I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.

O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want.

The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good?
Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Our journey through Advent, the time of waiting and preparation for the Prince of Peace, is going to be a journey through the lens of peace. This is a slightly different way to approach Advent. Normally we hear the stories of John the Baptist, Elizabeth and Zachariah, Mary and Joseph, and then the birth of Jesus. We will still hear some of these stories, but this year, we are going to look at different stories in the bible that are connected to peace. A peace that we will pursue, which will lead us to the birth of Jesus, the true Prince of Peace. For Jesus was the ultimate Peacemaker, and as followers of Jesus, we should exemplify his peace to the world. Yet, instead of offering people peace, many Christians offer anything but peace to those we meet. So we start our journey of peace in Psalm 34, our guiding scripture is the last line in the psalm, ?Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it? Pursuing peace will guide us to the manger and keep us centered in a true sense of hope, love, joy, and peace. As I look at the various things happening in our world, I think people need peace more than anything else. Peace can come in many different ways, but as Christians, we can share a peace that is life changing. But wherever there is peace, a healthy dose of fear exists as well. As we begin this journey, I invite you to pray with me.

Every day, we can turn on the television and see images of fear. These images come through gang violence, the color of someone?s skin, burning down buildings, rioting, protesting, shootings in schools and malls, the acts of Congress, babies that are abandoned and some killed, questions over how people dress, and even fear about someone else?s belief system. Fear is everywhere. In addition, we all have things we personally fear as well. Fear of not being good enough, not having enough money, fear of losing a loved one, fear of failure, and this list could go on and on. If we allow for it, fear could overtake us and truly destroy our lives and our faith in God. And yet, we are told to fear the Lord. Which is a blessing and a mystery! And, for me, the opposite of fear is peace. Yet, the images of peace are not as evident as the images of fear. But they are out there. ** And if we allow for it, peace could overtake us and truly enrich our lives and our faith. We could have an overwhelming sense of Shalom resting inside of us.

Our passage from Psalms is a psalm of thanksgiving, a song of praise to God, words about being delivered, and a testimony to how God has been in the psalmists life. This is a psalm that invites everyone into these words so that all of us can relate and find a place within the words. Many of us have offered thanksgivings over the past week. And some of us might not be able to offer those words at this time. These words of thanksgiving are a little different. A psalm of thanksgiving is really a public report of how God rescued a person or persons from danger. It is when one person tells others so they too might appreciate and lend their own voices in praise of the Lord?s kindness and power. In telling others what God has done, it is one of the ways we can praise God. By doing so, God is being thanked because God?s actions are being shared with those in the community. This invites others into being in a relationship with God.

Our passage begins with the opening line ?I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.? What would life look like if we blessed the Lord at all times? Another way to translate the Hebrew word ?to bless? is ?to kneel.? For me, that was a powerful image. It reminded me that there is an action involved with our thanksgiving. We can say the words, but to put those words into action is even more powerful and meaningful. And if we bless the Lord all the time and praise is continually in our mouths, then all people around us would be witnesses to that. The psalmist wants these words to be overheard and to have this song sung by others. The people who are called to join are ?the humble.? Which can also be translated as the ?poor?, ?afflicted?, or ?lowly?. These are people who are in great need?from poverty or from some other affliction?who trustingly wait for the Lord to intervene on their behalf. These are words for people who are afraid, ashamed, distressed, persecuted, unhappy, and vulnerable. These words of thanksgiving are ways to share good news with others and invite other people into these words and this story of celebration with God. The psalmist is encouraging everyone to create a song of praise for our lives, something beautiful, maybe a work of art, and then tell your artful story to the afflicted and afraid, so that they might ?taste and see that the Lord is good.? Meaning, transform your good fortune into compassionate, beautiful testimony for ?the humble,? lifting their spirits so that they too might join the celebration. You never know who is in need of having their spirits lifted right around you. It could be the person sitting next to you in church, standing in the grocery line with you, or at the gym or work. In doing so, you are taking the focus off of yourselves and placing the emphasis on God. God is the one celebrated, blessed, and praised.

And then we move into the passage where the phrase to ?fear the Lord? is said. This is always a difficult phrase to understand. For it does not mean to be afraid of God, but rather means to have a respect for the positive mystery of God. This type of fear does not focus on scarcity. This positive fear knows no limit to the grace of God. This type of fear is connected with seeking, and seeking is a way of showing respect for the Lord. Seeking is actually the process that respects God. To honor and respect God might be to have the courage to search, to seek, to ask. ?Fear? does not mean to passively surrender and to cower; ?fear,? in this context, means seeking and pursuing. In doing this, we are not relying on ourselves. We should not take pride in our own self-sufficiency or rely on our own power-if we do so, the psalmist is sharing with us that we will be left to our own devices. Yet, those who fear, revere, seek, the Lord, will lack nothing.

And what does all of this have to do with peace? Well, everything that is written in this psalm shares how we are to be in the world. In essence, Psalm 34 speaks a lot about ethical behavior. Respect for the Lord is also related to goodness and peace. The life we are called to live, because of God, is one that involves living faithfully and enjoying the good. To seek after the Lord is to turn away from evil for the sake of the utter good. ?Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.? In our faith, we recognize that evil is real. And the work we have to do is to meet evil directly and overcome it by doing the good. Thus according to Psalm 34, the abundant, joyful life begins by fasting from evil speech, and will come to fruition through peacemaking. This is what ?fear of the Lord? looks like, not only because God hates evil and loves the good, but also?and decisively?because evil cuts us off from life and enjoyment, while genuine peacemaking, by contrast, immerses us in life and enjoyment.

Our journey to prepare the way for the Prince of Peace has to begin with all of us individually. Striving for a life of peace in a world filled with evil and unhealthy fears, is difficult. It involves facing evil and fear, in whatever form it comes in, head on. Taking the steps to be a peacemaker begins with you. Finding peace within yourself is the first step. It is important to be aware of the elements in your life where you live in fear instead of with an inward peace. Having a strong inner peace impacts whether or not you can pursue peace with others. When we seek peace with our whole self, others reap the benefits of our peace that comes from God. It is my prayer as we walk this journey to the manger, we begin by looking within ourselves, offer thanksgiving to God for the everything in our lives, that we share God?s story with those we meet, and that we pursue peace in a way that glorifies God. Let that journey of wholeness begin as we seek the Prince of Peace in our lives and for our world.