Hope Now: 27 Days to Peace, Healing, and Justiceਨਮੂਨਾ

Hope and the possibility of peace

Peace isn’t the absence of turmoil. It’s not the absence of illness, pain or difficulty. Peace is the calm assurance in the middle of the storm. Peace comes when it makes no sense to be calm – it’s the overwhelming assurance that everything is going to be OK in the middle of chaos.

Would you welcome this kind of peace? Have you ever needed peace in chaotic moments?

The phrase, “Peace to this house,” (Luke 10:5 NIV) is a blessing that renders the meaning of the Hebrew word shalom. It goes deeper than the absence of war or battles or arguments. Rather, it carries with it the idea of well-being, health, wholeness and prosperity in every aspect of life.

The greeting of peace brought with it the promise of fullness of life, dynamic and concrete relationships, and the sign of the messianic kingdom.

When entering a home in the first century, it was customary to give a greeting, and the kind of greeting Jesus instructs was also a normal greeting. However, when Jesus gave this greeting in the context of sending out teams to new homes and cities, it’s associated with the coming of the salvation of God.

The disciples brought good news wherever they went. They were peacemakers. The whole scope of their work could be summed up as proclaiming and bringing peace with God, with themselves, with all others and with all circumstances. This was good news in a chaotic and politically charged first century.

Questions for Reflection:

• What did the concept of peace mean in the first century?
• What does peace mean today?