Advent: Peace and the Peacemaking Mission of Jesus
December 4, 2022Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Speaker: Jerry Cisar
What is peace? Often, we think of peace as the absence of certain things: war, conflict, hostility, bitterness, etc. Is that a good definition? Certainly, there is no peace in war, or in hearts filled with hostility or bitterness. However, if peace is merely the word for the vacuum created by removing other things, then peace is not really a thing at all.
Take light, for instance. Light is not the absence of darkness. Darkness is the absence of light. God created light. Light is the thing; darkness is not. Peace is what existed before war, conflict, hostility, or bitterness. Peace existed because God created it.
Peter describes the Gospel itself in reference to peace: “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news (gospel) of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all” (Acts 10:36). What is this announcement of peace and how does it relate to our calling as disciples?
Join us this second Sunday of Advent as we seek to understand peace, its significance to the Gospel itself, and our calling to be peacemakers in the message Peace and the Peacemaking Mission of Jesus.