One of the realities of
peace is that this word has an inner and external
dimension and dynamic. We search for
peace in our hearts, homes, and for the sake of the whole world. Peace is at once both inner, intimate and
beyond any human boundaries. I sense a
universality in peace, that we are all searching for and might even unify us in
our diversity. We heard this in John
Wesley Works, Jr. verse of Go Tell it on the Mountain on Sunday. Yet, peace can also be elusive. Peace isn’t something we can control or
concoct in the kitchens of our souls on our own. Peace is a gift. Peace can surprise us. We don’t always know from whence peace came
or to where it is going. We pray for
peace. We practice prayer postures to
help us open/enter in a peaceful place.
We search for ways to encounter an embrace that accepts and affirms us
for who we are. Sometimes even when we
do everything we can think of to create peace, we still don’t feel like we have
established a permanent residence there.
Often for me it feels like peace is renting space within me or around me
and may move on without any notice.
One of the most powerful
prayer practices I know is slowly speaking the words of the Advent hymn, “O
Come, O Come Emmanuel.” If you have a
hymnal, you can read from that. If not,
here are four verses we sang two Sundays ago:
O come, O come Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Child of God
appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, O Wisdom from on high, and order all things far and
nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show, and help us in her way to
go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel!
O Come, O Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by your
advent here;
Love stir within the womb of night, and death’s own shadows
put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, Desire of Nations, bid all peoples in heart and
mind;
Make envy, strife, and quarrels cease; fill the whole world
with heaven’s peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel!
For today, read and
re-read these words. Read a
verse and see what is evoked within you.
Read a verse and see what questions you have about the words. What do you pray you might find on the way to
the Bethlehem this year? What signs are
you searching for? Perhaps you need a
glimmer or glimpse of peace; hope; joy; and love in tactile, tangible
ways. Perhaps you need to laugh. Perhaps you need friendship, connection, and
community. Perhaps you need
understanding. Perhaps you need to
process the pain, let your hurts be heard, to name and notice the wounds and
wants of life. Perhaps you long to let
that fourth and final verse above actually be encountered and experienced.
What does this Advent
Hymn awaken within you on this December day?
Feel free to post your reactions and responses in the comment
section. And may the peace that
surpasses all understand and explanation, but is experienced/encountered in our
life embrace you this day. Amen.
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