Peace: Advent Focus Week Two
Sermon December 7, 2025 Christ Lutheran Church Zionsvile, IN
Today is the 2nd Sunday of Advent. We’ve lit the peace candle and that is our theme this week. Peace. This is not the typical peace we might think of as peace, being the absence of war, fighting, and strife. During Jesus’ time the concept of peace (pax) propagated by the Roman Empire at the time. Several Roman emperors circulated coins with images of Pax, the goddess of peace, or simply the inscription “Pax”. Augustus was one of the emperors who made these coins to symbolize and promote peace and stability, often following a military victory. The imagery on the coin frequently includes attributes of the goddess like an olive branch and sometimes depicts the Temple of Peace to emphasize the peace brought by the emperor to serve as political propaganda, communicating the emperor was bringing a prosperous and stable peace to the Roaman world after a period of conflict. So, for many under this imperial rule, peace was top-down, led by a powerful individual, like an emperor.
In the Gospel of Luke this peace is nothing like the Roman emperor pax (peace). For Luke, Jesus is the peace-bringer, peace-giver, peace-creator in our hearts and souls. Martin Luther King Jr. famously remarked, “Peace is not merely the absence of some negative force war tensions, confusion – but the presence of some positive force – justice, goodwill, the power of the kingdom of God.
As I worked on this sermon, I wanted to hear from others what they thought of peace. All those who responded shared very good thoughts on peace. One stood out, and it is the words from Tina, our office administrator at Christ Lutheran Church Zionsvile, and I would like to share them with you now.
Tina quotes this Bible verse and then goes on –
“Philippians 4:6-7 reads: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
How do you explain a “peace which surpasses all understanding”? I don’t know, but I’m happy to share my personal experiences in hope that it brings support and strength to others enduring difficult times.
As you may already know, I’ve encountered sad and tragic situations in recent years which include some of the following moments:
1. Our family of 4 was in a head-on collision driving home from FL for fall break 4 years ago and we lost my husband in the accident.
2. I found myself in an ER room that Saturday morning receiving the news of his passing from a police officer.
3. I was transported to my kid’s pediatric hospital to find Grace in ICU & Austin in the ER. I delivered the news to my son at that time, and to Grace a few days later when she became more alert.
4. We traveled home from FL to plan the details of the funeral. We 3 decided to speak at the funeral and deliver Dominic’s eulogy. I’m not sure what was more difficult, doing the speaking myself or listening to each child speak.
5. My kid’s spent the next several weeks in neck braces, and I recovered from a broken sternum and broken ribs. And we all suffered from “broken” hearts.
6. The year continued, and we found ourselves in a courtroom in FL a year and half later to deliver impact witness statements to the driver at his sentence hearing with the state of FL (he was under the influence at the time of the accident and was arrested).
7. Again, I’m not sure if it was harder to deliver the impact statement or listen to my children deliver theirs… but we all 3 shared words of forgiveness. And God’s peace helped us get through that extremely difficult day.
It’s during these experiences I felt such grief, pain and fear and yet during those times have felt God’s love which brought me peace that surpasses all understanding. There were truly beautiful moments occurring during such tragic moments.
Without that peace, I would not have been able to endure those experiences. Without that peace, I would not have been able to pass on strength to Grace & Austin. Without that peace, our family and friends may not have been able to watch us go through such a tragedy. Without that peace, we may not be where we are today. Both kids are now in college (my daughter in Tucson, AZ and my son in Nashville, TN) and I’m grateful to be working here at Christ Lutheran Church. You all have given me so much support, thank you. We are surviving and thriving.
However, life continues to be difficult as I’ve battled breast cancer this past year… and even as this past year has brought more difficult moments, I’m grateful for the peace that keeps appearing.
Will these tragedies we’ve suffered and the peace that God has provided me bring about world peace? I doubt it. But, it may offer a small seed of hope, and if my sharing with you today brings you some sense of peace while you are enduring your own personal tragic experiences and moments of suffering, then maybe that’s all in God’s plan… to spread his love and peace that surpasses all understanding. We may not understand, but we remain grateful.”
Powerful. Like Tina, pursue peace. Cultivate peace. Create a space for peace. Share peace. Be grateful for God’s peace.
How will you be a peacemaker? I say to you to remember this week and always: The peace of the Lord IS with you.
