Peace

A confrontation ends in violence. One person dead and others lives is in ruins. Accusations, angry demonstration, screaming, fighting break out. A young man in his prime lost. Facts no longer matter. Truth is obscured, ignored, and suffers as no one pays attention. Emotions run high. The crowd in whipped into a frenzy of thoughtless action. Violence erupts. Hatred reigns.

One stands alone. A woman, suffers as she watches her son die. Her grief is overwhelming, yet she remains mute--watching in sorrow are the world erupts around her.

Before you think this is about the recent events in our state--it is not. Yet, it is. The one of whom I write is none other than Christ. I am not comparing the young man who died in Ferguson to Christ but rather I am comparing the crowds.

Injustice--real or perceived is often used by others to whip a crowd into a frenzy of action beyond which they would ever go on their own. It is often a vehicle that takes on a life of its own and only leaves destruction in its wake.

When our Lord was beaten and crucified, it was for his own sins, but rather for ours. It was our intolerance, our injustice, our inability to see the love of God. We were the ones wrapped in ignorance, blinded by the twisted lies and half-truths of others, whipped into violence by fueled words manipulating our emotions so that we no longer stopped to think before we reacted. We were the ones at fault--either through our direct action or our inaction.

Mary, the mother of our Lord stood and watched. She bore a mute testimony to the storm that raged around her--waiting for God's love to outweigh the hatred and fear. She did not join in the fray. She stood and pondered all that God had showed her, all that she had witnessed, and remained a quiet, living testimony of faith. And God made a way through all the violence and hatred to redeem us all.

The last few weeks, I have watched and waited while praying for the storm to pass; for God's love to be revealed; for us to come to our senses and respond from a sense of love and compassion. As emotions continue to swirl around us, I pray for peace.

Peace in our communities. Peace in our hearts. Peace in our minds.

I the midst of the waiting and praying for peace a video popped up on a friend's Facebook page--"Pray for Peace" (http://reba.com/). The words--so simple, yet powerful soothed my soul. We are not alone. We can do something in the midst of anger, violence, and wrong. We can stand and pray for peace.

Peace-loving God, forgive us when we allow ourselves to be manipulated and used for harm through both our action and inaction. Help us, Loving One to stand and pray for peace. Open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to you. Help us to love one another as you love us. We seek your peace. So be it. Amen.