More is Less, Less is More

Morning readings: Psalms 116; 147:12-20, 1 Kings 11:1-13, James 3:13-4:12, Mark 15:12-21

"To want what I have, to take what I’m given with grace...for this, I pray."

- from “For My Wedding” by Don Henley

Is it human nature to be dissatisfied with what we have? Some pop psychologists portray chronic dissatisfaction as a modern ailment, but nearly twenty centuries ago the Book of James chronicled it:

"Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts." (James 4:1-2)

The downfall of King Solomon, who was revered for decades as Israel's wisest king, was due to his desire for nearly countless wives from foreign lands; despite God's warnings, they eventually led him to worship strange gods and fall out of the Lord's favor (Kings 11:1-13).

Carp competing for food.

Perhaps we long for more material comforts, more lovers, or more power because we believe they will provide contentment. Maybe our desires are masked as virtues, and we become frustrated when we seek to find patience, wisdom, or kindness beyond our natural abilities. Whether we feel we lack possessions or attitude, whose standard are we trying to live up to? God has created and loves us just as we are. When we learn to accept that love and just be, our need to have and be more evaporates. Mysteriously that's also how we begin to learn to be more: more Christ-like, more content, more loving of ourselves and others.

Jesus expressed faith in our ability to rise above our acquisitive natures and seek that which is truly valuable. In parables about pearls of great price and hidden treasures, by asking rich young men to give up all they had, he revealed the truth of gaining everything by letting it all go.

Evening readings: Psalms 26; 130

Brick by Peaceful Brick

Today's readings: Ps 33, 146; Isa 5:18-25; 1 Thes 5:12-28; Luke 21:29-38

When we talk about peace, it’s easy to get caught up in large scale visions that seem difficult if not impossible to achieve. Maybe one of the reasons worldwide peace can seem like little more than a dream is because lasting peace even within our own small communities is so rare. Like many things, peace is something we learn over time, and our understanding of how to create it grows slowly.

As he closes his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul offers several exhortations on how to “be at peace among yourselves” (v 13b). We would do well to review his list often, because many of the behaviors he describes are not our natural reactions. What is our natural response to idlers, the weak, and the faint-hearted (v 14)? In a culture that worships self-reliance, do we treat them with love or with disdain? What about people who do evil? Do we seek to do good for them (v 15), or do we want to see them get their just desserts? If God wants us to act this way, no wonder we also need to pray without ceasing (v 17)!

Peace is always a choice, but it is not always the easiest choice. When Paul and Christ speak of peace, they are sometimes talking about an inner calm, but they are also speaking about our actions. Just like agape love, shalom peace is more about what we do than how we feel. If peace has to wait on our feelings, it will be a pitiful sort of peace indeed. On the other hand, creating peace through action and relationship—like creating love through action and relationship—transforms our understanding of the world. Once we allow ourselves to be transformed into a people of peace, we might just find it easier to envision a peaceful world.

At first, our efforts at peace may be sloppy. But as we grow more skilled with them, we will be able to shape them into something useful, like the apprentice bricklayer who will one day piece together soaring castles.

Comfort: Peace in our actions creates peace in our hearts, our communities, and our world.

Challenge: One day a month, reflect on how well you are doing the following: admonishing idlers, encouraging the faint-hearted, helping the weak, seeking to do good to all, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks in all circumstances.

Prayer: God of Peace, teach me the foundations of peace making.

Evening reading: Ps 85, 94

Making Peace

Today's readings: Ps 140, 142; Mic 3:9-4:5; Acts 24:24-25:12; Luke 8:1-15

“The opposite of war isn’t peace; it’s creation.”
-- Jonathan Larson, Rent

It’s easy to think of peace as an end unto itself. In a world full of conflict, achieving true, lasting peace is a project humankind has never been able to complete. But if we ever did achieve peace… what then?

Then… everything. Peace is the environment we seek to establish in order to maximize our service to each other and to God. Peace is not an end, but a beginning. The prophet Micah offers many warnings to the nation of Israel, but he also offers them the hope of peace. He describes a day when conflict will end and people “shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks” (Mic 4:3). When this time comes, the people will walk in the name of the Lord forever (v. 5).

What about now? What do we do while we wait for that glorious time? Well, Jesus tells us “blessed are the peace makers” (Matt 5:9) - not the peace waiters. Like Micah’s soldiers-turned-farmers, we can turn our implements of destruction into tools of creation. Just as iron can be the material for either swords or plows, our own gifts and talents are raw stuff that can be channeled in many directions. A knack for leadership is a prime example of a gift that can be used for good or ill. The same might be said of almost any talent or skill, from engineering to baking to singing. Our talents are gifts from God, and we should employ them in the service of God’s creation. Like Micah’s farmers, we might need to examine and reshape them until they are put to their very best use.

Peace is not merely the absence of war; it is an ongoing, conscious effort to be in right relationship with everyone around us. Jesus is not known as the Prince of Peace because he passively avoided conflict. To the contrary, he actively transformed the destructive elements of this world until they served God. And he asks us to follow him.

Comfort: Peace is a project in which we can all participate.

Challenge: Make two lists: one for the skills and talents you are employing in service to creation, and another for those you are not. How can you get some of the items from the second list into the first?

Prayer: Teach me, O Lord, to make peace.

Evening readings: Ps 141, 143

Tomorrow's readings: Ps 137, 144; Mic 5:1-4, 10-15; Acts 25:13-27; Luke 8:16-25