Friday, December 9
Psalm 148
The decorations are up, the faint Christmas carol has been our unconscious companion for months, as we shop and go about our daily lives. This is our time to wait… to be patient…disciplined… disciples. Yet many of us struggle with waiting.
The Psalm reminds us to Praise the Lord! We do not have time to stop and Praise the Lord! We have a great deal to do and people are counting on us. But wait.
All that was created was good—designed for completeness and harmony [everything cosmic—heaven, angels, moon and stars], wholeness and health [all of the earth, sea, sky, plants and animals], fullness and safety—[together young and old, women and men] designed for peace, designed for shalom!
As we go through this day and bear witness to:
Places that are broken, hurt and in pain,
the Peace of Christ be with you!
Through divisions, diversity and differences,
the Peace of Christ be with you!
Where violence, fear and power get their way,
the Peace of Christ be with you!
Patient, disciplined disciples praise the Lord by being the present shalom of Christ!
PRAYER
May the Peace of Christ be in you, may the Peace of Christ go with you, and may the Peace of Christ surround you. Praise the Lord!
Nancy Eng MacNeill, associate for peacemaking conferences, Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, PC(USA)
Folsom, California