Into the Mystic: For Peace

An appeal and a prayer for peace, in a world where it seems hard to come by.

In a world where it seems to be hard to come by, today I call for peace:

For peace in the hearts of all of us who are finding it easier and easier to mistrust the ones with whom we disagree;

For peace in the disquieted and disturbed souls who witness or endure a growing epidemic of violence in our land and who, despite prayers and petitions, actions and commitments cannot seem to curb the violence;

For peace between Palestine and Israel, where the greatest minds on this planet have gathered to try and negotiate a solution between two peoples whose capacity to endure more discord is growing very thin;

For peace in households across this land where a table of contentment is often upset by news of a world and a nation in disarray, or is interrupted by petty squabbles magnified by our collective anxiety;

For peace between races and tribes fractured by white supremacy, xenophobia, and false patriotism that mistakes love of country with identity politics;

For peace between religious bodies who often forget that love is universal and that the God we worship had a hand in crafting us all in Her image;

For peace in the schools that our children will soon begin attending, where live shooter drills have become common and the new norm is an expectation not of if, but when;

For peace in our congregations, where dwindling resources, budgets, and memberships have everyone longing for the good old days, often looking for a scapegoat to blame, and who remain focused more on returning to their glory days than in continuing their mission;

For peace in the heart, mind, and soul of all clergy of all faiths, whose life has been dedicated to healing and speaking the good news of love but who these days are overwhelmed by the enormity of pain they must heal, the rancor erupting in their anxious membership bodies, the collective grief that must be held on behalf of a divided and violated community, and the circumstance of having always to do more with less;

For peace in the homes torn apart by domestic abuse and violence;

For peace in the cities, towns, bergs, and villages across this land where school boards and city councils and county commissions face a growing and erupting discord between citizens with differing points of view on matters they must resolve, and who are more and more frequently the targets of those citizen’s rage when they don’t get what they want and the other side wins;

And finally, for peace in prayer and worship where the sacred arrives to heal, to hear, to inspire, and to speak. May we enter those sacred spaces believing that the Creator’s brooding presence can both soothe the savage breast and bind up the brokenhearted. May we rely on Her power to restore unto us the gift of everlasting peace, a peace beyond our knowing.

Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me. Let the love of God bind us together in accord with one another, establishing between us a desire to heal and be made whole on this, our journey Into the Mystic.