Most, if not all, humans want peace. But there are different ways we imagine peace in our lives, and some of the ways that we imagine it are not necessarily aligned with the kind of peace that the Spirit wants to create. What is the nature of the peace that the Spirit generates and desires to work out in our lives and in the world?
1. It is Disruptive
We often think of disruptions in our lives as those things that take away or invade our peace. We especially feel this way when life is going well for us, and things seem to be functioning as we have planned. I’m quite happy sitting by a pool and reading a book. Please don’t interrupt my peace and quiet!
But, when I read the Bible, I notice a pattern that the peacemaking work of the Spirit in the world is often initially experienced by those involved as a disruption. It is usually more chaotic or uncomfortable than it is calm or easy.
Advent season is an especially good time for us to reflect on the fact that the various stories leading up to the birth of Jesus include promises of peace in the midst of significant disruptions.
With the birth of Jesus come announcements of peace:
Zachariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesies that his son will prepare the way for the Messiah and in doing so will “guide our feet into the path of peace (Luke 1:79).”
The angels declare to the shepherds that this child will bring “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace (Luke 2:14).”
Matthew notes that Jesus’s birth fulfills the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah 9 where among the titles given to this child is “prince of peace (Matthew 4:14-16; Isaiah 9:6).”
But these announcements of peace do not immediately result in tranquil or calm or easy situations for those involved. They are quite disruptive and inconvenient:
Zachariah’s prophecy came as a result of his wife’s unexpected pregnancy that rattled him to the core (Luke 1:18-20).
The angelic birth announcement interrupted the work of rural shepherds and sent them traveling in search of this child (Luke 2:15-16).
Isaiah’s vision of the prince of peace is introduced with visions of a leader who breaks, shatters, and burns various tools of oppression (Isaiah 9:4-5).
And when this child of peace finally arrives, it is anything but easy or tranquil for his parents entrusted with his care. Bethlehem is so overcrowded that the only bed they can find for their newborn is a feeding trough. After his birth, they are forced to travel to Egypt to escape Herod’s murderous edict. The only story we have of Jesus as a young boy includes his parents frantically searching and afraid for him.
Perhaps all the uneasy disruptions that take place in the narratives of his birth and childhood foreshadow the kind of peace that Jesus brings to the world. It is a disruptive peace. Simeon, who longed for the “consolation/comfort of Israel” understood through the Spirit that Jesus was “destined to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel (Luke 2:25-35).” Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, described peace as that which comes to the Gentiles through Jesus “tearing down the dividing wall of hostility (Eph. 2:14).” And the greatest example of peace coming through uncomfortable disruption is Jesus’ own death on the cross (Col. 1:20).
These passages lead me to conclude that God’s peace breaking into my world will often feel anything but peaceful. I should not expect the peace that the Spirit generates in my life to correlate directly with calm, relaxing and/or tranquil circumstances. It does lead toward those things on a cosmic scale, but in its generative form, the peace that the Spirit brings is often initially disruptive, unsettling, and uneasy.
2. It is Collective
One reason the peace that the Spirit brings is a disruptive peace is because the peace that God wants is collective, not individual. God’s vision of peace on earth is ever widening. God is not interested in maintaining peace for the powerful at the expense of those who are weak and poor, but that is often the kind of peace that we are attracted to, move toward, and settle for without even thinking about it.
In order for a new kind of peace to be experienced, old arrangements that leave people out must be disrupted, and those disruptions are often uncomfortable. As the great Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann says,
“The prophetic vision of shalom stands against all private arrangements, all ‘private peaces,’ all ghettos that pretend the others are not there… Shalom is never the private property of the few.”(1)
3. It is Restorative
Another reason the peace that the Spirit works out in our lives is disruptive is because it is restorative in nature. It is not a peace that seeks to simply maintain relationships as they are. It is a peace that restores relationships (with God, others, self, and the creation) that have been damaged or lost. This restorative work is often initially uncomfortable. In order to fix something, you have to know what’s wrong. But sometimes we would prefer to live in a state of denial or distraction.
In his description of the biblical visions of peace as shalom in the Bible, indigenous theologian Randy Woodley says,
“Shalom always restores dignity to the most marginalized of society.”(2)
Even as a baby, Jesus was beginning to change things and upset norms by bringing dignity and honor to people (shepherds, Mary, David’s family) and places (Nazareth, Bethlehem, a manger/stable) that had been forgotten or left out. This ministry of restoring dignity continued throughout Jesus’ public ministry, and it continues now in our midst through the Spirit.
So, are disciples of Jesus doomed to a life of change, unsettledness, and discomfort? I think the answer to that question is yes. But that reality does not necessarily lead us to be people of anxiety, fear, and worry as the world wants us to think. In fact, with the help of the Spirit, it leads us in the opposite direction. True joy, true peace, true hope can only come as we participate in God’s cosmic project of reconciliation (Col. 1:15-20). This is what the Spirit bears witness to in our spirits even as God is disrupting things (2 Cor. 1) in our lives. This is “the peace of God that transcends all understanding (Phil. 4:7).”
This is an area where my view of God’s work in my life has radically changed over the years. For much of my life, I assumed that a good test of the Spirit’s work was how peaceful or calm or tranquil it made me feel. Because of that, I think there have been many times that I have ignored genuine stirrings of the Spirit just because they made me feel uncomfortable or uneasy. Rather than quickly running from things that make me uncomfortable, I now realize the importance of asking questions about those feelings: Why do I feel uncomfortable? Is it possible this discomfort is something God wants me to feel? Is there something that God is wanting to disrupt in me or around me in order to make room for a greater, broader, and more enduring peace to reign?
I think these are the kinds of questions that Mary was willing to ask herself when the angel visited her with the startling news that she would give birth to the Messiah. I think her willingness to answer these questions gave her the clarity in the face of such a great disruption to say, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled (Luke 1:38).”
Water Brueggemann, Peace (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2001), 19-20.
Randy S. Woodley, Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 25-26.
About the Author
Aaron is a passionate seeker of God and truth, and he enjoys encouraging others in their own pursuits of the same. He especially likes to think about how God is at work in the most ordinary and mundane aspects of our existence. He loves going on adventures to new places with his wife, Heather, and four kids and his perfect day would involve an excellent cup of coffee (or two!), a hike to somewhere beautiful and serene, and some good conversation over a pint at a warm pub. He currently serves as an adjunct instructor at Portland Seminary and co-leads the CitySalt Kids’ Ministry along with his wife, Heather.