An Instrument of God’s Peace

July 15, 2017

Daily Reading

Isaiah 2:1-4

Psalm 119:105-112

John 12:44-50

This week’s sermon text: Mark 6:30-32

Field Notes
This passage from Isaiah is one of my favorite Scriptures. It is a vision of God’s Kingdom: “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation nor will they train for war anymore.” In a world of nuclear bombs, terrorism, and drive-by shootings, it’s hard to imagine a world where God’s true peace reigns. It’s hard to imagine a world where we don’t have to consider war just to defeat evil. However, we are promised that one day peace will reign. In the meantime, we are called to be instruments of peace in all its forms in the midst of violence in all of its forms. Whether it is a hateful word spoken to a friend, gang violence in our neighborhood, or genocide abroad, we are called to speak God’s message of peace. We as Christians are meant to pray and live as St. Francis of Assisi, who prayed:

     Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
     where there is hatred, let me sow love;
     where there is injury, pardon;
     where there is doubt, faith;
     where there is despair, hope;
     where there is darkness, light;
     where there is sadness, joy.

     O divine Master, grant that I 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.

Questions for the Field

• What do you think it means to be a peacemaker?
• How am I an instrument of God’s peace amidst violence in all of its forms?
• How can I be an instrument of God’s peace in my home? Workplace? Spaces where I spend my time?

Family Field Talk

• What do you think it would look like if God’s peace reigned in the world?
• How can you be a peacemaker at school? At summer camp? With your friends?

Prayer Guide
Take time today to rest in the Prayer of St. Francis and reflect on what it means to be an instrument of peace.