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Day 2 - Monday, December 1, 2025
He shall judge between the nations
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
neither shall they learn war any more.
Isaiah 2:4
After serving nearly ten years as an active-duty Midshipman and naval officer, I resigned my commission in a letter that said, in part, that my calling to follow Jesus Christ had increasingly come into conflict with my orders in the U.S. Navy. Our country had just entered into the first Gulf War after I took part in Operation Earnest Will, during which the Navy protected U.S.-flagged Kuwaiti oil tankers traversing the Persian Gulf. USS Samuel B. Roberts was nearly blown in half by a sea mine.
The officer to whom I presented my resignation letter called me a fool. Vicki and I moved to Durham to attend the Divinity School at Duke. I began signing my letters and eventually all my email with "Peace."
The angels celebrate Jesus' birth with a blessing: peace on earth. Living into that blessing involves many life choices that fly in the face of conventional wisdom (even of religious wisdom - i.e., praise the Lord and pass the ammunition). The alternative to achieving and maintaining a perilous peace by violence seems to be surrender to violence that prevents all possibility of peace.
Beating our swords into plowshares involves a living faith which moves between prayerful discernment, courageous action, and reflection - and back again. Taking the time this Advent season to heed Christ's call to peace is a great place to start/continue this journey.
We can start by recognizing many paths to peace besides "kill or be killed." We can discover encouragement and creativity in the actions of others who have prepared the way of the Prince of Peace throughout history. We can also reflect on the full meaning of peace/shalom - not merely the absence of hostility but a unity and love that banishes fear and ushers in the freedom to live together in abundant joy.
Though the Peace in which Jesus invites us to live is beyond our understanding, we can recognize its presence in and around us and respond by drawing near to others. In this way, we experience the Advent of Christ's coming every day of our lives.
Prayer of Blessing - May we prepare your way, Prince of Peace, with every path we take toward one another this season and always. As we move closer to one another, especially those with whom we experience a desperate calling to reconciliation and restoration, may we experience your presence, Emmanuel - God With Us!
Submitted By: Rev. Dr. Bo Gordy-Stith
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