This week we reflect on the peace brought through Christ’s coming kingdom. But, Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice. In our text, John the Baptist’s fiery confrontation is the necessary disruption that prepares us for God's true peace. God's Peace calls us to address the violence within us all. There always seems to be something about the season of Advent that heightens for us the absence of "shalom" or fullness of peace we ought to experience in this world. This season invites us to listen afresh to the prophets, and to ignite our prophetic imagination for the peace to which we are ultimately called.

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On the first week of Advent we light the Hope Candle. We are invited to Hope in the coming of Christ... But, Hope is not passive; it calls for our attention. Isaiah’s vision of swords into plowshares requires us to "walk in the light of the Lord" — not a soft image, but one that disrupts our violence. For Matthew, divine timing is placed in this image of a thief in the night. Why a negative vision for the hope that we have? How is Matthews invitation one that calls us not towards a passive hope, but one that invites us towards wakefulness?

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Acts 4:32-5:11 contrasts two responses to the Spirit-filled community. The believers live in radical unity, sharing possessions so no one is in need. Barnabas is highlighted for his generosity. In contrast, Ananias and Sapphira secretly withhold part of a sale of their property while pretending full generosity. When confronted by Peter, both lie and fall dead, causing great fear in the community. Whose story is this actually? As modern readers coming to this story do we miss the "justice" of sorts the first hearers may have heard?

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