How can humans establish peace and justice on earth? Or, as the New
Testament author James asks, Where do the
wars, and where do the conflicts among you, come from?
The Letter of James, which we hear from this Sunday, was
written to address that very question in the context of the Christian diaspora,
Jewish Christian churches located in Palestine, Syria, and elsewhere, where the
people were apparently not getting along.
James identifies the source of all peace, which is righteousness, or right relationship with God. So… how does that work, exactly?
Well, according to James, the wisdom from above, that is, God, invites us into a relationship
that is pure, peaceable, gentle,
compliant, and full of mercy. But the human tendency is to veer toward disorder, and so we allow ourselves to
go the route of jealousy and selfish
ambition and envy and worse, behaviors that ultimately lead to
discord.
However, James tells us, there is a way back to God: You do
not possess [peace] because you do
not ask. In other words, the first
route back to God lies in prayer. When we pray, we are responding with our
whole being to God’s invitation to relationship. We need to pray not just for those we love,
but for those in particular with whom we don’t see eye-to-eye. We need to pray that our hearts and minds be
opened. We need to pray with purity of
intention, and to listen to what God has to say back to us, also a part of the
dialogue that is prayer.
So, if we sow peace,
and cultivate it well, we will reap peace, and learn to live in harmony with our
fellow humans. And it all starts with
our relationship with God. It all starts
with prayer.
This reflection is based on notes from Fr. Pat's Thursday Scripture Class.
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