Advent: a Season of Peace?

John the Baptist, one of my favorite Biblical figures, appears in the Revised Common Lectionary at the beginning of Advent and Lent. It's not an accident. John is a guidepost, a messenger, sent to call us back to faithful discipleship. The reason for John's appearance is not to comfort us, but to get our attention. There's a lot we need to pay attention to this Advent.

With Advent soon approaching I’m troubled by recent developments across the country. The contrast between a peaceful season of anticipation and joy and blatant hatred is jarring. At this writing our country is experiencing an upsurge in racist and hateful rhetoric. It can be found online on many websites and on social media. It is impossible to avoid unless we completely shut ourselves off from the world. As Christians we believe that in the Incarnation, which we celebrate at Christmas, we celebrate the coming of one who can bring peace and reconciliation to all peoples. Peace and reconciliation doesn’t appear to be high on the agendas of some Christians. Division has invaded this season of peace.

This rhetoric we are hearing falls into the category of “White Supremacy,” often now called “Christian Identity.” In this world view, white people are the only true heirs of the nation of Israel, descended from the so-called ten lost tribes of Israel. In this line of thinking Jews are not the real heirs of Israel and should be eliminated. This is the origin of the idea of “Christian identity,” the notion that the only true Christians are white.

These hate-filled views extend to other races and religious faiths. All other races are seen as sub-human, survivors of a previous creation, and should be forced out of the United States, which is the white homeland. In this particular view, white Americans are superior in breeding. The idea of eugenics, a pseudo-science that evolved in the United States and was picked up by Adolph Hitler in the 1920’s, called for the elimination of inferior races to benefit white Americans. The eugenics movement here and in Europe resulted in mass-sterilization of people of color in prison and in institutions.

There has been a resurgence in violence and hate targeting Muslim Americans as well. This increased dramatically after 9/11 but it has increased even more. Muslims in the United States are being labelled as terrorists even though the vast majority are not. Negative rhetoric against women, LGBT people, and anyone else who isn’t white and male is becoming more prevalent.

At the beginning of Advent, why should I trouble anyone with this trend? Shouldn’t we be thinking about the peace of Christmas, celebrating the gifts that God has given us? Of course. We should also consider “the things that make for peace,” as the prophet Jeremiah puts it. One of those things that make for peace is the affirmation of all people. We can easily get caught up in feelings of goodwill and harmony during this season and forget that it is not a season of peace and happiness for everyone. Our response? Call it for what it is. The Gospel calls for us to be active, not passive.

There is no place for racism and hatred in our Christian faith, despite the efforts of some to characterize the Christian faith as for whites only. At the time of year when we celebrate the gift of peace through Christ we should also work toward bringing that gift of peace to all. The message of reconciliation found in our faith is not just for some, but for everyone.

With an increase in hatred, or perhaps more accurately, an increase in the public expression of hatred, our task as Christians is to examine our own thoughts and attitudes, and to speak out when we hear hateful attitudes expressed, whether that hatred is expressed toward LGBT people, people of color, Muslims, or anyone else.

Our society hears enough words of division on a daily basis. Can we work toward reconciliation, lifting up the good and denouncing hatred wherever it is found? I hope so. Let’s continue to think about what we can do as individuals and as a church to put forth the affirmation that in Christmas we find the affirmation of the sacredness of all life, made known to us in the Incarnation of Christ.