Sunday December 19, 2021
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH
SCRIPTURES: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
John 14:27 NRSV
Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are…If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Romans 12:16,18. NRSV
In 1955, a song which is now # 431 in our hymnal was written for children’s choir by Jill Jackson and Sy Miller. Jill had just recovered from an unsuccessful suicide attempt when she composed the lyrics of Let There Be Peace on Earth. Over the ensuing 66 years, the song was recorded by many artists, including Mahalia Jackson, Pat Boone, Tennessee Ernie Ford and Vince Gill. The lyrics ask that peace on earth begin with each of us, then goes on with these inclusive words:
With God our Creator, children all are we
Let us walk with each other, in perfect harmony.
As most serious musicians know, the three main elements of music are melody, rhythm and harmony. Harmony is when individual music voices group together to form a cohesive whole, according to the Music Grotto website. Further, learning in a group is crucial to harmony. Those of us who sang four part anthems in the choir or parts on the hymns at St. John’s traditional service did not learn to do that by ourselves. Hearing intervals and chords requires listening to other voices. Lots of listening.
It was hard to have harmony at St. John’s when in person worship was suspended or when required to sit three pews apart wearing a mask due to Covid. As these restrictions have lessened, we now need to resume harmonious actions. A room full of waving hands during the passing of the peace is harmony. We moved toward harmony with our local community as Drive-thru Prayer resumed and as 500 barbequed chicken halves were consumed. Small steps for harmony in the world are being taken with our mission projects like the Red Bird trailers and clean water systems for Africa.
We are required by Christ to be in community with others in order to let peace and harmony multiply in the world. On this fourth Sunday in Advent, we need to be reminded that while the peace which our Savior brought into the world may begin in each heart, it then needs to become harmony with others for us to live peaceably in the world. Just like a musician, we need to listen to each other to better understand and serve each other and to achieve the harmony which Paul describes in Romans.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to celebrate Your birth by spreading peace to all we meet. May we be in harmony with all who seek You. Amen.
Carol Rice
