What do we mean when we talk about peace? Are we referring to a political peace, the absence of war and violence, or an internal peace, a deep spiritual contentment? Sometimes peace gets defined as a lack of violence but I wonder if it wouldn’t be better defined as a lack of fear. Jesus connects peace and fear more than once in his interactions with the disciples. We often let our fears control us whether we realize it or not. We shop like crazy because we fear not having enough. We think power means prestige because we fear not being in control. And when our fears make us desperate, we turn to violence. But we can achieve peace if we stop letting our fears run our lives.
A first step in preparing the way for peace within ourselves and in the world is to follow the model of John the Baptist who prepares the way for Jesus, whom we might call the bringer of peace, with a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin.” This is just a church-y way of saying that to turn to God (i.e. repent) we need to take that which separates us from God (i.e. sin), our fear, and remove its power over us, leaving it behind. To do that we need to name our fears, recognize, and confess them so we can leave them behind. Naming something can reduce its power over us. To leave our fears ignored, un-named and un-challenged is to leave them in charge. In naming and rejecting the power of our fears, we repent, turning instead to the Divine, to God. We put our trust in the power of love that is our very nature as children of the Divine.
There are a couple of other tools that are helpful in preparing our hearts for peace as well. The first is the practice of non-judgement. Jesus teaches us not to judge others. When we spend too much time and effort on judging people and situations we create fear, anger, and disappointment in ourselves instead of living in peace. We do need to make judgements sometimes but what would it be like if we were extra-slow to judge people and situations as bad or good, right or wrong, as just or unjust? Might we be able to see others in a new perspective? To be more compassionate for what others are going through? To avoid self-pity and depression, always thinking how unfair life is?
The second tool is mindfulness. What if we took just a little bit of time each day to not worry about the past or the future but just live in the moment? Take five minutes today to just pay attention to what’s going on around you, hear the sounds you might normally ignore, look for something that’s always been there but you’ve never noticed before. Engage all of your senses. In that moment, realize that you’re alive and that God loves you. In that moment, when you don’t worry about past or future, there’s nothing else you need. There is nothing to fear. And because in that moment you fear nothing, you let a little peace into your heart.
(I originally wrote this short reflection for my church’s newsletter. It was inspired by my sermon from Sunday, December 10, 2017. The church’s website is http://www.phoenixchurch.org)