Tuesday: The Prince of Peace
“And he is named . . . Prince of Peace.”
Here we have one of the most familiar prophecies of the coming of the promised One. Handel set this passage to glorious music, "For unto us a child is born," in the oratorio, Messiah.
It was a dark world when Isaiah first spoke. Enemies were all around the little nation of Israel. Jesus came into the cruel world of the Roman Empire where life was cheap. The emperor was a brutal dictator. Morals were almost unknown. Extremes of wealth and poverty existed side by side. Darkness and cruelty are still a part of life in our world.
But in the midst of darkness comes the eternal promise of one who is to be called Prince of Peace. This is not necessarily the peace we enjoy in the absence of war. Biblical peace, or shalom, is the existence of health and wholeness, regardless of the outside circumstances. To know we are loved can bring peace and wholeness even in poverty and distress.
The coming of Jesus opened the way to the eternal kingdom of God where peace and justice always reign. The promised child will govern a kingdom where evil is destroyed and wrongs are right. We have been promised a place in that kingdom.
For Reflection: Does the Prince of Peace rule my heart?
A Prayer Seed:
Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,
And usher in the morning.
This Child, now weak in infancy,
Our confidence and joy shall be;
The power of Satan breaking,
Our peace eternal making.
Johann Rist, 1641
