will live with the lamb,
     and the leopard will lie down with the young goat;
The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together;
     and a little child will lead them.
The cow and the bear will graze.
     Their young ones will lie down together.
     The lion will eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole,
     and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain;
     for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh,
     as the waters cover the sea.
          - Isaiah 11:10 (WEB)

As we continue in this Season of Preparation for the First Coming of our Saviour, we can join in with some of the longing of our Jewish forebears because the fact remains that He has not finished His work. His Kingdom has been corronated but not yet achieved.

As we light the second Candle of the Advent Wreath, we notice that the Candles of Preparation (Peace) and the Candle of Hope shine brightly, but they are still surrounded by the darkness. I love this picture because it illustrates almost a longing for the other two Candles, Joy and Love, to be lit so that the whole world may be filled with their brightness. 

The Candle or Peace reminds us, like the Candle of Hope, that we live in the Now and Not Yet of the Kingdom. It is here, and It will come. With this in mind, we prepare our hearts, not only to receive the Little Christ Child but also to receive the Prince of Peace who is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

Peace is not the absence of war or the absence of conflict with our neighbour or even the absence of inner-turmoil. Peace is the process of being prepared for the Kingdom. Incidentally, this is done primarily by God to us, not by ourselves. Peace can not be manipulated or ushered in when we want it; it must come only from God.

Today is also the commemoration of the Conception of Mary (that is, when she was conceived). All of Mary's life, all the way back to her conception, was in preparation for the Child she herself would bring into the world. Indeed, all of the History of Israel was for this purpose.

We also, from the moment of our conception and even beyond, have a role to play in God's Story. It is God's Story, not ours. And the faster we learn that this is about preparing ourselves so that He may prepare us, the faster we will glimpse the Peace over which only He reigns.

For further reading, the Readings for this Sunday from the Common Lectionary also include:

• Psalm 72:1-7 & 18-19
• Romans 15:4-13