ADVENT WEEK TWO: PEACE
December 11 Rev. Mike Miller
Peace and Hope
Matthew 6:25-34
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than
they? Matthew 6:26
In Matthew 6:25–34, Jesus invites us into a radical kind of trust that confronts
our deepest anxieties about daily life. He tells us not to worry about what we
will eat, drink, or wear. At first glance, that may feel unrealistic. After all, these
are basic needs. But Jesus isn’t dismissing our concerns; He’s reorienting
them.
He points us to nature, to the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. They
don’t stress or strive, yet God cares for them. Jesus reminds us that we are
worth far more and if God provides for lesser things with such beauty and
consistency, how much more will God provide for us? Jesus is teaching us to
redirect our focus away from the stresses of life to a more peaceful way of
living. And when we do this, perhaps our daily needs will fall into their proper
place.
But it is not always easy to redirect our focus when life seems beyond our
control. It is not easy to live in a state of peace when there are people legis-
lating what we can and cannot do with our bodies, or who we are, or whom
we love. It is hard to live in peace when we see families being torn apart by a
callous and racist government.
But perhaps in these times, the peace Jesus brings is found in the hope that
Jesus brings. That hope is that one day our world will better reflect how Jesus
sees each one of us. That hope is that one day our world will reflect how Je-
sus cares for every one of us.
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