My Bible study group at church is working on the Adam Hamilton book "Seeing Gray" about the intersection of politics and religion. It's a difficult space...given the adage that the two subjects don't mix. As an example - in the very first week - our church held a prayer vigil for the International Day of Peace on September 21st. Certainly, that's a worthy endeavor, but I have long held reservations about the less-than-noble organizer - the United Nations. What to do? PRAY!Father,
Faith and politics collided for me on Monday
At the International Day of Peace,
An event promoted by the United Nations.
Do I ever have misgiving about the UN,
But I came down on the side of faith.
I joined in the prayer vigil at our church.
Peace trumps geo-politics.
The UN web site encouraged praying
for personal and planetary peace.
So, let us pray for peacemakers…
For world leaders and diplomats,
For missionaries,
For aid and relief workers,
For the peacemaker at the office
or in the neighborhood association.
Let us pray for peacekeepers…
For our service men and women,
For their families,
For law enforcement and the judiciary,
For the peacekeeper in our families.
And the web site posed a poignant question:
Where should I declare a cease-fire?
Where can I disarm suspicion,
a quarrel, a pet peeve or a grudge?
I pray for insight about that
And for inspiration from the Prince of Peace,
Jesus Christ.
Amen.
