July 2008
And the peace of God, which passes all understandings,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.”
(Phil. 4.7)
I have this image of a great Christmas picture in my head that came from a Christmas card that we received years ago. The front is a picture of a lovely gingerbread’ish home, nestled among the evergreens. The house and the trees about it are covered in a thick perfect blanket of sparkling snow. Candlelight glows from the windows, and a wisp of smoke curls from the chimney. Picturesque and perfect peace reigns in the moment.
But then you open the card to find an early morning frenzy in progress as three small children tear into their presents under the tree. Buzzing on a chocolate breakfast, another toddler has even crawled up into the tree among the branches, reaching out precariously for the star on top. The parents are bleary-eyed, sitting on the couch, with jumbo cups of steaming coffee in their hands. But they aren’t brain dead from the exertion of the night before. Rather, they have their heads together as they watch the glee of their brood. The look on their faces is one of deep pleasure in the moment. The card says simply… “Peace be yours”.
Peace. It’s that sense of inner contentment and serenity for which we yearn. A feeling that everything, even in the midst of crazy, chaotic, uncertain life, is still in God’s hand, and so will be ok. Peace is the stuff that we pray for and the essence that we “pass” to one another on Sunday morning.
There’s a lot of biblical references to peace. The Old Testament guys believed it would come from God through the King. But after Jesus came, the New Testament writers recognized that deep peace was found in a relationship with God nurtured through knowing Jesus the Christ. Recently, our Vacation Bible Schoolers learned to know God, talk to God, tell others about God, love God, and serve God. Now there’s a path to peace.
Soon, our Worship Team will be helping us celebrate Christmas in July. As we experience the fun of decorating the Christmas tree in our Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian-prints, I invite us all to watch the children. As they model their relationship with God, which will be (if VBS was any indicator) filled with exuberant joy and expectation, may we “catch” some of their peace, their inner assurance that everything, even in the midst of our crazy, chaotic, uncertain lives, is still in God’s hand, and so will be ok…
more than ok.
“Peace be yours”,
Pastor Sharon
