LET THERE BE PEACE

TODAY: Think grace. End a disagreement. Conclude a dispute. Settle an argument. Reach out to an adversary – a spouse, a parent, a child, a neighbor or a co-worker – whether you’ve been arguing for a minute, a day or a year. Find a way to settle your differences. Why is it so easy for God to forgive and so difficult for us?

We live in a contentious society today, and perhaps we always have. Vying for a better position in many contexts, and absorbing the affronts of others leads individuals, groups, even countries to destructive conflict. As a people of peace we yearn for peace, but do not know how to attain it – praying for peace is a key, but does not seem to be enough. We want to do something. Jesus was the great peacemaker and spoke of peace often – briefly and tellingly in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall find peace.”

As crazy as it sounds, sometimes the peace has to be totally unilateral. No matter what the other is doing, I am peaceful. No matter how provoked or convinced I am of the legitimacy of my position, I maintain peace for my part. A dangerous strategy – just the sort of dangerous thing Jesus would do. An old monastic story helps me remember what it means to be peaceful.

An abbey of very old monks faced a continued decline over many years with no new monks added to their number and few visitors to the abbey. The abbey grounds and the chapel fell into a sorry state. The monks blamed themselves, each other and even God for their sorry state. They were distant and rude with one another. Each trapped in their own bitterness. The abbot in desperation visited an aging rabbi said to be most wise. The rabbi listened to the abbot and thought for a moment before saying simply, “I believe that one of the monks may be the Messiah.” The abbot returned to the monks and relayed the statement to his brothers. The monks were at first skeptical and dismissive. Over time the rabbi’s belief began to weigh on each monk, and they began to treat each other as if just maybe he were the Messiah. Over time, visitors came, observed and received the love and kindness of the monks, new monks joined the abbey, and the abbey was repaired and made a place of awe fit for the Messiah.

Let there be peace, and let it begin with me.

— Joseph S. Matney

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist