Dear St. John's Community,
The Hebrew word shalom is painted on one of the beautiful murals currently outside our church.
Shalom is commonly translated as “peace,” but a better translation is fullness, wholeness, completeness or health.
Sometimes, shalom requires us to pass through that which is not peaceful! Truth, justice, love, and righteousness are often not achieved without sacrifice, struggle, vulnerability, suffering, and even conflict.
With that in mind, I believe that this troubling moment that we have witnessed today is more than anything a moment for us to behold the the lack of shalom that exists in the state of our country right now. This lack of wholeness has been brewing and has finally spilled over. There is work to do to bring justice and order to address the events of this day, but the harder—and more important—work will be to bring shalom to the broader community of our nation as we are so far from it.
Paul wrote in one of his more optimistic moments that "all things work together for good." (Romans 8:28)
I believe Paul is right. Even on this unthinkable day when we have seen images most of us would not have imagined we'd see in our lifetime, I pray that we open ourselves to discover how we address that brokenness of which today was a symptom.
The good news is that God's shalom is actually bigger than we are. Jesus said to his disciples: "My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives." (John 14:27)
This gift of God's peace has been entrusted to us, and now we must live into its fulfillment and manifestation.
If you would like to join fellow parishioners tonight as we pray for peace, I invite you to a Zoom Compline service at 8pm.
I look forward to praying with those who are able to join, and even if you cannot I invite you to pray for our nation, for ourselves, and for God's guidance as we answer the call to strive against the powers of destruction and instead toward the healing that only God can provide.
Shalom,
Rob+
