Defining Peace
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you..” - Jesus, quoted in John 14:27
On Sunday Brenna quoted Lisa Sharon Harper’s definition of peace. We’re going to look at that in three pieces today:
“God created the world in a web of relationships that overflowed with forceful goodness.” - Lisa Sharon Harper
Peace includes “a web of relationships” - peace is not just an individual thing. And it’s not even about having an individual relationship with someone else that lacks conflict. It’s a whole web of relationships, a whole community of connections - that are healthy and supportive and overlapping.
Peace is something that “overflows” - there’s an abundance, and extravagance to peace. This speaks to how Jesus didn’t live out of a scarcity mindset. For him, there was always enough to go around, even if it was just a few fish and loaves of bread.
Peace is a ‘forceful goodness” - peace isn’t passive. It’s on the move. It’s making changes in the world. That’s why Jesus talks about peacemakers and not peacekeepers - peace is pushing its way into places of injustice, disharmony, and division.
Does one of those pieces of the definition of peace stand out to you? Maybe sit with it for a few moments in quietness, asking the Spirit to show you what you might do with it as a peacemaker yourself.