Texts: Isaiah 2:1-5 / Matthew 24:36-44
Bramley St Peter, 30 November 2025 – Advent 1
The first of a series of five Advent talks

1 - A time of preparation

It was the night before Christmas. There were indeed no mice stirring in the house, but Jim and Jenny were anything but quiet. They were having a heated discussion about Jenny’s parents coming to stay for the season.

“Can you tidy the living room?” asked Jenny. “I’m too busy doing all the cooking, and we can’t have them coming to an untidy house. Oh, and put some clean sheets on the guest bed”.

“I haven’t wrapped your present yet”, Jim replied, “or cleaned the bathroom. Last year your mother complained that it was dirty. In fact she’s always complaining, isn’t she?”

“That’s rich coming from you. It’s you who always start the arguments with her”.

Does that sound like Christmas in your house? I hope not. But what do you think was the most important preparation in their house for a peaceful Christmas? Fine food, wrapped presents, clean and tidy house… or maybe being determined to get on with the relatives better this year?

Advent is a time of preparation, in many different ways, and sometimes we confuse the different strands. Yes, we are preparing for Christmas when we remember Jesus being born. And preparing for those family get-togethers which are so important in their own way, but can sometimes be stressful. But it’s easy to overlook the wider meaning of this time as Christians observe it.

In Advent we read through the book of Isaiah. The prophet had messages from God for his own time, but that also spoke God’s promises long into the future.  Today we look at ‘Preparing for Peace’. In the remaining weeks of Advent I will be looking at ‘Trusting in God’s Judgement’, ‘Thriving in the Desert’, ‘Believing the Impossible’ and ‘Speaking Light into Darkness’. Please join me on this journey from past prophecies to future redemption.

2 – The Meaning of Peace

Peace, then. This short reading from chapter 2 promises the end of war and a time of peace: “Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore”.[i] Something that many people are longing for right now, as wars around the world continue with all their human casualties.

The promise of peace is a theme running through the Bible’s long story.  But peace, like charity, begins at home. The promise can only be fulfilled when God’s people seek peace on God’s terms, that is, by worshiping him and obeying his laws. [ii] As Adrian reminded us last week, the Jewish word for peace, ‘shalom’, means much more than the end of wars or family arguments. For an individual, shalom means wholeness, contentment, trust in God – the sort of things that Adrian was encouraging us to strive for. For communities, shalom means faith in God, justice and right living.[iii] If we are not at peace with ourselves, our families and our wider neighbours in the community, then we cannot seriously expect God to prevent or end wars between groups of people.

Isaiah prophesied a Saviour who would be called Prince of Peace, and we as Christians believe that to be a promise fulfilled in Jesus Christ the man. It is in him and through him that we find the way to live peaceful lives. So, one of the ways that we prepare in Advent is being in a peaceful state of mind, despite the pressures of the season, to celebrate his coming into the world at Christmas.

3 – The Day of the Lord

Verse 2 of the Isaiah reading also mentions ‘the last days’. Later in the chapter he writes of ‘The Day of the Lord’, which was a key idea in Jewish thinking. These concepts belong together. The ‘Last Days’ would see an increase in what we now call natural disasters, great human suffering, warfare, breakdown of law, general chaos. The ‘Day of the Lord’ would be a pivotal moment in history, when the present age of conflict gives rise to a new age of peace. God’s people expected God to intervene suddenly and dramatically in human history just when suffering is at its worst, but when people were not expecting it. God’s intention in coming to us at that time would not be to complete our destruction, rather he would come with a mixture of judgement and mercy: judgement on those who caused suffering, and mercy for those who suffered. The Day of the Lord would be God’s way of preparing his people for a time of reconstruction for lasting peace.[iv]

4 – The Return of Christ

In Christian thought, these ideas of ‘the last days’ and ‘the Day of the Lord’ came together in Jesus’ own teaching, to give us a different set of ideas. One was the ‘Kingdom of God’, or ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, something Jesus himself talked about many times. This is the way for people who believe in Jesus and follow him, in the extended period of history that we are living in right now. With Jesus as our guide, we must strive for that ‘shalom’ peace in our own times: making peace in our homes and communities, fighting injustice, resolving conflicts.

Jesus also clearly taught that he would return in glory. “Therefore you must be ready”, he said, “for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour”.[v] The ‘Day of the Lord’ we now understand as the day when our Christ appears again, not as a baby but in some other form to completely renew the world as a place of peace: humanity living in harmony with the rest of creation, just as God intended from the beginning.

But with renewal comes the judgement: those who have lived in the peace of Christ will inherit the earth when he returns, and Jesus said that when he suddenly returns, he will expect his servants to be busy working for him. He also warned that those who have ignored or forgotten him, and failed to seek his way of peace, will be punished for their sins, and at best, miss out on future blessings; at worst, be consigned to Hell. This return of Christ both for judgement and the future renewal of all things is an equally important part of our Advent observance.

Much more could be said about these things, and Christians have always found different interpretations of these prophesies of the future. But what matters for us, here and now? How can we start this Advent season in the right spirit?

5 – Preparing for Peace

Firstly, we can seek peace in our own lives, day by day. How can we live more simply and more contentedly, open to the blessing of God’s promised shalom in our lives? It might mean opening our eyes to the beauty of the created world around us, even in the depths of winter. Perhaps spending less money on Christmas this year, and spending more time with friends and family. It might mean settling a family argument or forgiving someone, before we see them at Christmas.

Secondly, we can seek peace with God through Jesus Christ, as we prepare to celebrate his coming as man at Bethlehem. This is about trusting in him from day to day. We can start or renew a pattern of prayer, perhaps using one of the many resources available in print or online for the season. Make time to thank God for his blessings, and rejoice that he loves and accepts you as you are. Make sure that you approach Christmas in that childlike spirit that Jesus commended, ready to be awe-struck once more as we hear again the familiar stories of miraculous conception, humble birth and the good news proclaimed by angels.

Thirdly, we can prepare even now to be part of Christ’s everlasting kingdom of peace by being peacemakers on earth. We can be the face and hands of Christ in the world, setting an example by living more sustainably, joining community groups, caring for our local environment, supporting minority groups in society, standing up for justice, and so on, all in his name.

To conclude, may I wish you all a blessed and peaceful Advent. And if Christ returns in our day, may he find us to be good and faithful servants.

Amen.

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[i] Isaiah 2:4, New International Version

[ii] Barry Webb, ‘The Message of Isaiah’, IVP 2008, pp 45-46.

[iii] Isaiah 7:9, referenced by David L Edwards, ‘A Key to the Old Testament’, Fount 1989, p.142

[iv] William Barclay, ‘The Daily Study Bible: Matthew Volume 2’, Saint Andrew Press 1975, p.309.

[v] Matthew 24:44, NIV