Good Morning Friends,
Some people and certainly the devil is a killjoy and despises us when we experience true freedom…true peace. God can be our peace in the middle of disaster, flood, loss of loved ones and even in our everyday challenges when malice wells up inside us. The amazing thing is that we can learn to live in peace with ourselves and others no matter what struggles and difficulties we face.We can do our happy dance and seek righteousness. Sure, others might want us to get angry or feel ashamed, so we look ourselves in the mirror as we ask, Are We Peacemakers?
Scripture: Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord. The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”
Jeremiah 23:1-6 (NRSV)
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Ephesians 2:13-18 (NRSV)
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
Mark 6:30-34 (NRSV)
It was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing; and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. They brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.
2 Samuel 6:12b-15, 17-19 (NRSV)
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Matthew 5:9 (NRSV)
Message: We can change the things we can. We can invite. Welcome. We can include everyone into the body of Christ. We can fight suffering, injustice, prejudice, inequality and discrimination. We can stand up for justice in the marketplaces of the world. We can help take care of others. But the real starting place is finding inward peace with one’s self. And part of that is finding a peace in praising God with a God given dignity that comforts and confronts others. Until we start with inward peace fueled by the Holy Spirit, we will never have long term spiritual and emotional health. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples to do something unusual. He tells them to chill out and take a rest…. And as it turns out, the day becomes a busy time of joy more so than what we might consider a peaceful picnic. But such is the journey with Jesus. No one could deny that Jesus was different. The words He spoke rang true and upset His opponents. His enemies, the Jewish leaders of the day, tried to trip Him up and discredit Him by showing He was a lawbreaker, but none of it stuck. What we make of this man who says and does such outlandish things as healing the poor makes all the difference. Either we are attracted to Him, or we are repulsed by Jesus thinking him as crazy or possessed. But for me, Jesus, like David in today’s text, would have been one fun guy to be around, if you could keep up with him. He really gets immersed in what he does and seems to have such a natural freedom. He loses all sense of self-consciousness. Of course, not everyone likes this in another person and some hate it. Jesus alerted us to the possibility that people would hate some of the things we do as Christians. With the help of Jesus, we can take steps to establish a peace within that overflows in the busyness of life. We can share a meal together as a witness to the unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We can find rest in the unity of Christ being both all human and all divine. And we can find enough peace in our unity with Christ to share.
Pray we realize that the Lord is our righteousness. Pray we find peace with ourselves. Pray we find outward peace with others. Pray we realize that peacemakers are promise keepers and purpose fulfillers. Pray we realize that to be peaceful is to be mature, perfect and complete. Pray we find rest in a belief in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Pray even in our active praise of God that our spirit and soul reflect an inward place of calm, quiet and rest. Pray we have a mental space where we ignore all outside interruptions. Pray we clear our minds of all anxiety so we might not only find peace and purpose, but help others become not peace-breakers or peace-fakers but peacemakers…children of God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 