John - Bringer of Peace: The 2nd Sunday of Advent

It's the running trope of Miss America pageants and politicians: everyone wants world peace. At least, everyone says they want world peace. The state of the world might suggest otherwise. A Sanskrit word for “war,” gravisti, is difficult to translate literally into Western languages. One linguist might translate “disagreement,” while another might (equally , correctly) translate “a desire for more cows.” Indeed, it seems that world peace is a sought-after goal until one party wants more cows and the other party disagrees – or, to put it in more contemporary terms, until one party wants to steal another party’s oil. 

The business of peace is not some vague or enigmatic undertaking! Rather, the pursuit of peace demands clear, evident, and unmistakable movement. It challenges the pursuer to ask what they are willing to do, to put aside, and to sacrifice to be peacemakers.

John the Baptist, appearing in the wilderness of Judea, did not initially seem interested in peace as he challenged the Pharisees and Sadducees. However, John must have had a compelling message as he drew crowds to himself from all parts of Judah and Jerusalem. He was able to bring people together and apparently attracted a diverse range of individuals: young and old, rich and poor, and both conservatives and progressives. In attracting both Pharisees and Sadducees, John appealed to people from across the religious spectrum, those considered most tradition-bound as well as those pushing the boundaries of faithful practice. 

What did John offer that appealed to such a wide range of people? What was it about this cranky prophet in the wilderness of Judea that led Matthew to make the remarkable claim that he was the voice prophesied by Isaiah five hundred years earlier when Isaiah said,

"A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

Why did crowds flock to this man who preached a message of tough love? What motivated people to enter the Jordan River for baptism because John proclaimed that “the kingdom of heaven has come near”?

When the evangelist places the phrase, “The kingdom of heaven,” on John’s lips, it was a coded expression. Matthew’s version of John would not casually use the name of the LORD, and so Matthew had John use an idiom. It is certain, however, that when John said “kingdom of heaven,” John was indicating “the kingdom of God.” For John, the kingdom of God was breaking into the world. Something – nay, someone extraordinary was coming. John might not yet have known exactly who or what that was, but he knew that something amazing (extraordinary, divine, supra-spiritual) was on the way. God’s presence was being made manifest among the people in a wholly new way. For John, the best possible way to be ready for this presence was to throw off the old self, to be done with the sin and failure of the past, and to repent. John invites everyone to a clean slate. John’s message was a message of peace after all – inner peace, peace with one’s self, peace with God.

I really do believe that people want peace. Yes, peace can be hard – Peace looks different to the variety of people – One person’s peace might seem incompatible with another’s. Still, peace is what we want. Peace (I think) is ultimately what brought the Pharisees and Sadducees to hear John, elbowing each other to get a better place in line. Peace is what appeals – the chance to know that we are at one with God, with no barriers or limitations standing between God and us. Indeed, there is nothing “in all  creation (that) will be able to separate us from the love of God.”

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

It’s the second Sunday in Advent. But, like every year, we know that the world is already celebrating Christmas. Everyone’s lights are going up, the carols have been playing since mid-November, and advertisers are revealing the perfect gift. The celebration is all around us. We should not begrudge the celebration, the world is seeking something – and hopefully they will find it on Christmas Day. 

One of the things that appeals during the Christmas season is the promise of the perfect Christmas celebration. It represents a fresh start of sorts, a day when old hurts (or perhaps recent ones) are healed. A day when we can come together with loved ones in perfect harmony and peace. We do all sorts of things to create perfection: we cook and clean, we bake and decorate, and we buy and buy and buy. While we have convinced ourselves that our love corresponds to the amount of work we have done or the dollars we have spent, we come to the day itself – the day of incarnation, the day when God breaks into the world of God’s creating, the day of God’s greatest sign of love – we come exhausted and numb. The only peace we can imagine is a nap.

I think John the Baptizer might have some encouragement for us. “Repent,” John says. It’s a good time to remember that repentance isn’t about shame, guilt, or hating ourselves for what we have done. We aren’t “the worst.” “To repent” comes from the Greek word “metanoia,” which means “to turn around.” So, that is it! Just “turn around.” Belay your course. If you don’t like where you’re going, try going somewhere else. If you don’t feel that what you are doing is bringing peace, turn around and try something new. “Bear fruits worthy of repentance.” Do you want peace? Go ahead and create it.

Admittedly, this is always easy. We all have life experiences – painful memories, losses, suffering, and grief. For some, life has greater risks than for others: For someone hungry, “peace” might not be the first concern. Bread is! For the victim of bigotry, “peace” takes a back seat to “safety” or “survival.” We cannot “treat the wounds of God’s people carelessly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14).

What, then, do we do? There is a saying: 

“If you want peace for an hour, take a nap. If you want peace for a day, go fishing. If you want peace for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want peace for a lifetime, help somebody.”

Peace, when sought for its own sake, is elusive; but, when we seek to be peacemakers for others, it comes back a hundredfold. “It is in giving that we receive.” The best way to discover peace for ourselves is to seek to create peace in our family and in our workplace, and among the poor, struggling, and oppressed. John the Baptist challenges us to prepare for the arrival of Christ by bearing fruit worthy of repentance, and so we end where we began. What do we want more than anything in the world? What would we prioritize above all other things, if we had the power to bring it about? 

We will find peace—even peace within and for ourselves—by simply turning around, and pursuing it with all our hearts for one another. Thanks be to God. Amen.