The Second Candle of Advent: Peace

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Who would have thought that peace would come from such an unlikely place?  Who knew peace would come not from a palace, but from a stable?  Who guessed that peace would be born to a couple just a few months after a shotgun wedding?  How could peace come through a man of sorrows?  How could peace arrive from someone who was despised?

But Christmas teaches us to look for peace in the most unlikely places: in eyes swollen from a crown of thorns, in a teardrop falling from those eyes. In unlikely circumstances, in a stable, lying in a manger. Christmas shows us that God is capable of bringing peace in and through all situations. Peace can come from the most unlikely place. In fact, it most often does.