Albert Camus stated, "Peace is the only battle worth waging." And George Clooney is quoted as having said, "Peace, like war, must be waged."
Waging peace ... hmmmmmm! I never have thought of waging peace. But why not? With so much unrest in the world today, why not set about waging PEACE?!
Our family was always about establishing new traditions over the years during Advent. Ways to prepare for the coming of Emmanuel, God with us- "Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Holy One" as only Amy Grant can sing it. From Advent calendars to performing random acts of kindness for people we knew were hurting and hating the holidays, to working in homeless shelters and visiting nursing homes, sending cards to those who had no one to send them greetings. By the time Christmas arrived, it seemed our family had a change of heart, embracing an attitude of gratitude, not only for how blessed we were, but having had the opportunity to shine some love light on those who desperately needed a glimmer of hope and mirth in the midst of their darkness.
Psalm 122:6-9 resounds with a call to peace.
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May they prosper who love you.' Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers. For the sake of my relatives and friends, I will say, 'Peace be WITHIN you.' For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good."
Peace in Jerusalem, or insert any other place ... How about Dayton, Ohio? Peace within our walls, our communities. Security, not fear and dread, in our towers, heart, mind, and spirit! WOW! What a gift that would be.
Isaiah 2:4-5 beckons us to change our methodology.
"He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord!"
So here is my Advent challenge for all of us ... LET US (with great intentionality and awareness) WAGE PEACE!
The prayer of St. Francis of Assisi speaks so eloquently of being a channel of peace- sowing love, pardon, faith, hope, light and joy, in a world that is devoid of so much of this! To be the vehicle by which others are consoled, understood, loved and pardoned during a time in history that it seems we could care about the care and keeping of our sisters and brothers. If we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem.
So ... in this time of preparation and into the New Year, let us be WAGING PEACE! It will bring JOY TO THE WORLD!
