Polemic politics, nuclear testing, unjust imprisonments, genocide, misogyny, racism, deportations, suicides – all in our newspapers an on our televisions in the past couple of weeks.

I’m sure we could add more to the list. Pain. Violence. Anger. War. Aggression. Suffering.

And in the midst of it, we sing carols of peace, love and hope: “Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon’ virgin mother and child. Holy infant, so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.”

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of peace. Are we naïve? Are we, people of faith, followers of Jesus, foolish for talking about peace? Do we mean it, when we talk about peace? Is peace only something that happens “by and by” at some far off future time, out of our control, out of sight and out of mind? Sometimes, it seems like the news is always bad. Talking about peace seems like just that – talk. It feels ridiculous.

The gospel of Mark seems to agree. Last Sunday he welcomed us to Advent with doom and gloom and foreboding. Earlier in Mark, Jesus is telling the disciples about the kinds of things they might encounter as his followers. He says, “When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs. As for yourselves, beware; for they will hand you over to councils; and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them.”

In such a context, in those days, at that “kairos” time, God’s right time to act, Jesus will come again to earth. No one knows the day or hour, not the angels, not Jesus himself. Only God, creator of all that is knows. And what are we to do about this? “Keep alert,” Jesus says, “for you do not know when the time will come.” He compares the situation to slaves of a household needing to make sure that things are always ready for the master of the house who might arrive home at any time. You don’t want to be caught asleep, he says. He concludes: “And what I say I say to you all: Keep awake.” Well, that sounds exhausting, and a little frightening, and certainly not peaceful at all, does it?  

And yet, Jesus arrives into the world heralded by angels who are proclaiming peace on earth in the skies. Some of Jesus’ first words after the resurrection are words of peace to the disciples who have been fearfully hiding away. And when Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit that is our advocate and strength, Jesus says that he also leaves us with peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” We heard from the prophet Isaiah this morning about his vision of a messiah who brings about such radical change to the world that the wolf and the lamb become friends, and a child can play with a snake without fear. How do we reconcile these words of peace in our anxiety driven world? How do we talk about peace when we feel so afraid? How can we imagine peace in the world when it feels like there is danger all around us?

Some of my favourite books are The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. In the first book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the four main characters, siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy find themselves in the magical world of Narnia. They’re eating at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, and the beavers are telling them about their hope that Aslan will return soon. Aslan is the Christ-figure in the books. The children ask the beavers who Aslan is. The beavers answer, “Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.” “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

Peace and safety aren’t the same things, much as we’d like them to be. We’re not called to safety. We’re called to be disciples who walk in the ways of peace. Advent is the time when we’re meant to be prepared, awake, and alert, I think this is what it means to pursue peace, not as a passive state of mind that we can achieve when we hide ourselves away, or protect ourselves from all harm. I think being prepared, awake, and alert is what happens when we actively work to create a space for peace, when we cultivate peace, when we pursue peace with the ways we live in the world.

Cultivating peace is being always ready to receive the Christ, God-with-us into our hearts and our world, again and always again.

I read a survey this week asking for people to share their ideas about whether peace was possible and how we might actively cultivate peace and I thought I might share a few of them with you. Several folks commented on peace starting with our own hearts and spirits. One wrote, “All peace starts with inner peace. If you don’t have a peaceful heart you will only add to the chaos of the world even if you think you are out to do good.” Another said, “Peace is that quietness in your spirit when you know you are well with the Lord. Then you share it with everyone you meet.” “I believe that peace is possible to achieve. Things around us are going to happen, it’s all in how we choose to react that can create peace.” Another wrote, “I have always felt that we cannot have peace on earth until we have peace among nations; and we cannot have peace among nations until we have peace within the nations; we can’t have peace within our nations until we have peace amongst our people; we can’t have peace amongst our people until we have peace within our families; and we can’t have peace within our families until we have peace within our own hearts that only Jesus can bring.” 
Part of cultivating peace in the world is cultivating peace in our hearts. It can be tempting to do that by trying to tune the rest of the world out, shutting ourselves off from others.

When I was little, if I didn’t like something my mother was saying to me, I would cover my ears and say, “I can’t hear you!” Sometimes I think that’s our peace strategy! I don’t think that that’s the way of Jesus, though. He never tuned others out. Instead, he tuned in even more deeply, listening to others, hearing their pain and struggle, opening his heart, pouring himself out for others, looking and acting always with compassion.

Having the peace of Christ in our hearts means trying to make as much room in our hearts for Jesus to take up residence as we possibly can. We do that by a commitment to prayer, by studying God’s word, and by living by Jesus’ example as much as we can. 
Of course we must strive for peace in all things, but that striving must be accompanied with vigilant work toward justice and righteousness. As we heard in our reading from Isaiah in his beautiful vision of peace, the world he describes comes about because the messiah comes clothed in righteousness, seeking justice for the poor and equity for the meek. To cultivate peace, we have to work for righteousness, justice and peace for those who have had no such experience. To cultivate peace, we have to be ready to put ourselves on the line for others. What would you be willing to give so that others might experience abundant life? So that others know peace? 
  And so, I think Jesus’s words in the gospel of Mark aren’t a call to fear and anxiety, where our best course of action is to put our heads in the sand or lock ourselves away from it all. Jesus is calling us to be awake, be alert, be ready, because peace making is hard work, and we need as many labourers working for peace as we can get. This Advent, and always, let’s not wait for peace to drop into our laps. Instead, let’s grow peace: cultivating it, tending it, watering it, sharing it. How will you be a peacemaker?