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Advent Peace
April Kolman • Dec 09, 2023
April's Reflections on Peace
In 2021, we shared some reflections throughout Advent. We want to make these available on the blog and share them with you! We pray that you are blessed by them as you enter into the waiting of Advent.
I did a double take when I saw the young man’s t-shirt as he walked by me at the mall. Sure enough, that’s what his shirt said: Virginity is Cool.
I chuckled to myself as I walked past, thinking about the guts it took to wear a shirt like that in the 21st century and knowing I never would have worn that as a teenager. Of course, there’s always the chance he was wearing it ironically, but I chose to believe he was in earnest and setting an example for the people around him.
Of course in 2021, sex isn’t as culturally taboo a topic as it once was. Still, it’s not often you see a person wearing a sign advertising their level of sexual activity. Unless, of course, that person is pregnant. Then there’s no question.
In Mary’s first century Jewish community, a betrothed woman who turned up pregnant would be considered an adulteress, the consequence of which was death by stoning. Additionally, Mary and Joseph were oppressed members of the peasant class in a community fraught with nervous political tension, as were all Roman colonies of the day. So, I can imagine the fear she must have felt when she heard those words, “You will conceive and give birth to a son.” There she was, barely a teenager, betrothed to Joseph, in a place marked by political tension, and now she was to be inexplicably pregnant. She wouldn’t need to wear the t-shirt. Her burgeoning belly would soon give her away.
“Do not be afraid,” the angel had said. Yeah, right.
Contrary to what one might expect, Mary says to this angel, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” Mary responds with unswerving trust. She is full of faith, to be sure, but I also wonder if the Prince of Peace was already starting to do a work in her heart. Mary was invited to accept the gift of Jesus; in response, she offers herself as a dwelling space, invites Jesus to be born into the world through her, and she is graced with peace only Jesus can provide.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27
Mary is further encouraged when she visits Elizabeth. I imagine Mary was anxiously hopeful that Elizabeth would understand and believe her about this “virgin impregnation.” Not only does Elizabeth believe her, but unborn John, in all his fetal glory, is moved by the Holy Spirit to start doing womb-style acrobatics from within Elizabeth. Elizabeth calls Mary blessed, and Mary again shows herself to be a woman of faith, knowledgeable of the history of Israel and Scripture, through the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).
As Mary’s pregnancy progresses, we are given very little in the gospels about the details. What is notably absent, however, is any indication that Mary freaked out. This would have been understandable given her unconventional pregnancy, the inevitable stares and whispers she would garner, the political unrest, and the demand that she and Joseph travel to Bethlehem ridiculously close to her due date. Still, all records indicate that Mary’s peace held.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
The name Mary literally means “their rebellion.” How apropos. Everything about Mary’s pregnancy feels subversive. She’s a virgin. In a lowly place. Not rich. On paper, really not all that special. Yet, she was chosen. She gives birth to a son who will bring forth a kingdom, but not the politically powerful kind people are expecting. His will be an upside down kingdom of resistance and shalom. It makes sense that Mary would be full of peace in the face of trauma; what a fitting form of spiritual defiance.
For many of us right now, all is not calm and all is not bright. The end of 2021 finds us worn. COVID-19. Civil unrest. Racial injustice. Family drama. Broken friendships. Church hurt. Physical and mental health challenges. Loss. Grief. It doesn’t feel very shalom-y.
Shalom is the Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare, and tranquility. Osheta Moore defines it as “God’s dream for the world as it should be, nothing missing, nothing broken, everything made whole.” (1) And this is precisely what Jesus offered Mary and what he offers you and me.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Matthew 11:28-30 MSG
Not only does Jesus offer us personal peace through his unforced rhythms of grace, but he invites us into the holy work of bearing and restoring the image of God, of bringing perfect peace to our communities. What a rebellious act in this chaotic world. As we lean into the peace that surpasses all understanding, we can boldly embrace and help usher in a place of full shalom, what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called the Beloved Community: “But the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the beloved community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opposers into friends. It is this type of understanding goodwill that will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. It is this love which will bring about miracles in the hearts of men.” (2)
Pursuing shalom in the Beloved Community. Now that’s something I would wear on a t-shirt.
Resources & Inspiration
Some resources that you may find helpful as you pursue peace in this season...
- Reflect… How does your body feel when you’re at peace? How do you know you’re pursuing the lasting peace of Jesus and not the counterfeit peace the world offers?
- Ruthlessly eliminate hurry, ala the book by John Mark Comer: Turn off the news. Choose the longer line. Get in the correct lane early. Put away your phone. Remember, Jesus was busy, but he was never in a hurry.
- Practice silence. Set a timer for 5 minutes and just be still. Work up to longer amounts of time.
- Read and meditate on Colossians 3, paying particular attention to verse 12-14 wherein Paul tells us the attitudes we need to “put on” to be a people marked by peace.
A Prayer from St Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in the giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it in in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Footnotes
1. Osheta Moore, Dear White Peacemakers (Virginia:Herald Press, 2021), 30.
2. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Facing the Challenge of a New Age" (NAACP Emancipation Day Rally, Atlanta, Georgia, January 1, 1957).
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