Advent 2022: The candle of peace
Read Mark 5:21–43.
Today we light the second candle of Advent, representing peace. The passage of Scripture we are studying in Mark shows two people in unsettling, desperate situations. They urgently need a peaceful resolution.
“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.” This is how we are introduced to the sick lady in Mark 5:25–26. She suffered a great deal, spent all she had, and only grown worse. The woman touches Jesus’ cloak and is instantly healed. Jesus stops to speak with her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (v. 34). She received the healing she sought and was sent away in peace.
There was another person of higher status in the crowd who also had an urgent need that had not yet been resolved. The synagogue official who fell at Jesus’ feet begging for help now received news that his daughter had died. What did Jesus say to this grieving, disappointed father? “Don’t be afraid; just believe” (v. 36).
During a crushing, anguished moment, Jairus is challenged to believe God’s will is being fulfilled. The plan was not yet accomplished, but Jairus is told to have faith being confident in what is not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1). Jairus did receive his daughter back to life as a great demonstration of Christ’s authority as God over death and the curse of sin. We too are called to believe though our problems may not be resolved as immediately. We need the spiritual eyes of faith to believe that Christ makes all things new and provides his strength to patiently wait for his purposes to be fulfilled.
Hebrews 11 records that some who believed in God did not get the miraculous results they hoped for; they lived destitute and persecuted earthly lives (vv. 35–38). Yet Paul tells us that God had planned something better for them (v. 40). We trust that God is in absolute control of that which to us seems out of control. If we believe in the saving work of Christ on the cross, then we have peace that he has removed the weight of sin from our account and restored us to relationship with God and with others in his body. We do not need to be disheartened as we present our requests before his throne because his peace will guard our hearts and minds through Christ (Philippians 4:6–7). This is the beauty of his advent that we celebrate today. The Son of God coming to earth to grant us peace with God, the Creator who holds everything together by the power of his will—a peace that is greater than the world can understand.
Dear God, please give us the strength to endure and the joy to know that we are being taken care of by your capable hand. Help us to be comforted today by the knowledge that you have forgiven our sins and that you are the Judge who does rightly. Please let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts today. Amen.
