"True peace is not found in the denial of conflict." - A reflection on Peace

For the second week of Advent Rev'd Kate Harrison, Canon Chancellor at Llandaff Cathedral, reflects on conflict as a place where creativity takes root...

Conflict is often seen as the opposite of peace, yet the peace Christ promises is not the fragile calm that comes from avoiding tension. From the very beginning of His ministry, Christ stepped into a world marked by political oppression, social division, and deep global unrest. His presence shows that true peace is not found in the denial of conflict but in the courageous engagement of it. Christ brings a peace rooted in truth and justice—a peace that transforms rather than merely soothes. When viewed through this lens, global conflict can become a place where creativity takes root, where new possibilities for reconciliation and shared flourishing begin to emerge.

On the world stage, avoiding conflict may seem like the safer or more diplomatic path, but avoidance rarely leads to lasting peace. When nations silence dissenting voices, or when injustice is overlooked to maintain “stability,” the result is not harmony but the slow build-up of resentment and inequality. Such peace is only surface-deep, a thin veneer stretched over unresolved pain. Real peace must grapple with the hard questions—questions about fairness, identity, sovereignty, and human dignity. Christ’s peace invites the world into this honest confrontation, because only truth can heal what lies broken beneath global tensions.

When conflict is handled with transparency, humility, and a commitment to justice, creativity flourishes. New political arrangements, cooperative structures, and shared commitments can arise—solutions that would never emerge in the silence of avoidance. This is the kind of peace Christ initiates: not the stillness of oppression, but the harmony that comes from restored relationships.

As Advent begins, we remember that the Prince of Peace enters a conflicted world not to erase its struggles, but to transform them. Advent hope teaches us that even global conflict can become a birthplace of new creation, where nations move toward the just and lasting peace Christ brings.