Every Advent, the third candle burns for joy. Yet this word, like “hope” and “peace,” has been emptied of its full power. In much of modern faith, joy has become a synonym for positivity—the demand to keep spirits high, to smile through discomfort, to make worship cheerful even when the world is not. But the joy of scripture arises from trust that God’s future is breaking into the present.

Every Advent, the second candle flickers for peace. Yet like hope, this word has grown soft in the Christian imagination. “Peace” has come to mean inner calm, social quiet, or the absence of visible conflict. But throughout Scripture, peace is not just the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice. The Bible’s peace—shalom—names the wholeness of creation restored, the healing of injustice, the reconciliation of enemies, and the overthrow of every false order built on domination and control.

Advent begins this Sunday, and this week's Advent theme is HOPE. Today, hope often sounds like wishful thinking. We use the word to describe personal aspirations, feelings, or a positive outlook. But biblical hope is not optimism. It's born in the midst of despair—in exile, under empire, among people who have every reason to give up.

When we have been forgiven and covered in God’s grace, we are able to love and forgive those who have missed the mark of God’s perfect love and of faith in their dealings with us. 

Our work is not rocket science. Rather, it’s simply a matter of opening our hearts (and often our homes) to meet people where they are, to build genuine friendship, and to share with these friends the little things in life.

It’s 3:00 in the morning and my baby is crying. After almost an hour of soothing and hushing and comforting, my husband turns her over to me for a try. I’m exhausted after a day of sickness tearing through my body. I have nothing left in my stomach and I’m shaky from dehydration… but I still walk down to her room, hold her, and nurse her back to sleep.

I live in an inner-city neighborhood. Somali refugees, Nepali students, Mexican construction workers, African American neighbors and a few white people all share the same space. Gunshots and sirens are common. There is a house that sells drugs in the next block. Strip joints, liquor stores, check cashing stores, and fast food restaurants compete for our attention.

The heart of peacemaking is the heart! So as we consider Lent and making peace with others, let’s begin by reflecting on Jesus. Notice the first step in peacemaking according to Jesus: get the log out of our own eyes. We need to deal with our own stuff first. We take responsibility for our own actions before we focus on what the other person did. We start with the heart!

Each week for the next 6 weeks we will publish a lenten devotional to give you practical ways to practice peacemaking.