01/10/2023
Peace. Christmas is behind us – even the Magi have returned to their homes by another road, and the world continues to spin – seemingly out of control at times. The war in Ukraine continues. Politicians continue to attack one another to the extent that we are left to wonder whether anything can ever be accomplished and the issues that divide them spill over into relationships in communities and homes across our nation. The news is filled with reports of crimes and new scams. Disease and death rear their ugly heads still. Peace? We long for peace in the midst of it all.
We search for peace in a variety of ways. Turning off the news perhaps. Venturing outside on a quiet morning coated with a hoar frost. Jetting off to someplace warm. A gathering of friends. A basketball game or a Holiday Concert delayed by the snow. Skiing or snowshoeing. A return to someplace dear. The quiet of the early morning or the close of a busy day. Gathering for worship and prayer. In the stillness or in the hustle and bustle. In a variety of ways, we search for peace. Surely you have some places that I have not named.
“Peace I leave with you;” Jesus said, “my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” It's easy to list all the things that challenge us and make us long for peace. It’s easy, too, to list a variety of things and places where we turn in our search for peace. But this setting is likely not the first place we would think of. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that you might not think of turning to Jesus for peace, rather, it’s this setting that we might not think of when it comes to peace. Things were getting pretty heated that night and they were about to get worse. It was the last time the disciples would gather together as they had so many times and Jesus was trying to prepare them for what was to come. He had told them so many times and they didn’t understand – couldn’t understand. Now he wanted to give them something to hang onto in what he knew was going to be the hardest thing they had ever faced. And he gave them something that they would pass on to us for those times when life is hard.
“Peace I leave with you;” Jesus said, “my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” John 14:27. There are a variety of places we may go to help us to center and hear our Lord speak. The picture I shared above is one of my favorite places, nestled in the trees, along the bike path, beside the Cedar River of my youth. There, in the quiet of that space (and countless others), I feel that peace that is Christ Jesus. And leaving there, though the world still spins, seemingly out of control, the peace of Christ goes too.
“Peace I leave with you;” Jesus said, “my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” This promise goes with you in all that you do, that we may go forth in peace and serve the Lord.
This is Pastor Janet Gwin, serving congregations in Lignite, Columbus, Noonan, and rural Crosby, and this is Prairie Faith Devotions for Tuesday, January 10, 2023.
