Peace in the Chaos

Psalm 25 • Psalm 9, 15
Isa. 5:8-12,18-23 • 1 Thess. 5:1-11 • Luke 21:20-28

Our gospel reading today feels like it is lifted right out of Revelation. It reads like any apocalyptic scenario: signs in the stars, the sea, and peril on the earth.

I spent a great deal of time in my teen Christianity delving into Revelation. We approached it with passion like Indiana Jones, looking for that key or that sign that would let us know that all these perilous things were beginning. We approached it with the same sense of urgency that I’m sure we have shared with countless people since the ascension: It’s going to happen ANY DAY NOW.

The fun part is - it could. However, well over two thousand years later we still wait with an anxious anticipation. We look to the perils of our time and wonder if they are a sign. We have clear messages to stay vigilant. So how much should we anticipate the apocalyptic end?

As we embrace this Advent season, we get to anticipate something very different. A helpless child, born in a manger. The hope of humanity. The gift of humble sacrifice. A symbol of God’s unconditional love for us. It is so easy to spend our energy anticipating a world-ending chaos, when we are called to anticipate how we can serve God in this moment. The moment we are in right now.

At this point in my journey, when I come across passages like this one I recognize that while we can spend time and energy looking for the manifestation of God’s wrath on the Earth, the spirit dwells for me in answering the call to find and share God’s peace in the gift of the moment that we are in.

Written by Dan Robinson

Dan is the Director of Media Ministries at St Paul’s, streaming the services online.