Pause

Peace, even just a few moments of being truly at ease, seems very, very hard to come by sometimes. There are just too many options for doing something "right now!" Slowing down becomes a luxury.

So...what to do? How to be? What next?

Peace, just a few moments of being truly at ease, could be there for you now, in a few moments within the heartbeat of God.

Listen

So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

Ephesians 2:17-22

Think

Everyone has an Uncle Doug. Sure, yours might be an aunt or sister or friend, but trust me, they’re like my Uncle Doug. Every time the family gets together, Doug has the same stories to tell. They’re stories about our family and memories of growing up. And every story is one we’ve heard a dozen times before.

Maybe that’s not such a bad thing, because remembering who we are is a good thing. Maybe the redundancy is actually driving home a bigger story.

Over and over again, so that we won’t miss it, this letter-writer is telling the Church, is telling you, that your spiritual family is special. You’ve been adopted into the most loving of families, where Christ is the defining member and you are an integral part. So listen closely to your story, even if you hear it over and over again on Sunday. Even if it get’s a little monotonous. Because it’s your story, and it’s worth telling again.

John Woods

Pray

Peaceful Spirit, who showed us our identity in Christ, help me to bask in the goodness of your story, so that I might finally remember that it is a story you are telling through me. Amen.

Go

Go in peace
With Christ now at your side.
Go with a sense of ease
That only Christ provides.
Go to share the calm within.
Peace.
Peace again.