ADVENT TWO: PEACE

Seagulls at the ocean’s edge, Harbor Island, SC

After someone dies, people often say, “now they are at peace.” Or “may they rest in peace.” Only those of us who work in hospice or have sat at the bedside of a loved one in the dying process understand what it took to get to that stage of “peace.”

It was a war. It was a fight to live, even as the body was slowly dying.

To get to a place of inner peace, one has to get through the rubble of fear, questioning, sadness, and pain. Even the wisest monk will tell you that they had to un-learn fighting to have peace, and just embody it.

Easy. NOT.

On a recent trip to the beach, I watched the seagulls at the ocean’s edge. They were busy feeding, moving in and out around the waves, wading towards the dunes when a wave pushed in a little high, running back into the shallows to continue feeding. None of this was with a sense of urgency. They moved with the water to just “go with the flow.”

As a Christian, I find peace in knowing who I am, and Whose I am. Based on everything I know about the Holy One, I sit with the unknowns, the inconveniences, and the frustrations of the grieving process. There is no rational explanation for this deep peace. Logically, a financial planner helps with understanding my options and next steps. Emotionally, my counselor helps me process the wide range of emotions. But my heart of hearts understands that Peace is a Divine Gift of the Spirit:

As the words of Jesus are recorded in the Gospel of John: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

Fear robs us of peace. Anxiety robs us of peace. Insecurity robs us of peace. Competitiveness and aggressiveness rob us of peace. Status-seeking and a hunger for power rob us of peace.

And the list goes on…

But perhaps what robs us of peace collectively, as humans around the globe, is hate. Hate creates barriers, destroys collaboration, and separates “us” from “them.” Hate creates paranoia and puts a gun in the hands of irrational people. Hate promotes killing another tribe, another race, another nation, another political party…

This photo, captured after the momentous terrorism of 9/11 gave me pause. What if… instead of feeding hate, we “fed” peace?

Union Square, NYC, September 2001. Photo by Abrahame Menasche.

In a world where conflict is on the rise and discourse has become even more divisive, (and to be honest, rude,) finding political peace seems unobtainable. Yet there are ways to move forward, to find justice, to broker a peaceful resolution.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said:
“World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew… Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built.” – Dreams of Brighter Tomorrows in Ebony Magazine, March 1965.

I am raising more questions about peace than I am solving them. And that, perhaps, is the work of peace.