I am praying for peace in Gaza. Not just for the violence to end, but for peace. Salaam. Shalom. Wholeness, fulfillment. For peace to break out, to just completely confound those whose lives are benefited by the continuing violence. For people to seek peace with the same willingness to die that they seek war.
O God, beat the damned swords into plowshares, melt down the unholy mortars into cymbals and gongs, end destruction and teach the people to seek truth, beauty, you.
Anger and rage, power and unforgiveness are destroying not only the people, but the land itself. Evil wins too often, there. Rightness, righteousness, justice - words get thrown around like weapons, pre-weapons, protoweapons.
I am praying for peace in Jerusalem, the home of our faith, the place where our Lord worshiped, ate, taught, lived, died, rose. For people there, and here, to understand that righteousness is love lived out in care for others. There is no other righteousness. Justice is love - there is no other justice.
I am praying for peace in Israel, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In Iraq and Iran, in Afghanistan and the million other places where violence is the power of the day. I am praying for children trained in hatred and violence, and deep down, trained to fear. I am praying for the church, there and here, to be the Body of Christ, willing to be crucified rather than give up on love.
I am praying for my own mind to be a mind of peace, for my words to be words of healing and hope and mercy, for my actions to bring blessings to others. I am praying to be a force for peace, here in Elkhart. Here in my office, my home, my church.
Pray for peace. Be peace where I am.
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