Do you ever wish that some morning you would wake up to the headline, "Peace Breaks Out In The Middle East" or "Family Settles Estate In Peace"? We long for peace, and at this time of year the contrast between peace and war comes into sharp relief. It's on our minds. It's in that worried look on our faces. Some of us even want "to buy the world a Coke and live in harmony." Globalization and instant images of events around the world make us more aware that we are not living in peaceful times. There was a time when we only heard distant rumbles of war in other places. It seemed those governments were able, as Conrad Hilton is quoted as saying, "to keep the shower curtain inside the bathtub." But now, we can all know what is really going on. We see the suffering and the tension. We hear the gunfire. When we see that there are wars in distant places, we are haunted by unease in our own peaceful places. We run to the beach, the mountains, or the Okefenokee Swamp just to get some peace.
In a few days Christians will celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace. In anticipation of that celebration, I offer this prayer:
"O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." [The Book of Common Prayer, page 815]
It's not too late for peace.
Pastor Linda
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Founding Pastor
The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek
www.oursaviorhoneycreek.org
oursaviorhoneycreek.blogspot.org
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