This is the time of year when I find myself praying for just a few more hours in the day, a little more time to complete everything that needs to be done. I know that time is relative because it shrinks in proportion to the need one has for it! Sometimes I try to compensate for this by ramping up the speed and efficiency with which I do things. I'm almost never satisfied with the results. I read recently that Woody Allen, inspired by the hope of getting more done in less time, took a speed reading course. At the end of the course he boasted about being able to read WAR AND PEACE in twenty minutes. After which all he could say about the book was, "It's about Russia."*

This morning we celebrate the second Sunday in Advent by reflecting upon the vision of peace God has for the world and preparing ourselves to receive and share this peace. How fitting it is in this holiday season with so many activities and things that need to be done that we should take a little time out for peace.

More than just a personal need for peace is at stake here. Our society is in desperate need of healing and transformation of the many acts of violence, injustice and oppression it allows to go unchallenged. It isn't only the wars and the atrocity of torture, but the way our culture seems to glorify violence in popular entertainment, movies and games that are a part of the picture here. Domestic violence goes unreported and perpetrators continue their reign of terror often in full view of their children who grow up thinking this is normal. Our unacknowledged hurts and fears, and the inner conflicts they produce, lead to violence, abuse, cruelty and despair. We can not allow this to go unchallenged. We may not be able to transform our society in a day, but we can offer ourselves and each other a better way, a brighter vision, a more hopeful future. And we can bring ourselves and our society a few steps closer to the day that vision becomes a reality.

Israel's prophets spoke powerfully about a hopeful future that was already dawning. Their proclamations about God's intention for peace always connected peace to justice. In Hebrew the word for peace is shalom. It means more than just the cessation of violence. It includes the establishment of social justice and wholeness. In the case of today's reading from Isaiah 40 it was a word of comfort and hope, a vision of restoration, for a people who had known too much of war and oppression. It was both specific and universal, allowing a particular community to see how their hope was related to the yearning of all of creation for peace and justice.

Centuries later, a Galilean peasant sage would teach in parables about a Kindom of God that was powerfully present though often unseen and unrecognized. It was a kindom of peace, compassion and justice: the antithesis of the Empire of Caesar. Some of the teachings of Jesus that illustrate his vision of God's Kindom include the teaching to "turn the other check," the teaching to "bless those who persecute you," and the teaching to "love one's enemies." This was a call to live out of a non-violent, non-tribal, inclusive and compassionate ethic of love and justice. And it was in the living out of this love ethic that God's Kindom became visible.

One of the ways Jesus put his love ethic into practice was through the open table fellowship he shared with others. As in his parable of the great banquet, Jesus welcomed everyone to the table: the wealthy and the poor, the well and the sick, respected leaders of the community and social outcasts, women and men, Jews and Gentiles, free persons and slaves. After his death his followers continued this tradition as a way of remembering him and his teachings, binding themselves together in a spirit of love. They continued to feel his presence with them whenever they came together in this manner. They continued to experience and participate in Jesus' vision and spirit as they shared with one another their bread and their stories.

They didn't always get it right. We know about some of the conflicts that arose. Paul writes about them in some of his letters. It was not easy to live out of an all-inclusive love ethic 24/7. The vision called them to bless when they were hurt, to share even when they had little to give, to refrain from doing violence in a culture that glorified violent aggression and oppressive domination, and to recognize in one another the Spirit of God.

Perhaps it was inevitable that as the centuries went on it became easier for some of his followers to make Jesus into a God rather than struggle with the teachings and the vision of the Kindom of God Jesus lived and died for. But it also should come as no surprise that the seeds of that vision would continue to germinate and bear fruit over the centuries, sometimes cropping up in the most unexpected of places.

We have many battles waging within us. We also have an innate ability to heal, to change, to grow and to transform. I agree with Jack Kornfield when he says that "to stop the war, we must begin with ourselves." (Kornfield, A PATH WITH HEART, p. 25) It is through spiritual practice that we discover peace within ourselves, we learn how to end the internal warfare. Creating a space for peace within one's self is an important step in creating peace in our relationships, in our communities, and in the world.

For me this practice includes meditation; settling into one's body and deepening the connection to one's heart. It involves developing our ability to be present. Curiosity and the desire to listen and to know more is important. Acknowledging the best and the worst parts of ourselves, and striving to act from our best self is also vital. These lead to a growing commitment to non-violent communication, teaching and encouraging our children in this area as well as practicing it ourselves. Because we are all human, there will be steps backward as well as steps forward, but returning to the table of peace at the center of our own soul is the best strategy I know of to keep us growing in the right direction.

There is a subtle power in peace and compassion that doesn't follow society's rules of force. Even Napoleon Bonaparte realized at the end of his life that the power of peace and compassion will inevitably win out over the forces of violence and oppression. He said, "Do you know what astonished be most in the world? The inability of force to create anything. In the long run, the sword is always beaten by the spirit."* A remarkable insight given the source.

It is the Spirit of peace and compassion that continually creates in our world new possibilities for healing and wholeness, new opportunities for love and justice. Let us invite all parts of ourselves to join us at the peace table in our hearts that we may also welcome one another at the shared table of our common life.

Isaiah 40:1-11