In my morning prayer a few days ago I was thinking of the many places that need peace: places of poverty and pandemic, gun violence, wars and political turmoil, the homeless and hungry, and friends and family who are struggling. These all weigh heavy on my heart. And as I held these places in prayer, I began to feel a gentle tug in my heart reminding me of my own need for peace. This is where I need to begin, I thought.
So today, I begin with myself. I ask God for the peace I need. Then, joined with God, my prayer for peace expands outward to my family, community, friends and the world. It is not selfish to begin with our own need for peace. It is where we must begin. When we are aware of our own need for peace, we can have greater compassion for, and solidarity with, those around us who also need and long for peace.
Where does your heart need peace today?
Especially at Christmas, the need for peace in our world seems great. Today is Winter Solstice, the day of longest night, in which we remember the sadness and pain that many experience and carry at this time of year. May we all find comfort and hope in the promised coming of the "Prince of Peace."
Prayer Practice: A Web of Peace
Peace Prayer (by Rev. Kate Compston)
Peace is like gossamer – vulnerable, yet indestructible:
tear it, and it will be rewoven.
Peace does not despair.
Begin to weave a web of peace:
Start in the centre and make peace with yourself
and your God.
Take the thread outwards
and build peace within your family,
your community
and in the circle of those you find it hard to like.
Then stretch your concern into all the world.
Weave a web of peace and do not despair.
Love is the warp in the fabric of life:
truth is the weft:
care and integrity together – vulnerable,
but ultimately indestructible.
Together, they spell Peace.
Song: Let There Be Peace on Earth
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be
With God our creator
We are family
Let me walk with my brother (my sister)
In perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me / I’ve got peace like a river
Let this be the moment now / I’ve got peace like a river
With ev'ry step I take / I’ve got peace like a river
Let this be my solemn vow / in my soul
To take each moment and live / Pacem, pacem
Each moment in peace eternally / Pacem
Let there be peace on earth And let it begin with me
CLOSING BLESSING: (Kate Bowler)
Oh God, we are waiting, we are longing for You, oh Prince of Peace.
Come and reign in our hearts.
Settle us in quiet expectancy that as sure as day follows night,
you will come and be for us the wonder the world cannot give, the light that shows us how to see,
the wisdom that teaches us how to move with you, how to keep pace with you. And when we are troubled,
how to still ourselves in the certainty
that you are and ever will be our peace.
God have mercy. Christ have mercy. Spirit have mercy.
Alleluia, Christ has come! And will come again in glory!
Source:
Compston, Rev. Kate, Peace Prayer, from Godspace (godspacelight.com)
Bowler, Kate, The Season of Waiting (Advent Devotional), 2022.
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