Advent Day 29: Prince of Peace

A Little Child Shall Lead Them: Universal Peace Window, Joseph G. Reynolds, date unknown. 4 x 6 in. Continental-sized postcard of stained glass window from the
Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. Public Domain.

Peaceable Kingdom, Edward Hicks, c. 1830–32. Oil on canvas, 45.4 x 60.6 cm. Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1970. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York. Public Domain.

“Prince of Peace” performed by Celtic Worship, composed by Naomi Stirrat (lyrics), Gus Stirrat and Mhairi Marwick.

“A Little Child Shall Lead Them” from the album The Cry - A Requiem For The Lost Child. Performed and composed by Adrian Snell.

Week Five Introduction:

Names Associated with the Supremacy of Christ

During our last week together, we’ll explore some of the names and titles associated with the supremacy of Christ. Evangelist Billy Sunday once said that Christ had so many names because “He is infinitely beyond all that any one name can express.” That’s a pretty good definition of supremacy. Even biblical language fails to adequately capture the infinite fullness of who and what Christ truly is. As Christians, we readily acknowledge that our Lord is above all in authority, power, and status. Indeed, Christ reigns supreme over everything humans know or hope to ever comprehend.

The supremacy of Jesus Christ is on full display in the book of Revelation, from which a number of this week’s texts are taken. The Apocalypse provides one of the most robust pictures of our Lord in Scripture. Seventy-two names and titles of Jesus are found within the last book of the Bible. John, the beloved disciple, has collaged together a breathtaking glimpse of Christ’s eternal eminence and sovereignty, revealing the indescribable majesty of His being. He is worthy of our worship as the Lord God Almighty. His names, above all other names, are precious because He has redeemed those from every tribe, tongue, and nation. We end our celebration of Christmas by focusing on names associated with the risen, glorified, and coming King. Treasuring our exalted, perfect sovereign, we humbly come into His presence with wholehearted praise. “To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen” (Jude 1:25, NKJV).

Amen!

Poetry:

“Prince of Peace”
by William Dunkerley

O Thou who standest both for God and Man,
O King of Kings, who wore no earthly crown,
O Prince of Peace, unto Thy feet we come,
And lay our burden down.

The weight had grown beyond our strength to bear,
Thy Love alone the woful thrall can break,
Thy Love, reborn into this world of care,
Alone can life remake.

How shall we turn to good this weight of ill?
How of our sorrows build anew to Thee?
"Of your own selves ye cannot stand or build,--
Only through Me,--through Me!"

O, turn once more to Thee the hearts of men,
Work through the leaven of our grief and pain,
Let not these agonies be all in vain,
Come, dwell with us again!

The world has nailed itself unto its cross;
O, tender to Thy hands its heart will prove,
For Thou alone canst heal its dreadful loss,--
Come Thou and reign in love!

Peace and the sword, Lord, Thou didst come to bring;
Too long the sword has drunk to Thy decrease.
Come now, by this high way of suffering,
And reign, O Prince of Peace!

Prince of Peace

Jesus is “The Prince of Peace.” Wrapped up in this we find the beautiful reality of relationships. To be a prince is to be a son, a child. While sons and daughters grow up, they always remain children to their parents. And it is the Parent-Child relationship of the Trinity that is our entry point into Divine Love. When we follow Jesus and receive him as our Savior, we become folded into the relational love of God, and thus empowered to be at peace with God and each other.

Yet in recent years, I’ve been troubled that the loving relationships of those within the Body of Christ have been strained to near breaking. I grieve the division between my very brothers and sisters in Christ, division not rooted in our prophetic cries for truth and justice, but our fights over mis-aligned fears and allegiances. It seems as if Christians have forgotten to center ourselves on the Prince of Peace, instead reacting with rage over social and political views.

The poet William Dunkerley captures this overwhelm: “The weight had grown beyond our strength to bear/Thy Love alone the woful thrall can break.” That is the core of our relational peace—we must lay our burdens down, trusting in the love of Jesus to help us overcome.

When we lose sight of this trust, we forget to hold disagreements with grace. I’m glad that the Church has moved past its tragic wars over theological differences (like baptism or communion). This current peace is exemplified as I lead a visual arts nonprofit for people from across all Christian traditions—Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant. However, current Christian division comes not from our beliefs, but from our allegiances.

It is here that we must hold onto the promise from 2 Thessalonians 3:16: “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.” This is the peace we are called to model, regardless of our earthly allegiances.

Celtic Worship gives us a song to sing in this place: “What was prophesied has come to pass / Hope arriving means I’m free at last / Prince of Peace rule over me / Prince of Peace reign.”

Prophets like Daniel looked toward this future reign, as did Isaiah:

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them. Isaiah 11:6 (NKJV)

This prophecy reminds us that while Jesus has already inaugurated his kingdom, our full and complete peace is still our hope for the age to come.

Today’s art invites us to see the child from this prophecy, read as the Prince of Peace. Reynold depicts a child making peace between animals that formerly would have been prey and predator. Likewise, Hicks'The Peaceable Kingdom (one of 62) is rich with animal imagery and child companions, speaking to the depth and breadth of Christ's peace.

The richness of this invitation to the Child is deepened by the nuances of Isaiah’s Hebrew—ha qāṭān—translated in other parts of Scripture as small, least, lesser, youngest, and even insignificant. To see this visualized is to bring it into stark reality. And hearing the song, “A Little Child Shall Lead Them,” we are urged to look past worldly power toward the humble child. It is in this view of Christ that we can still hold differences, disagreements even, but these won’t drive destructive division.

In the midst of Christmas, we are asked to find the royal child seemingly so insignificant that an animal's food trough was his bed. Yet like those with eyes to see and ears to hear, the Magi who studied Daniel's prophecy knew a king was born. Their revelation connects today with the Feast of the Holy Innocents, which contrastingly commemorates King Herod's attempt to destroy that king. It highlights the conflict between worldly power and divine humility. As Dunkerley’s poem concludes, it is not the power of the sword that increases the peaceable kingdom we long for, but the power of Christ in humility.

So, we must let Jesus lead us. Peter reminds us that God has exalted and honored Jesus “to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31). This is the ultimate relational peace: a forgiving one. We must follow and allow Christ to reign in our lives. Because only Jesus, “who wore no earthly crown,” embodies the humility, the qāṭān, to truly bring us and the world to peace.

Then each of us, whether as a wolf or lamb, leopard or young goat, donkey or elephant, should let go of our heavy burdens of power, rage, apathy, or pain, and gather around the “insignificant” child whom we find in the manger to restore us to the peace of our relationships with one another and with God.

Prayer:
Jesus, you are the Prince of Peace and Savior. Thank you that through your Salvation I am restored to peace with the Father and folded into your love even more deeply. May you reign in my life, leading me and your Church as the all-powerful yet humble Child. Lead me as a child in living out your peace in the world.
Amen

Steven Homestead
Artist, Composer, Writer, and Curator