Today’s Scripture: Psalm 122: 6-9
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. 7 Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.” 8 For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you.” 9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. (NRSV)
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” entreats the psalmist, meaning, “Pray for peace, for the whole kingdom of God.” Peace to all of us in our communities and to each of us individually.
Artwork by Anne Carrington Hall
Peace, to me, is so much at the core of Advent, that time of quiet preparation for the great joy that is about to come into the world.
I think of nations at war whose guns fall silent by mutual accord on holy days. I think of the bright star shining out of the eastern sky over slumbering sheep in silent fields.
I think of golden lamps of welcome bringing people home out of the darkness. I think of the whisper of snow dropping straight down from a still, low sky, snow that brings an extra silence to nature’s winter vespers. I think of shared meals and quiet laughter.
“Peace be within you,” entreats the psalmist, meaning, “Peace should be a part of your very being.” Find it individually, and find it in our communities.
The psalmist’s prayer is that these experiences of peace be not temporary, but instead, for our good, that they last forever.