I don’t think “peace and quiet” is what Isaiah meant when he conveyed God’s message, “Comfort, O comfort my people…” Or, more specifically, I don’t think he meant quiet. Quiet isn’t the right adjective for the just peace that we are both waiting for and called to live into as we wait in this season. No, this just peace cries out not from halls of power but from the wilderness. It is a peace that refuses to stand by and be quiet while all the things that keep us from right relationship with God, one another, and all creation remain. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for quiet. God’s just peace may not be quiet, but quiet is absolutely necessary for us to be able to participate in God’s just peace. The more we are overstimulated, the less we are able to connect with one another and with God. We need time and space to quiet the constant input, so we can listen and notice and connect with God and with our neighbors.