On the church’s calendar, Advent marks the beginning of a new year. So on this eighth day of the new year which Advent marks, I’m thinking about starting afresh, beginning again. In essence every Advent season strikes that same note of hope and grace. Kind of like a clean slate, a do-over. And whenever I think of beginning again, starting over, being given a clean slate, being graced with a do-over, I think of that magnificent passage of Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth: "From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. (2 Corinthians 5:16-18)

For just a moment, allow me to cast a spotlight on the practical wisdom and heavenly principle of reconciliation that Paul proclaims in II Corinthians and to us. Allow me to do so by highlighting the three R’s of Reconciliation:

If peace is a major focus of the season, it is surely a prophetic task. And if we take seriously the prophetic calling during the sacredness of this season, we cannot help but focus on peace. Consider, then, a prophet’s heart as a distinctly beautiful, four-chambered organ.

One chamber is for righteous anger in the face of injustice.

Rather than an emotion to be avoided at all costs, anger is always one of the purest and most appropriate responses to a violated value.