Listen

“I have spoken these things to you while I am with you. The Companion, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I told you.

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid.”

John 14:25-27

Think

As wars and violence rage both in faraway countries and places closer to home, we are moved to pray for peace. First and foremost, we pray for an end to hostilities — that the shooting and bombing and killing would come to a swift end. The peace we pray for is a sense of reconciliation among warring factions, or at very least a mutual understanding of the shared humanity found on all sides of the geo-political fences we have constructed.

Thankfully, God’s peace is not the same as the world’s peace. The peace that Jesus leaves with his disciples, the peace that he gives to his followers today, is a peace that the world simply cannot give. It is greater than a ceasefire, more powerful than a signed treaty. God’s peace is a word of quiet to a troubled heart, a word of hope in the midst of fear, a word of healing in the face of trauma.

Let us also pray for this deeper peace. The peace of God which surpasses human understanding.

Peter Hanson

Pray

Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth;
from despair to hope, from fear to trust;
lead me from hate to love, from war to peace.
Let peace fill our heart, our world, our universe. Amen

World Peace Prayer in A New Zealand Prayer Book

Go

You are a beloved child of God,

created in God’s image,

empowered with the gift of Christ’s peace,

led by the Spirit of truth.

Go into this troubled world led beyond your fear to live as God’s children here and now.