PRINCE OF PEACE
Blessed 4th Sunday of Advent to you. We will soon be celebrating Christmas, the Nativity of the Lord. Are you prepared to enter fully into the mystery of the Incarnation & experience the great love of God, who sent His Son Jesus to save us?
Today’s scripture readings speak of Peace. We all acclaim Jesus as the “Prince of Peace” (cf Isaiah 9:6). But is it just a nice catch-phrase slogan that we say glibly, or do we really acknowledge that Christ is our peace?
Today’s 1st Reading from the Prophet Micah says that the ruler of Israel would come from Bethlehem, the least & smallest of the clans of Judah. And that He Himself (meaning Jesus) Himself would be peace! Bethlehem in Hebrew translates into “House of Bread”. How apt that the smallness & insignificance of this clan of Judah should also be likened to bread. How even more wonderful it is that Jesus is ‘the Bread of Life’ (cf John 6:35), humbling himself so much to feed & nourish us in the simple form of bread.
How many of us have truly experienced this inner peace of Jesus when we receive Holy Communion & when we adore Him in the Blessed Sacrament? The healing, comfort, love & joy of receiving the Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist brings us this deep sense of peace in our hearts, the ‘peace that the world cannot give’ (cf John 14:27).
Just a few days ago, some 150 of our parishioners had the chance to encounter this deep peace of Christ at our Advent Night of Worship. As Fr Antony Charles, C.Ss.R., brought the Lord Jesus in the Monstrance down the aisles to the people, we worshipped Jesus, & opened our hearts to the Lord – and He blessed us all with the wonderful gift of His peace.
Here's our Facebook post on the event & some photos if you want to find our more …
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1hqM2odXSjrEeoy2/
Our Gospel reading today from Luke 1:39-44 details our Blessed Mother Mary’s Visitation to Elizabeth. What peace Elizabeth must have felt when she met Mary & encountered Jesus, the Prince of Peace! All the fears & uncertainties of her advanced-age pregnancy, Zechariah’s incapacitation with dumbness, gossip of the neighbours, their future etc, were melted away. Just imagine the overflowing joy Elizabeth & her child John felt, that was brought on by this deep experience of Shalom-Peace. This spurred John to leap in Elizabeth’s womb (cf Luke 1: 41,44) & Elizabeth to declare out loud: “Of all women, you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:42).
Let’s try to integrate these insights into our current state of life now. Are you, like most people, feeling stressed? Weighed down by fears, loneliness, rejection & burdened & anxious? Are you having difficulties sleeping, or having interrupted sleep? As we move into the Christmas season, bring it all to Jesus! Let Jesus reign in your hearts & fill it with His everlasting peace! Hear what Isaiah says: “Wide is his dominion in a peace that has no end” (Isaiah 9:7 – Christmas Midnight Mass 1st Reading). You belong to Jesus! You are part of His dominion! And you will experience His peace!
Today, let the Risen Lord speak lovingly to you, as He did to his dejected & frightened disciples in the Upper Room – “Peace be with you” (John 20:19,21). Feel Him breathe His Holy Spirit on you right now (John 20:22), & receive the Spirit’s fruit of Peace, in addition to Love, Joy, Patience etc (cf Gal 5:22-23).
I’m sure we all love to sing the Christmas Carol ‘Silent Night’ & the phrase from the Carol ‘sleep in heavenly peace’ touches our hearts. So, let my parting wish for you today be this beautiful verse from Psalm 4:8: “I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
Article by Damian Boon, HFC Blog Team Lead