Scripture: Psalm 122
Peace within your walls, and security within your towers.
(Psalm 122:7)
Look at this passage through indigenous eyes. We walk everywhere—to our own little stores and to our neighbors’ and to far-off destinations. Our churches, built better than our own homes, are set upon a hill. Our churches are the center of our lives, symbols of hope and security. As the Temple was built on Mount Zion with strong walls and a firm foundation, our churches provide secure places for people who live in a very fragile world. The issue for our people is not the fifteen minutes or three hours spent walking up the mountain, but the unity and security we find in God’s house.
Advent is a time of looking for security and hope in a fragile world. When our people walk to church, they are not concerned about what is left behind—their homes, crops, and land—but they look forward to the hope, peace, and security of God’s house. In this Advent season, what are you willing to leave behind, and what type of journey are you willing to make to experience a new birth of Christ in your life?
Prayer
Lord, may your house be my security and unity all the days of my life. Amen.
The Rev. Pablo Feliciano-Cruz
president of the Council for the Holistic Development of Our Communities
Tzeltal Synod, Presbyterian Church in Mexico
2008 International Peacemaker
Order Proclaiming the Good News of God's Peace .