| Some smaller kids were playing, and a dispute arose among them. Someone wanted a ball, the other wasn’t finished playing with it. A third child, not involved with the playing, came over and separated his two peers, and told them repeatedly, “we are not s’posed to fight!”. If the same scene happened among older youth or even adults today, I fear it would have a very different ending. Our text implies that the peace of others depends on you. That’s a revolutionary concept in Paul’s Roman world. Back then, you kept to your immediate family, or to yourself if you knew what’s good for you. But Paul is saying that it is not enough that you are at peace – that peace itself is a concept that is meant to be spread. So where will you spread peace today?…
O God, lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth. Lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust. Lead me from hate to love, from war to peace. Let peace fill our heart, world, our universe, AMEN
(peace prayer, origin unknown)
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