So often we mistake quiet for peace. As long as conflict doesn’t erupt, we assume peace is present. But that is not God’s picture of peace in the Bible. God’s true peace—God’s shalom—is everything set right, everything as it was meant to be. That peace became incarnate in Jesus, who brings true reconciliation between God and humanity. As we follow the Prince of Peace, God calls us to be peacemakers who embody his restoring work. And as we anticipate Jesus’ return, may we actively pursue shalom and lay aside anything that disrupts God’s work of restoration and wholeness.
This Sunday will be the first Sunday of Advent, and we will light a candle for Hope. We look forward to the coming of Jesus, who is our hope today and forever. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3). We celebrate the hope that came into the world through the birth of Jesus, and we eagerly anticipate the fulfillment of all hope when Jesus comes again!
This Sunday is celebrated in many churches around the world as Christ the King Sunday. Normally we focus on Jesus’ kingly majesty, but this year we are focusing on the return of the King. In Matthew 25, Jesus concludes his teaching ministry with 3 parables (something like metaphorical stories) about the final judgment followed by a more literal description of the final judgment that will happen when he (Christ the King) returns. It will be a separation of people like a shepherd separates sheep from goats. It’s a chilling scene, because it seems to catch everyone unaware. Jesus tells us the story precisely so that we will be aware and ready for his return. It’s an account of God’s sovereignty, God’s mercy, God’s judgment, and the fruit that true faith bears. May we hear with open hearts and respond with our whole lives.
After God sends the promised devastating judgement on the persistently unrepentant among his people, God promises a beautiful and lasting restoration for the faithful remnant. God promises that he will bring Beauty from Ashes for Israel that will ultimately bless the whole world. This week we will look at the final verses of the book of Amos to see God’s restoration, expansion, blessing, and security for his people – a promise that finds its ultimate fulfilment in Christ.