Today is Peace Sabbath, a
time to reflect on God’s vision of all creation dwelling together in peace, and
a time to reflect intentionally on our current world reality.
If one peruses the
headlines, we can quickly see that peace continues to elude us. The powerful
are trying to control what happens, the impoverished continue to rebel,
sometimes violently against injustice, and the whole issue of bullying has
become headline news throughout North America.
Peace Sabbth finds us
standing in a world that continues to struggle to find peace … forty plus years
ago Martin Luther King Jr described humanity’s situation with the phrase
bewildered … fortunately, today our Scripture passages remind us, and indeed actively
invite us to consider the call God offers to live and work together IN FAITH,
creating a world – a Kingdom; the very Kingdom of God – where concern for
status, wealth, prestige, power and influence are less important than bringing
the human family together in a spirit of Shalom.
Shalom – translated roughly
and simply as PEACE.
But Shalom is so much more
than just peace as the absence of War. Shalom is one of the astounding and
breath-taking concepts that changes not only the rules, but reality itself …
The Biblical concept and
word for Peace is Shalom – and shalom means so much!
It is used as a courteous
and caring greeting: “Shalom alekum” – Peace be with you.
It is used as a blessing of
good health and wellness.
It is a wish for a long and
prosperous life and physical safety and wellbeing.
It is used as a description
of good relations between people, and is part of the actions we have towards
one another, particularly those of lesser standing, power or influence. Shalom
becomes the equalizer in that we treat one another well regardless of background
because together we are ALL the Children of God, and the inheritors of this
gift.
Shalom is also used to
describe and embody the idea of quiet tranquility and contentment – a place of
peace so too speak.
But most importantly
perhaps, Shalom has HUGE theological dimensions as well. God is the creator and
the source of Shalom.
Shalom in its fullest extent
and in its richest expression can NOT be experienced, envisioned, or even
conceived without the very presence of God.
Shalom is inseperable from
God as the creator and sustainer of ALL.
So, this simple little word
– Shalom – peace - Salaam … is about so
much more than just the absence of war. It is an active embodiment of Holiness
in our midst and in our world.
And it begins with you and I
… and it begins by facing a choice:
Father Elias Chacour, a
Melikite Catholic priest of Palestinian descent, writes of the moment in time
when after hearing the news of the massacres at Shatila and Sabra, the
Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut Lebanon, he chose to return home to the
village of Ibillin nestled in the mountains above the city of Nazareth in
Galilee. He held a necklace of doves and fish that had once belong to his
mother, and that was now a memento and a reminder of the struggles his family had
had since their village was destroyed in 1948, and his family became part of
the Palestinian problem. The Palestinian problem has loomed large in the life
of the United Church, with recent decisions at General Council. For me, Father
Chacour is one of the voices I listen to and listen for when considering what
our faith response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is.
At the conclusion of his
book Blood Brothers, Father Chacour writes:
“I
looked at Mother’s necklace curled neatly in my palm. Each link was beaten and
hand-fitted by some skilled craftsman. I had not fully known about peace
before. It was not at all like a slim thread, as I thought. Peace was like a
chain. And every link was important in its rightful place. Before me stood my
two commitments – one to God, and one to my people. They were inextricably
bound together. And suddenly, I knew I would rather be on God’s side which is
stronger than human might. THEN I knew where I should be – not living in
comfort, but back in the place where village and churches were being reunited,
where schools and community centres and spirits were being built up, where,
amid the terrible noice of violence, I could hear the whispers of the Man from
Galilee, saying “Behold I make all
things new.” (Blood Brothers, pg 221-2)
Peace – the gift of Shalom,
is that interconnectedness that not only brings us together, but that actively
challenges us to RE-VISION the world in which we live and see it how God wants
it to be.
Father Chacour, himself a
Palestinian and a full Israeli citizen, trusts fully in that call to
transformation that Shalom offers through faith.
