A People of Peace

(Posted from Cincinnati)

He was called the prince of peace. He is the leader of the people who live in peace and make peace.

Peace in your heart can be a rare commodity at 3:30AM, when you wake up, startled over your problem de jour: When you stare at the darkened ceiling wishing you could drop into slumber but your mind won’t stop spinning out scary scenarios.

Peace in the neighborhood can be a fragile truce when a tree falls on a fence, when exhaust hoods reveal kitchen smells that aren’t traditional american, when music or shouting goes late into the night.

Peace on earth? More like we’ve thrown earth on peace and buried it.

Remember peace-niks? It was a term of ridicule. But like a lot of terms of ridicule (enthusiasts, methodists, Christians) it was worn as a badge of honor.

We followers of the Prince of Peace won’t have peace as long as we have “rights.”. “Rights” will always lead us to defense and then quickly, to offense. Maybe that’s why they called him the prince of us? Because he laid down his right and privileges.

Peace in my heart, peace in my neighborhood, peace on earth…pretty lofty aims. Pretty lofty prince showing us the way.

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