Hope, peace, and the unlikely source. As most people, I hope in the powers I can see or touch or at least understand in my own human ways. What is practical for delivering me out of my predicament or will improve my life and those around. Often, I find myself hoping for that which seems very practical. I also look for peace among the practical ways of living. And of course, when I ask for peace, I am stating my desire to be without conflict. But what if these everyday words that mean so much were not so practical after all? What if peace came during conflict and hope without logic?

What if our desires were less about peace and more about sustaining what we have determined to be good and worthy without conflict? What if we have gotten something wrong? Should we even care? What if God cares? Could God possibly know better about our life and those we love?

Advent, the time of year that calls us to prepare ourselves for the only true hope for humankind, the only real source of peace, the birth of Jesus Christ. Fully human and fully God, Jesus brings us hope, and a peace that is not always so practical in our view of this life. As we race toward Christmas, I believe it would be wise and practical to consider hope and peace through the eyes of the eternal Creator, even if God challenges our practical hopes and even our peace. It is not easy to confront our ideas and desires, but the offer is eternal, a certain hope and a peace that knows no borders, no boundaries. And yes, from a practical point of view it does come from an unlikely source.

This Sunday, we will look for such hope and peace as it is proclaimed by a man crying out from the wilderness. His name is John, we could even call him The Grinch. He is wild, unkept, not so pleasant, and certainly an unlikely source of hope and peace. Let us worship together, prepare together, and consider and imagine the eternal Hope and Peace of God, together. Join us this Sunday at 8:45 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. with livestreaming on our church’s Facebook page at 11:00 a.m.

May the Grace, Hope and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

Pastor Rick