There are times when it all seems so hopeless. There is a strong temptation to simply despair. Very little effort is required to evoke an awareness of the cloud of violence which seems to envelope our world. Just in the seven years I have been in this congregation there have been conflicts and wars in so many different places around the globe that it becomes difficult even to recall all the names. But even just a few will suffice -- Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, Israel, Afghanistan. In September of last year the violence which defines life in so many other places was brought home to us in dramatic fashion with the attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. And now there is no where to hide from the constant barrage of information about the impending threat of a war in Iraq. We know about violence. We know about war. It is easy for us to identify with the ancient Hebrew people’s longing for peace. We also long for the hopeful message which the prophet Isaiah proclaimed to the exiles living in Babylon -- “comfort!” Appearances to the contrary not withstanding, God is at work even in the very midst of our violent world, bringing the reality of peace to fruition. It is a message of hope and promise which continues to speak to us today.

But is it only that? Is the prospect of peace so far out of reach that we can only long for the day when God will intervene and bring about that which is completely unattainable by any other means? In my more cynical moments I am tempted to answer “yes.” But both Isaiah and John the baptizer would disagree. Both of these powerful prophets point beyond themselves to the coming of God’s presence among us. But they also both understand that we have a role to play. “Prepare the way of the Lord!” Advent is a season of watching, waiting and anticipating. But it is also a season of preparing. To be a people of faith is to live with the understanding that we cannot do everything, and must therefore place our trust in God. But at the same time there is much that we can do. “Prepare the way of the Lord!” We are called to make our lives and our world ready to receive the presence of God which is, indeed, already among us.

But how shall we understand the task which is laid out before us? What is it we are called to do? What does it mean to “prepare the way of the Lord?” I believe that an important clue to answering these questions can be found in a close examination of the word “peace.” It is a concept which carries with it so much more weight than we usually recognize. In his book Wishful Thinking, Frederick Buechner writes: “Peace has come to mean the time when there aren’t any major wars. Beggars can’t be choosers; we’d most of us settle for that. But in Hebrew peace, shalom, means fullness, means having everything you need to be wholly and happily yourself. . . for Jesus peace seems to have meant not the absence of struggle but the presence of love.” So, if we take this idea seriously, then “preparing the way of the Lord” might mean seeking to live our lives in such a manner that we are in balance and in harmony with ourselves, with each other, with the world and with God. Given our track record over the course of human history, it isn’t likely that we will succeed in such efforts on our own. But simply being intentional about choosing to start down that path begins to create an environment where God’s presence will be recognized -- God’s guidance will be sought -- God’s help will be welcomed.

We find additional clues concerning what such a path might look like in the texts from Isaiah and Mark. In calling for the way to be prepared, Isaiah describes the building of a road that is straight and level and smooth. “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.” (Isaiah 40:4) He is not laying out the world’s most elaborate civil engineering project. He is talking about creating a level playing field where everyone everywhere has the opportunity to experience the fullness of life which God intends. Bringing life into such balance would certainly qualify as a definition of shalom. Can you imagine what dramatic transformation God might accomplish if we even took one single step in that direction?

The problem, of course, is that we mostly don’t walk in that direction. We don’t even travel in the same neighborhood. For those of us who live in our “first world” “consumer driven” culture, where even many of the poorest among us are wealthy in comparison to the rest of the world, the call to “prepare the way of the Lord” presents a particularly uncomfortable challenge. Creating the smooth and level highway envisioned by Isaiah begins with the recognition that we cannot continue to enjoy our affluence at the expense of other’s poverty. John’s call for repentance (to turn around and go the other way) is a call we must begin to take seriously. In another part of his book “Wishful Thinking,” Frederick Buechner puts it this way: “compassion” is “the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it’s like to live inside somebody else’s skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.”

Of course such matters are complicated. Figuring out the most helpful ways to live such a life and begin building such a world will require the very best efforts from each of us for the rest of our lives. And even then the chances are we will not always (or even ever) get it right. President Bush describes his “war on terrorism” as a long and difficult process which will require a great deal of sacrifice. Can we expect any less from the process of “waging peace?” And finally we must always remember to include God in our calculations. Preparing the way is not the same as finally building the way. On our own such efforts will always disappoint. But when God is included in the process then genuine shalom becomes more than just a pipe dream.

So in this season of Advent, as we watch and wait and anticipate the coming of the “prince of peace,” let us prepare the way of the Lord by committing ourselves to the challenge of “waging peace” in our lives and in our world.