Hello dear hearkeners,
Welcome to this second week of Advent,
This week of peace.
As we enter this time together,
I invite you to soften your breathing,
Let your body feel supported,
Let your heart settle like snow drifting slowly to the earth.
Close your eyes and notice that with that simple act,
Your mind naturally gets quieter.
Let's enter this meditation with a posture of being still.
Peace is not the absence of noise or conflict,
Peace is the presence of grounding,
The grounded awareness that we are held by a love deeper than fear.
Feel your breath gently deepen,
Feel your body ease into stillness.
Let your inner waters become calm.
Next let us adopt an attitude of gratitude and non-judgment.
Gratitude opens the door to peace by shifting us from striving into receiving,
And non-judgment invites us to let go of inner battles,
To ease the pressure of shoulds,
Oughts,
And unfinished stories.
And finally,
I invite you to embrace a spirit of peace and loving-kindness toward yourself,
Toward others,
And toward a world aching for healing.
This spirit is not passive,
It is the active,
Courageous gentleness of Christ,
The one who comes to mend,
Restore,
And reconcile all things.
Take one long deep breath in,
And one slow breath out.
Creator sets free,
Yeshua said,
I leave you my peace,
My harmony of heart and mind.
The peace I give is not the small kind the world offers.
Do not let fear hold your heart,
And do not let your spirit be troubled.
John 14,
27 Let's pause with the words,
I leave you my peace,
My harmony of heart and mind.
Peace in the way of Yeshua is not fragile,
It is not dependent on circumstances,
And it is not simply quiet.
It is wholeness,
Balance,
Restoration.
When Yeshua spoke these words,
His followers were facing deep uncertainty.
They lived under oppression,
Their future unclear,
Their hearts stirred with fear.
And yet,
It is here,
In the tension,
In the not yet,
In the waiting,
That Yeshua breathes peace.
During Advent,
We remember that peace came once in a stable,
Through a child wrapped in humility,
And we remember that peace is coming again.
Not through domination or force,
But through liberation,
Reconciliation,
And the healing of creation.
The peace of the second coming is not a stern judgment,
But the setting right of all things.
Like rivers restored to their beds,
Like broken relationships mended,
Like nations healed and learning again how to walk gently with one another.
Picture this peace for a moment,
A world where fear no longer drives us,
Where every tear is noticed,
Where justice and compassion kiss,
Where all peoples are gathered into a great family of belonging and harmony.
This is the promise of Christ's return.
Not fear,
But freedom,
But restoration,
Not defeat,
But hope.
And in the meantime,
Peace begins here,
In your breath,
In your body,
In small moments of kindness,
In the ways you choose to walk gently through your day.
Let your breath become soft and steady.
Feel peace arise,
Not as something you must earn,
But as a gift offered to you,
A gift already placed in your hands by the one who comes near.
Rest here for a few moments,
Simply breathing in peace.
Thank you,
Dear hearkeners,
For entering this second week of Advent with stillness and peace.
As you step into the day,
May the peace of Yeshua,
Deep,
Steady,
And liberating,
Fill your breath and guide your steps.
May you become a bearer of harmony in every space you enter,
And may the promise of reconciliation and renewal steady your spirit.
May grace and peace,
Light and love,
Be with you.
