Today is the second Sunday of the Advent season. Last week we lit the candle of Hope. Today’s candle is Peace.

There seems to be precious little peace in our world today. The war in Gaza has passed the two-month mark. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is approaching its second anniversary. These are the two conflicts we hear about most these days.

The Syrian civil war drags on, forgotten by those not living there. There are regional conflicts in the Congo area, Sudan, Libya and Ethiopia. And those are just the African ones that immediately come to my mind. In this season of peace, there isn’t much peace to be found.

But it just isn’t on a large scale that there is no peace. Wars and large-scale conflicts are only a reflection of the internal restlessness that fuels them. If Vladimir Putin, who uses religion as a political tool while ignoring its tenets, was at peace with himself, he wouldn’t need the validation of war.

Everywhere you look, you will see people searching for peace. Politicians preach peace, but don’t seem to have it themselves. Conspiracy theorists abound – and none seems to have inner peace. Crime, always in the news, is a reflection of that lack of inner peace.

Into a world in turmoil, Advent brings us a message of “peace on earth,” as the angels announced to the shepherds. Unexpected. Illogical. But true nonetheless.

So on this second Sunday of Advent, as we light the peace candle, I pray that God will grant you His peace. If we can each grasp that as individuals, the larger issues will take care of themselves.