Ephesians 2:12-18

Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.  ¹⁸ For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

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Life gets busy at Christmas time.  Family Christmas celebrations often mean more people under one roof, including people we may only see once a year.  Also, stores are filled with strangers and long checkout lines.  Is the hustle and bustle of a crowded house and long checkout lines your definition of peace?  Or is your idea of peace, getting far away from crowds?  Perhaps like sitting on the porch of a lakeside cabin, nestled in the woods, with a cup of coffee in hand just listening to the waves hitting the shore.  Escaping to such a place sounds almost perfect.  However, few if any of us can leave our work and those dependent on us to live in the woods.  Yet, you need peace that fits life here and now.  That kind of peace comes by rearranging our past.  But that past does not stay in the past.  Unfortunately, we cannot erase the dusty memory of the people, events, harsh words, and the tears that never fully went away.  Denying our dark past, fleeing the crowded present, seems like a great way to escape our stressful world.  But God stops us from going in either direction and brings us peace in the present. 

Christ Jesus is our peace in the here and now, not through our separation from the world, but in Himself.  In this world of hostility and tension, Christ brings us peace.  Christ is our peace by reconciling us to one another.  Our peace, the true peace we need, comes through the brokenness of Jesus at the moment of His death on the cross.  Our peace comes when we are completely forgiven for all our sins.  In His peace, Christ gathers us from far and near, regardless of who we are or what we have done.   We find peace in Jesus’ death and resurrection.  In His story, we do not merely come out better, in His story we are forgiven and at peace.

If it makes you feel better, you can dream of a perfect cabin by an always-calm lake.  But I am pretty sure that place only exists in our imagination.  And that is alright, because we do not need to escape to the tall and uncut.  We find our peace this Advent when Christ is with us with His words of power and calm.  In Him alone, there is forgiveness for the past and power over the chaos of today.

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