This week my family lit the final two advent candles at our church this week, and shared a few words about the gift of faith. Growing up in both charismatic and Southern Baptist churches (yes a strange combination indeed!) I don’t have much history with the traditions and worship devices like advent candles that help us celebrate significant Christian events.
Perhaps because of this lack of tradition as a child I find advent helps me prepare my heart and set my focus on the meaning of the holidays. As a family we read an advent book, and usually have an advent calendar (though not this year due to baby). We find that this helps our kids understand that Christmas is more than some presents.
What do you think of advent? Do you partake in advent? What traditions do you have in your family?
Here are the few words I shared on the gift of faith. We attend a family service which means the kids are in the service all or part of the time. We had our kids up front with us to light the candles, and they were squirming quite a bit because someone had put candy canes on the table which caused our two year old to jump out of his skin and profess loudly his love for all things stripped and sugary. We acquiesced, and it was a fitting life picture of the words God had put on my hear about the gift of peace. Perhaps these words will help you prepare your heart as well.
Initially when I was asked to light the candle for peace, I reflected on a car ride recently where my newborn was screaming his head off, my two year old was yelling about Christmas lights at the top of his lungs, my five year old was asking questions, while I was trying to have a conversation with my bride – all at the same time, and my mind whet immediately to “Away in a Manger” and the “no crying he makes part.” Sign me up for that – a baby who doesn’t cry. Let me tell you, I scoured the Bible for a reference for this and it’s not there, and then found Matt 10:34 where Jesus says he didn’t come to bring peace but to divide and force us to make choices, and it dawned on me that Mary probably had to suffer with the rest of us. So perhaps peace is about more than just toning down the chaos that is life.
As I began to reflect more on the gift of peace the Spirit brought several questions to my mind.
Who are we to be at peace with?
Mark 9:50 says that we are the salt, and should be at peace with one another. Peace is about injecting calm and reconciliation, wholeness, into our lives. We are to be at peace in our relationships. With our families. With our parents. With fellow Christians. With those we work with. Are we building towards wholeness? Are your relationships at peace?
We are also to be at peace with God. This is the essential gift of peace from Christ. That we may stop striving. At our core we are all looking for place, belonging. The greatest gift of peace is the one that Christ gave us by his life – reconciliation with God. We now have place
How do we receive the gift of peace? Am I at peace? Are you at peace today?
How can we be instruments of peace? How can I be an instrument of peace? How can you be an instrument of peace?
With the final candle we remember Christ as the centerpiece of it all. We light it to look back to his work on the cross, and light it to look forward to his return.
We talk a lot about reconciliation and peace, but what no one told me when I signed up is that the craziness and chaos of being a husband, a father, an employee and everything that that means- like changing diapers and scraping concrete oatmeal off the floor – that the craziness is life and that part stays, but in that we have peace. We can be reconciled to one another and to God if we accept His gift of peace. Let’s pray.
Lord Father, As we light this candle we prepare our hearts for your gift of peace. In the messiness of the real world of our life, help us to be at peace in our relationships, in the community and world you’ve placed us in, with ourselves, and most importantly with you. Bring reconciliation and wholeness to our lives.
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom: 15:13 ) Amen.
