One of the Advent candles that we light each year represents peace, usually lit on the second Sunday of Advent. The radical vision outlined in Isaiah chapter 2 looks forward to a day when people and nations will learn God’s way of peace and will take their weapons of war (swords and spears) and make them into implements for farming (ploughs and pruning shears). All people are encouraged to walk in the light of God’s ways. During Advent, we are also reminded that Jesus came as the Prince of Peace (one of the titles used to describe the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6) and that at his birth, the angels announced glory to God in heaven and peace on earth among those whom God favours (Luke 2:14).
But when we look at the world at the end of 2022, there are many places and many situations that lack peace. One of the most disturbing of these situations is the ongoing war in Ukraine that has displaced millions of people, killed thousands and made life miserable and dangerous for many. Yet equally disturbing is the famine in east Africa where millions of people face starvation and extreme hunger as winter rains fail again, made worse by the effects of climate change.
Closer to home, we are shocked by the latest Closing the Gap reports that highlight the desperation experience by many indigenous communities as children are (still!) being removed from families in large numbers and young people are locked up in prison. The hope of having an indigenous voice to Parliament enshrined in the Constitution is also under attack as a major political party (the Nationals) this week decided to oppose the proposed referendum.
In these and other situations it’s hard to see how peace can come, who will make it happen and how it can be sustained. It has always been thus through human history. Yet Advent also teaches us that nothing is impossible with God. Our role is to bring peace wherever we can but also to keep praying for peace and seeking God’s mercy and grace.