Saturday, December 14, 2024
Lectionary: Is 8:1-15; Ps 80:1-3; 2Th 3:6-18 ,14-18; Mt 17:9-13
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. 2 Th 3:16
I was anxious. So, I bought a deep blue Christmas tree thinking it would make me feel more peaceful. And as beautiful as it was—with gold and sliver poinsettias, clear glass balls,and baby blue sequin and feather birds, it did not cut through the panic and despair growing inexplicably in my soul. It did not make me feel less alone.
The problem was deeper.
My life was too busy. I was carrying a load I could not carry — trying to do everything on my own even though I was ill and needed help because there was no one to ask. I used to be a news junkie. Now the voices on the news and in the media were chaotic, contradictory and violent. I was tired and anxious. I was growing resentful. How was, I supposed to have peace?
How can one have peace where the world seems unjust and we feel overburdened and put upon?
Let’s look at one of the readings for today. 2 Th 3:6-18 is starts off with warnings about sin and moves on to a plea that sinners be asked to change their ways.
But in Verse 16, Paul pivots from his warnings about the dangers of idleness, gossip, and taking advantage of others to say “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”
Paul’s lambasts the slackers and thieves among the congregation and urges the church to take action for 10 verses. Then he calls them to peace.
They are called to peace and unity AFTER they take action to restore balance and fairness in their community. Their lack of peace has served a purpose.
So can the lack of peace we experience also be a warning that something is amiss in our lives? As we pray, can we ask God to show us what our lack of peace is pointing us to? Can we discern situations that are within our power to change as we pray for grace to navigate the things we cannot change. I think so.
We can indeed pray for peace be restored to us in our private lives as well as the wider world, no matter how crazy or hectic or unfair life appears.
Restoring peace is not always a passive process. Sometimes God shows us things we must do to detach from the meaningless noise of the world. For some of us that will mean rewatching the Sunday service or getting to an extra church service on a snowy day in the middle of Advent. He may ask us to pray or read the Bible more. He may tell us to take a walk, get off social media, or avoid watching the news before bed. For others, finding peace may mean doing something for others — helping a neighbour, making a gift, or cooking a meal at the soup kitchen. Some of us might need to learn to ask for help from our neighbours as well as from God.
No matter what God asks us to do, true peace is a supernatural gift—the result of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. We can’t create it without God’s help. It is a gift we must accept. A gift we must share with others. I wish you peace.
by Jane Harris-Zsovan
Unfortunately. most of this post is missing. Here is what is missing:
ReplyDeleteHow can one have peace where the world seems unjust and we feel overburdened and put upon?
Let’s look at one of the readings for today. 2 Th 3:6-18 is starts off with warnings about sin and moves on to a plea that sinners be asked to change their ways.
But in Verse 16, Paul pivots from his warnings about the dangers of idleness, gossip, and taking advantage of others to say “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”
Paul’s lambasts the slackers and thieves among the congregation and urges the church to take action for 10 verses. Then he calls them to peace.
They are called to peace and unity AFTER they take action to restore balance and fairness in their community. Their lack of peace has served a purpose.
So can the lack of peace we experience also be a warning that something is amiss in our lives? As we pray, can we ask God to show us what our lack of peace is pointing us to? Can we discern situations that are within our power to change as we pray for grace to navigate the things we cannot change. I think so.
We can indeed pray for peace be restored to us in our private lives as well as the wider world, no matter how crazy or hectic or unfair life appears.
Restoring peace is not always a passive process. Sometimes God shows us things we must do to detach from the meaningless noise of the world. For some of us that will mean rewatching the Sunday service or getting to an extra church service on a snowy day in the middle of Advent. He may ask us to pray or read the Bible more. He may tell us to take a walk, get off social media, or avoid watching the news before bed. For others, finding peace may mean doing something for others — helping a neighbour, making a gift, or cooking a meal at the soup kitchen. Some of us might need to learn to ask for help from our neighbours as well as from God.
No matter what God asks us to do, true peace is a supernatural gift—the result of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. We can’t create it without God’s help. It is a gift we must accept. A gift we must share with others. I wish you peace.
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