I love Christmas time- the cookies, decorations, lights, candles, hot chocolate, snow, Christmas music, and being with family and friends. But I also realize that my love for Christmas goes much deeper. In part my deeper love for Christmas is for the love of the celebration of Jesus' birth, but it's also about the celebration of what Jesus' birth (and death and resurrection) means in my life and in the lives of people all around the world.
Even with all the distractions of life and Christmas, I think about El Salvador and my Salvadoran friends and acquaintances all the time. Not a day goes by that I don't think of my Salvadoran friends and acquaintances. Many of my thoughts are thoughts of concern: Are they ok? What are they struggling with today? What needs haven't been met this week? When will the next emergency or crisis be?
But I also think about signs of hope and a better future for the Salvadorans. I usually have to challenge myself to think about the positives, but when I do the rewards are great. When I really think about it I realize that there are so many reasons for hope. There are so many reasons to have faith that things will get better.
Advent is the season of waiting, and I have been thinking a lot about waiting. We are waiting for the birth of Jesus, but more than that, Advent reminds us that we are waiting for the better world that is to come. One day we will all share in a feast where no one will go hungry and no one will be thirsty. The sick will be healed. The mourning will mourn no more. The enslaved and oppressed will be free. One day God's Reign will be present on the earth and there will be justice. But until that day we are here to watch and work and wait.
Salvadorans have had to become very good at waiting. They waited for the war to end. They waited (and continue to wait) for government leaders who will always keep the best interests of the people their first priority. They wait for the corn and the beans to grow so they can feed their families. They wait for family in the US to send money so they can afford food, shelter, and education for their children. They wait for the day when they can ride a bus without fear. They wait for the day when violence will no longer be a daily part of life. The Salvadorans wait for the justice that will come with the Reign of God.
The Salvadorans wait and I wait with them...we all wait for that better world.
Thinking about the better world gives me an overwhelming sense of peace. It comforts me to know that one day, perhaps it will be generations from now, Salvadorans (and all people around the world) will not suffer as they do.
Even with this image of the possibilities of a better world, the sense of peace I feel does not leave me passive. A better world will not come about just thinking about it and waiting. We do need to wait but not idly. When a family is expecting a baby, they don't just sit around for nine months and wait for the baby. They prepare for the baby. Likewise, we must anticipate that better world, we must prepare ourselves and our world for what is to come (but all the while recognizing that it is only though God's grace and love that the better world will come about).
A greater sense of peace comes when I recognize the ways in which that better world is already present in our broken world. Sometimes I (and perhaps you) need to slow down and intentionally look for that better world but it is here now. I see it in the beauty of creation, in the innocence of children, in the thousands of people who are dedicated to non-profit work. I see a better world in churches where the members are putting their faith into action to change the world. I see the better world in my classmates who have dedicated their lives to working for justice, for that better world. And I see the possibility of a better world in the eyes of friends who firmly believe in that better world and are dedicated to making it a reality.
I also find great peace in this season of Advent as we are awaiting the arrival (again) of Jesus. There is peace in knowing that we have a God of peace and a savior of peace. Even thought it may not always seem like it, the God of peace is present throughout the world, in every single person and part of Creation. We just need to take the time to find Jesus in the world and when we do take that time we will also find peace.
When I started writing this blog post I hadn't planned to write about finding peace, but in reflection and writing this I have found peace. It took me a long time to decide on a title for this blog (Searching for Peace), but I eventually chose that title because that title encompasses so much of what I have been doing and what I see myself doing for the rest of my life. I find it difficult to continually search for peace, especially in a world that seems to be any but peaceful. I often let my search stop, I sometimes feel like giving up the search, and sometimes I do give up. But Christmas reminds me that I need to return to that search. Christmas reminds me that the Prince of Peace (Jesus) has already graced the world with his presence and continues to be present. Christmas reminds me that there is peace in the world and one day there will be complete and perfect peace...one day...
I think that without realizing it my love for Christmas has been because of the sense of peace that comes with Christmas- the sense of peace that I have within as well as the peace that is already present in the world yet not fully evident or expressed. This year when all the presents are unwrapped, the Christmas tree is put away, and only the "yucky" Christmas cookies are left, I'm going to try my hardest to remember the peace I feel and know now and I will continue to wait for and seek out that peace.
May your season of Advent be filled with hope. And may you find peace in knowing that a better world is possible and is present among us already.
