Friday
December 3 Peace James 3:17-18
But
the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield,
full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And
a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.
****
The night was quiet. I sighed as I settled into my chair. Quiet, but peaceful? Did I feel at peace? More than the absence of activity or
conflict, peace eluded me. Nothing was
wrong per se, but was I peaceful? What
does that even mean?
“Wisdom from above is…peaceable” the
author declares. Am I not wise enough to
find peace? My thoughts too muddled and
filled? If I try to rely purely on
myself to achieve some semblance of peace, I find myself sorely lacking.
Wisdom comes when we see our own
limitations and see that peace that surpasses all understanding comes from
Christ. Peace is more than quietness or
a lack of conflict. Peace – particularly
in the biblical sense – is about wholeness (Hebrew: shalom). It is seeing and experiencing the fullness of
life that God intends for each one of us as well as the whole of creation.
This first week of Advent, we focus on
“peace” and we find that we cannot conjure it on our own. Peace is that which God created as his Spirit
brought life from the chaos. God
breathed peace into our lungs, filling us with that sense of purpose and
meaning, of completeness.
Wisdom invites us back to that peace,
back to the moment of creation when God’s Spirit breathed peace upon the
world.
Pray: Take a moment, pausing to take a
deep breath in, reflecting on the words “the peace of the Lord be with you
always”. Breathe in those words; be
filled with God’s breath that brings peace, that brings wholeness. And as you release your breath – “and also
with you” – release that peace back out into the world, praying that the peace
of Christ may again dwell within all people.
Repeat now…and later… and whenever you wisely seek a true sense of peace
for yourself and the world.
Pastor
Jen Boyd
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