The Pain in Remembering and Hope of Advent

It was wet and cold this morning as grade seven and eight stood outside for an hour. Grade seven marked Remembrance Day at the downtown cenotaph, while grade eight stood outside at the Royal Canadian Regiment Museum. The wintry mix of sleet was a fitting backdrop for the Remembrance Day proceedings. Gratitude for service and the high cost of freedom were certainly foremost in our minds as wore our poppies and bowed our heads. The tears, barren tree branches, and a brisk wind remind us of the raw reality of what we are also recalling; wars and fighting remain, guns have not been silenced, hatred still motivates harm, and people. We lament that conflict abounds nearby and far away from our home and native land.

The grade two/three class led the service in in our school gym. Spoken words, songs, and visuals during the student-led chapel affirmed that we need to “let the peace of Christ rule in [our] hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.” Colossians 3:15

That peace seems very elusive. Human suffering continues in the hands of tyrants, and so many wait for the kind of justice and peace that Christ commanded. Is there hope?

 Yes! That peace of Christ comes to us as we pattern our lives after his gospel. I’m so thankful that the “message of Christ” is part of life here at LCES in the devotional and learning parts of every day. The coming kingdom of God with justice and peace for all is what we work for every day in each lesson and conversation, each challenge and success. May our students grow in wisdom that propagates peace and returns our world back to way God originally created it – beautiful, perfect, and filled with peace.

The hope of advent is just around the corner.

SJ