A Calling To Share | Advent Devotional Day 6

Advent 2025 DevotionalCore | Peace
December 5, 2025
Written by Caroline Bartley

Title: A Calling To Share

Scripture:

My Reflection

In the busyness of the Christmas season, it’s easy for me to confuse peace with quiet time. When my calendar fills up and the cold sets in, my internal battery dwindles, and I start to guard what little alone time I can find. Don’t get me wrong, me-time is necessary to fulfill God’s purpose, but the Psalmist’s words remind us that peace is not a private possession; it’s a gift meant to be shared for the sake of community.

On Sundays, we hear “peace be with you” at least once from our pastors, and we extend it to others through handshakes, hugs, and even email signatures. At work, we offer it implicitly by asking coworkers about their weekends, sharing silly videos with friends, or showing thankless compassion to our patients, clients, and students. At home, we give peace to our pets, spouses, and children through kisses, “I love yous,” and laughter. If we have time, we find it in ourselves through prayer, coffee, and our TV favorite show. When Sunday comes, our pastors refill our tanks with those four familiar words, and we start our peace-engines all over again.

Extending Christ’s peace is part of the gig, but how often do we slow down to notice the ways God’s peace connects, comforts, and provides for the communities we belong to? How do we untangle peace from solitude and learn to find it in the busyness? Maybe it isn’t in escaping the noise but in being present within it. And maybe being present isn’t about adding more to our calendars, but recognizing the opportunities already before us. Use Sunday’s passing of the peace as a reminder to extend it intentionally and generously, because if peace is within us, then we are called to be within our communities.

My Prayer:

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