“The peace of God it is no peace but strife cast in the sod,
but brother let us pray for just one thing, the marvelous peace of God” ~They Cast Their Nets in Galilee, 1982 Hymnal
When we think of the peace of God, what do we think about?
Do we dream of warm summer days, beautiful meadows or cool ocean breezes? Do we
understand the peace of God as something serine and pastoral? Perhaps we think
of it as a calm landscape painting such as Stratford
on Avon. Nevertheless we are often either taught or assume that the peace
of God is something tranquil and calm.
Well, in the words of sports host Lee Corso on ESPN College
Game Day, “Not so fast my friend!” The peace of God is much more in line with the
hymn lyrics above. If we believe for one second that God’s peace is something
serine as a lazy winding river then we are sadly mistaken. When we accept
Christ in our lives we take on the weight of the cross. At this point one might
ask, “What is so peaceful about that?!”
The fact is the peace of God is not defined by our terms but by God’s.
We gain peace of heart and mind by living the self-sacrificial life of Christ
Jesus. Peace flows out of a Gospel centered life – living outside the box of
self-centeredness.
Peace flows from the hard work of caring for the sick, the
friendless and the needy. Peace arises out of forgiveness and reconciliation.
It requires us to let go of all those burdensome, yet well fed resentments we
tend to harbor. The peace of God means accepting the driving painful nails of
repentance and admitting our shortcomings. The peace of God sometimes creates
strife, because as Christians we are called to live within our baptismal
covenant, honoring the dignity of all people; even those we may not like or
consider enemies. Or perhaps those we
find on the other side of the theological coin.
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