Daily Office readings: Amos 9:1-10, Revelation 2:8-17, Matthew 23:13-26.

This week we have examined the biblical notion of peace. We have also been talking about how to have peace with God and with others. Today I want to give you an example of how peace is lived; it is quite personal. I am sitting in a hospice room watching my father-in-law die. It is not a pretty sight. I am watching my beloved wife, her sister, and their mom grieve as they contemplate living life without their dad and husband of almost 59 years. I am struggling with my own emotions because this is playing out much like it did with my own mother a little over a year ago. Emotional wounds that were healing are being ripped back open.

But here is the strange thing. In the midst of all this, I have peace.

I am not a lunatic nor am I some sort of emotional masochist. I hate watching someone I love die slowly. I hate the grief that my loved ones and I feel. There is nothing good about the scene of which I am a part. No, I have God’s peace because I trust God’s promises and know that God delivers. I know that dad is not out of Jesus’ care, even as he is dying. I am thankful for a faith lived by my family, a faith that allowed my mother-in-law to discontinue treatment because her beloved husband has suffered enough and he is not going to get better. Consequently, she is willing to suffer the pain of separation that death produces to allow him to go and enjoy life in the direct Presence of the Source and Author of all life. That is faith lived to the max. All this has helped produce a peace that passes all understanding. I cannot explain it, but I claim it, I know it is real, and I am thankful for it.

If I can find peace in the midst of this extraordinarily stressful circumstance in my life (death is one of the highest stressors with which humans must deal), so can you as you prepare for Christmas during this Advent season. Take a minute and appreciate being in the company of your loved ones. Be thankful for their love, health, and presence. Revel in the good memories you have, Christmas and otherwise. Play some Christmas carols that you love and which remind you of God’s great gift to you in the Incarnation. Make some Christmas cookies with family or friends and revel in each other’s company. Consider helping a needy family this Christmas or do something else that will allow the peace of God to descend on you. Whatever you do, give thanks for the hope and promise that is ours as Christians, a hope and promise based on the unbelievable love of God for his broken and fallen creatures, a love that played out on the Cross. Reflect on the hope of the New Creation. Give thanks that God loves us so much he took on our flesh and entered human history to redeem us. As you do, you will likely start to claim God’s peace because you too will have made yourself ready to receive it. It is a wondrous gift, one of many our Lord is pleased to give us.

What about you? How have you experienced God’s peace in your life? What do you do to cultivate that peace so that it is an integral part of you?

This concludes my series of reflections on peace. There will be no reflection for Friday as I likely will have family commitments to which I must attend. Next week, starting on Monday, hopefully I will be able to resume this series, focusing on the Christian virtue of joy.