Day 104 Peace is Hidden

 It's the third Sunday of Advent when we focus on God's peace.

The Prince of Peace doesn't cling to his divine power. He is the one who refuses to turn stones into bread, jump from great and rule with great power; the one who says, Blessed are the poor, the gentle, those who mourn, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness. He is the one who touches the lame, the crippled, and the blind; the one who speaks words of forgiveness and encouragement; the one who dies alone, rejected and despised. Keep your eyes on him who becomes poor with the poor, weak with the weak, and who is rejected with the rejected. 

He is the source of all peace.

Where can this peace to be found? The answer is clear. In weakness. First of all, in our own weakness, in those places of our hearts where we feel most broken, most insecure, most in agony, most afraid. Why there? Because there our familiar ways of controlling our world are being stripped away; there we are called to let go from doing much, thinking much, and relying on our self-sufficiency. Right there where we are weakest the peace which is not of this world is hidden.

God, help us to claim the peace that remains unknown to so many and make it our own. Help us to claim that peace in our hearts so that we have new eyes to see and new ears to hear--and gradually recognize the same peace in places we would least expect it. Amen.