Longing for Peace: Week 2, Day 2:

Dec 15, 20233 min read

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:7)

Dona Nobis Pacem (Give us Peace) - Carrie Newcomer.

As we come to the end of Week 2 of Advent, take a few quiet, still moments to listen to this simple and beautiful prayer-song for peace. In her weekly Substack column, Carrie Newcomer writes about the message of this song: "'Dona Nobis Pacem' has always felt like a blessing... full of depth and longing, an implied question and invitation of “when, and please come” but it also invokes the peace available right here and right now."

Peace is not the absence of strife.

Peace is acceptance

and surrender to that which is.

Peace is the profound awareness of

the one true source

from which all things emerge...

and to which all things return.

(Gunilla Norris)

Today there are many places in ourselves and in the world outside of us that lack peace. At the time of Jesus' birth, there was also a great need for peace in the world and in people's hearts. The Hebrew word "shalom" refers to peace but it is a peace extending beyond an absence of conflict. Shalom includes wholeness, well-being, completeness and reconciliation.

Frederick Buechner writes about such peace:

"Peace has come to mean the time when there aren't any wars or even when there aren't any major wars. Beggars can't be choosers; most of us would settle for that. But in Hebrew peace, shalom, means fullness, means having everything you need to be wholly and happily yourself."

Imagine that -- having everything you need to be wholly and happily yourself!

Don't we all long for such peace?

Blessing by Pastor Steve:

I give you the quiet peace of this present moment:

without hurry, fear or need to be elsewhere,

but right here, right now, as you are, at rest.

I give you the strong peace of yourself:

the peace of forgiveness and my delight in who you are,

with no need to prove yourself or do better.

I give you the vibrant peace of oneness with all living things,

the peace of deep belonging,

and reconciliation with all people.

I give you the life-giving peace of my own spirit,

my love, trust and courage beating in your heart,

my presence in your soul.

I give you the joyous peace of trust --

trust in your life and its goodness,

trust in the Beloved and your belovedness.

I give you the renewing peace of healing,

of blessing hidden even in struggle and pain,

of trust that even in suffering all shall be well.

I give not as the world gives, from the outside,

but from within, by your being created,

and it cannot be taken away.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

For reflection and prayer:

Re-read the blessing above slowly. Which words of blessing touch you most?
Buechner defines peace as having everything you need to be wholly and happily yourself. What would that be like for you? What would need to be changed?
What situations or people in need peace, do you carry in your heart today?

Let us pray to be both a container and channel of peace - for ourselves and others. May the love of Christ lead us in the pathways of peace.

Lord make me an instrument of peace by Porter's Gate

https://youtu.be/d0ZYPpqcIP0?si=sKjFXeUF9Dbanzhv