God’s open and forth-right
challenge to Job in our reading from the Hebrew Scriptures today, strikes at
the heart of stepping out of our narrow and egotistical view of the world, and
stepping back to see some of the big picture – some of what God intends and
plans. Stepping back and daring to see the possibilities of transformation in
our lives and in the world.
This re-visioning is the
heart of the exchange between James and John, the other disciples and Jesus in
our Gospel reading. James and John want to feel special and important, so they
ask for places of glory in the kingdom to come. But the other disciples want
the SAME thing, but are reluctant to ask – so they bicker …
And into the mix Jesus lobs
the reminder that the last shall be first, and the first shall be last … if we
want to be first, we must become a humble slave to all … reality is THUS
TRANSFORMED!!
Admittedly, we live in a
world that has taken this idea and kind of spun it off in a weird way.
Every time I read Jesus
admonishment “the last shall be first and the first shall be last” I think of
the old Country song “O Lord, it’s hard to be humble …” and envision leaders of
the Church patting themselves on the back and saying “Oh look at how humble I
am, and what a good servant I am …” as they do what they consider grunt work.
In our modern consumerist
and business modeled culture that idea is kind of the norm. We earn our stripes
as disciples by ticking off items on some check list that expects us to do good
deeds for others with humility and so on … but humility isn’t about building a
nice CV to submit for a gold star of faithfulness.
Humility is doing what needs
to be done because it simply needs to be done. No glory. No recognition. No pat
on the back … just doing it.
Father Chacour touches on
this in Blood Brothers when he shares the experience he had prior to his
ordination when a friend and mentor addressed he and his classmates by saying:
“If
there is a problem somewhere, this is what happens. Three people will try to do
something concrete to settle the issue. Ten people will give a lecture
analyzing what the three are doing. One hundred people will commend or condemn
the ten for their lecture. One thousand people will argue about the problem.
AND one person – ONLY ONE – will involve himself so deeply in the true solution
that he is too busy to listen to any of it.” Now, the wise old priest asked
gently, his penetrating eyes meeting each of the young students’ in turn,
“Which person are you?” (Blood Brothers pg 129)
Father Chacour’s moment of
decision that came while he held his mother’s necklace of doves and fish, came
BECAUSE he stood in a place where he asked himself this very question: Which
person are you?
Would he sit in a
comfortable teaching position far from the struggles of Israel and Palestine
and be one of those who discuss and argue about the problem, or would he roll
up his sleeves and get to work back home?
Father Chacour went home,
and continues to strive to be part of the true solution by teaching, embodying,
and promoting TRUE Shalom – the very presence of Holiness in our midst that can
and will AND DOES transform reality into something more.
This place of Shalom truly
begins in that moment when we stand before God’s holiness and am overwhelmed
with wonder and awe, and find ourselves utterly changed … then we move back
into the world, and embrace, embody and live as Servants of that one wonderous
and awesome God …
Shalom, in that moment
becomes an active reality, not just a passive greeting, or wish to an
acquaintance.
Shalom, when we stand in
that place of Holiness, and dare to feel the fullness of God’s presence in and
around us, becomes a place of healing and wholeness and restoration.
To use the contemporary
example of Bullying, that is getting so much press lately with the spotlight
firmly pointed at the tragic story of BC’s Amanda Todd, Shalom is about more
than just stopping the Bully.
Shalom means actively
sharing this gift of Grace and love that is integral to our faith. Shalom means
embracing THE BULLY and offering them a place of peace, tranquility and healing
that will allow them – and actively encourage them to find healing and
wholeness from the brokenness that they are experiencing.
The breadth of Shalom means
living the transformation that God’s love and presence and strength offers, and
not only tending to the woundedness of the bully’s victim, but tending to the
woundedness of the bully as well!
Shalom means being THE ONE
seeking to solve the problem, but it also means being THE ONE who stands in awe
and wonder before God, and who is open to the call to servanthood God offers …
Embracing the gift of Shalom
means facing and living and celebrating the simple question: “which person are
you?” fully as a Child of God!! And daring to be part of the transformation God
offers …
May it be so – thanks
be to God – let us pray …
