Isaiah 9:2–7 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 9:2–7 on biblegateway.com
Verse 2The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness- on them light has shined. Verse 3You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. Verse 4For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. Verse 5For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. Verse 6For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Verse 7His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Devotion
Advent heralds the arrival of Jesus as the Prince of Peace. But what does it mean to identify Jesus with peace? The secular world suggests that peace brings some kind of blissful serenity or sense of contentment that delivers us from worldly trouble. But it might be better to say the peace connected with Jesus leads us deeper into the world and all its messiness. Pastor and writer Frederick Buechner has suggested that the peace of Christ brings not absence of strife but rather the presence of love. In other words, a life of faith is often full of doubt, trouble, and suffering. But it is never outside the pale of Christ’s unconditional love.
Prayer
Prince of Peace, you have chosen us for service in your name. Keep us on the path of your peace in the midst of trouble and suffering. Amen.