Praying Peacekeepers

DAILY BYTE

My husband and I were driving down the main road in our neighbourhood the other day, and as we drove along, I was unconsciously naming the people whose houses we were passing. Then, I started saying ‘hi’ to them out loud. Hi Avril and Geoff! Hi Lucky and Samuel! Hi Candy and Alan and Stephen and Fiona and Harry and Sharon, and so the list went on. We were smiling as we went, and I leaned over, saying, “Isn’t it wonderful to drive down a street and really know that you are surrounded by love?” Isn’t it wonderful to know that if your car broke down, there’s a good chance that someone would come rescue you? Isn’t it wonderful that if you’re in need of a friend or a quiet respite, the homes of your neighbours can be like sanctuaries? Isn’t it wonderful to feel the peace and support of that community around you?

It is wonderful.

And we must work at shaping more communities to look and feel like that.

But of course, it’s not enough to say hi from the distanced view on the street.

The psalm for this week says, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.”

We must not only step out in faith to get to know our neighbours, but seeking peace requires that we then pray for them. How often do we really pray for our city – our neighbourhoods? Rarely, if ever, right?

We usually pray more about personal issues and family relationships, but what about our local block? What about Durban? What about Jerusalem?

In the verses above, the psalmist is telling the reader what to do – pray, pray, pray.

But then in the last two verses, we hear the psalmist own the need to act for herself. She says, “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.”

We must own this mission for ourselves. We should know by now that we can’t leave peace-keeping up to the police, the security companies, or our high walls. We must pray for the police, pray for members of security companies, and pray for municipalities. But, we are the peacekeepers through developing our relationships and our prayer. It’s time to wake up, join the party, and start taking our life together seriously.

Shalom to you now. Shalom, my friends.

FOCUS READING

Psalm 122:6-9 (NRSV)

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they proper 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.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Prince of Peace, as we begin this Advent season of waiting for your coming at Christmas, teach us what your message of peace means for our lives, our local communities, and our world. Nudge us to pray for the politicians and officials who are charged with the maintenance and life of the cities in which we live. Give all of us greater discernment, selflessness, and compassion, as we learn to be a people who usher in your peace through our relationships, our actions, and our prayer. Help us to be faithful, as we seek your good, through sharing shalom with our neighbors. Amen.