From the Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Creation

From the Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Mercy

The Peace of God

“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.

So when we pray for God’s peace remember the words of a good friend of mine: “Be careful what you pray for, you just might get it!” 

From the Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Word

From the Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Name

Riding the Storm Out; Discovering Faith in the Tempest

Riding on loud rolling thunder the storm clouds reel ever forward causing my spirit to tremble in fear. The last tiny ray of sunlight is finally diminished and extinguished by the endless row of opaque density. The dark, ominous tempest appears to gain strength with every exhaled breath of brutal gusting wind. I feel so alone and lost. Where do I turn? How can I avoid this pitch-black fiend that seeks to overtake and ultimately destroy my life? Where is my hope? Where is the allusive faith that I learned as a child? In the face of this daunting storm my questions go unheeded as if God has abandoned me to a fatal spiritual providence that seems inescapable. Where is God in this darkness? Why doesn’t he heed my desperate prayers cast like darts at the highest heaven?  Apparently they fall short, perhaps cast ever downward by the tumultuous storm. All seems lost, as there is no escape. My fate is sealed as the first drops of heavy rain pelt my weary face. The autumn sadness of my spiritual illness has finally prevailed. What is left but to face the storm? Knowing that I stare directly into the hungry eyes of death. 

Such is the life of the spiritually destitute. Without a strong faith foundation we are nothing more than reeds blowing in the wind. James tells us that we are like waves of water being blown to and fro at the mercy of the elements. Yet we want faith. We desire faith. We long to live lives that are deeply grounded in faith. However, we often don’t wish to pay the price of a life lived by faith, thus we live hollow lives of spiritual destitution, not knowing where to lay our hearts or even trusting that there is safety in Christ.

Life is full of unexpected storms and violent tempests. We see people suffer not only in this country from poverty and lack of health, but all around the world as well. But there is hope. In his letter to the Philippians Paul writes, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This means that life is not hopeless despite the unpredictable storms and hardships. We simply have to let go of our need to control our lives and give it to God.  Does this mean that the storms of life will go away? Absolutely not! If anything they sometimes increase as the Adversary attempts to plant his seeds of doubt within our spirits, and cut us off from God.

We’ve all experienced anger at God because we feel like he doesn’t listen to us. We have all experienced the disappointment of unanswered prayers. We have all questioned our faith in God. But the truth is, God is in the storm. God is a part of the tempest seeking to ground us in a true reliance on him.  This doesn’t mean that God puts us to the test all the time; it simply means that God meets us where we are in life, even in the storms.  And that my friends is where we find faith; we discover it in the challenges of life.  We experience a deeper and more sincere faith when we bare the scares of Christ and live into his sacrificial love for one another.

It’s not easy to live the true Christian life. It cuts against the instant gratification driven society we live. We want deep and secure faith, but wish to avoid the very hardships that create that faith. Sometimes we have to stand and face the frightening storm with a trembling heart and know that Christ is with us and will never abandon us.

From the Society of Saint John the Evangelist

God