Psalm 122
By: Grace Flint
I grew up in a non-denominational church where anything liturgical was considered insincere. Instead of exchanging the peace, we were instructed to introduce ourselves to our neighbor and share some inane personal fact, like a favorite color or sports team. It was more like being on a corporate team-building retreat than in the house of God. Given that formative experience, when I joined the Episcopal Church as a young adult I was (and remain) impacted by the power of exchanging the peace. “The peace of the Lord be always with you,” says the priest; “And also with you,” we respond. It’s an incredibly powerful dialogue.
Today’s scripture mentions peace three times. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.’ For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, ‘Peace be within you’” (Psalm 122:6-8).
As I discerned a call to serve in Hong Kong for a year with the Young Adult Service Corps, I had to confront some difficult questions. What would God possibly want with me? Would I really be able to serve in a culture so different from my own? Could I even conceptualize that God was “calling” me to do something? Didn’t God call other people to do things, not me? As if I didn’t have enough questions for myself, others had more questions for me. Why are you going so far away when there are needs in your own city? Are you sure volunteering for a year is a wise career move? What about the responsibilities you have at home?
The only answer I had, both for myself and for others, was the immense peace I felt about the decision. I had never before experienced the complete calm and assurance I encountered when faced with the decision to move 8,000 miles from home. God’s peace was with me. God’s peace remains with me. In these times of social and political unrest, where one war or another is splashed across the headlines every day, it seems like the focus should be on peace among nations and peoples. I’m no expert; I certainly don’t have answers for those exceedingly complex conflicts. But I do believe that if each of us carries God’s peace with us, then we’ll be one step closer to bringing God’s kingdom to our broken world.
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen (A Prayer attributed to St. Francis, Book of Common Prayer, p. 833).