Spirit of gentleness, the Bible promises that the peace of God, which outstrips our understanding, will protect our hearts and minds in Christ (Philippians 4:7). I confess that I am not experiencing much peace.
Holy One, it occurs to me that your peace is likely all around me, but I have failed to perceive it. Rather than doing whatever Jesus has told me to do, just as his mother urged the wine stewards at the wedding in Cana, I wait with still hands and feet, a hushed mouth, earbuds in, and eyes closed. My plea for peace extends only as far as my breath reaches. Then I remember the word for “world” in John 3:16 – kosmos, like the English word, cosmos.
Open us to your divine love that so cherishes the world, the creation, the cosmos. Let us trust your love as the ground and source of our being. Let your eternal, life-giving love compel us into the world, following Jesus and doing whatever he tells us and shows us. With your love guiding, we can work the justice that offers healing and wholeness, restoration and reparation, hope and a future for all.
This message is excerpted from “Holy peace” by Julia Seymour in the July/August 2023 Gather magazine. Today is the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost.
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