Week 3, Day 6: Peace

Last night, while trying to unwind after a busy day, I caught about 20 minutes of a Saturday Night Live Christmas special on TV. The skits were as boisterous and profane as usual, and also, if I'm completely honest, sort of funny.

One skit showed a family sitting down to Christmas dinner, and with every sound out of one of their mouths, the whole table would erupt into arguing and bickering. There were obviously old conflicts brewing, and any little reminder stirred them all up.

Then, in a few seconds of calm after one of their more bitter fights, one of the men got up and began singing "Silent Night." One by one, the other family members joined him, adding harmony and background singing. By the end of the song, they had arms around each other and were swaying to the music as one.

But true to form, as soon as they finished the carol, the man who had began the song said, "I wanted to do that as a solo!" and the contention started all over again.

It really was a clever spoof on the kind of holiday truce many of us make in our otherwise un-peaceful lives. Throughout the year we find ourselves angry and bitter in many of our relationships, but it seems "unseemly" at Christmas. 

And yet, we spend more time with our friends and family in Christmas parties and gatherings, and the stress of over-spending and holiday traffic and too much to do becomes a lot to handle, and inevitably, the peace we try so hard to keep ends up slipping just a little. Or at times, a lot. What is it about the holidays that sets us up to fail more than ever at the peace we desire?

For one, we often think of Christmas more as a sentimental holiday, rather than a spiritual holy day, and during this brief season we redouble our efforts to live at peace with one another because it just seems right. At other times of the year, we don't even have the expectation of getting along, so when we don't, no one is surprised. During the holidays, we just expect more of ourselves and each other.

Also, most of us haven't really considered the radical approach Jesus spoke of when he blessed "peacemakers" in his Sermon on the Mount. Rather than working through conflict and seeing it as an opportunity to glorify God, we become "peacefakers," avoiding conflict at all costs, or "peacebreakers," dealing with conflict with raised voices or angry words. Peace faking and peace breaking do nothing to address the real issues in our hearts.

Finally, we don't always connect the process of building peace with each other to the Gospel of Peace that Jesus came to bring on that Bethlehem night, or later, on that afternoon on Calvary, or on that morning at the Garden Tomb. 

The kind of peace Jesus brings is radical reconciliation at great cost. And out of that peace with God within, we are often called to make significant sacrifice ourselves to make peace with others.

This Advent we have been waiting on Jesus in the hustle and bustle of an American Christmas season. One more place we can expect Jesus to come is in the messy, complicated relationships we find ourselves in. Wait for Him there, pray that he would show himself in the midst of the difficult times with others, and seek the peace that only Jesus brings.