Orleans United Methodist Church

Every Sunday during worship we exchange the peace. This practice, which dates back to the first Christians is so important that its power and significance must not be taken for granted – particularly in time of war.

Isn’t it interesting that the words for peace in Hebrew, Arabic, and English – “Shalom,” “Salaam,” “Peace,” respectively – evoke the three great world religions – Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, which are historically and spiritually linked? Isn’t it ironic that the countries that practice the three religions are mired in a war which is also close to the city regarded by all three as the “holy city” – Jerusalem, “the city of peace”?

For Jews, Shalom is not merely the absence of tension or war, it is wholeness – a oneness, or right relation between the Lord, creation, and humanity.

Salaam is closely linked with the word Islam, which itself, is derived from the word for peace. The Muslim greeting, “Assalamu Alykum,”Peace be upon you, is always the same.

When we as Christians offer the exchange of peace, we understand that it is bestowed by the risen Christ and that we also symbolically make peace – establishing right relation – with our neighbors before approaching God. And Jesus told us who our neighbor is.

It intrigues me that Jews, Christians, and Muslims all honor Abraham as spiritual ancestor, as the founding gather of their faith. This is why all three religions are increasingly being known as the “Abrahamic” religions. Take a moment and read this shared story in Genesis 12:1-3. Despite our differences, we share much in common.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all three Abrahamic religions became divinely intent on establishing that peace so central to their understanding of their faith – the desire to be in right relation to God and to neighbor?

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of the Shalom Center in Philadelphia, wrote a remarkable article, “We All Live in a Sukkah.” Sukkah is the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot, when families and organizations celebrate by building a sukkah. A sukkah is a fragile hut

with a roof that is leafy and leaky. It is vulnerable, lasting only a week, letting in starlight, wind, and rain. In evening Sukkot prayers, Jews ask God – “Ufros alenu sukkat shomekha” – “Spread over all of us your sukkah of shalom.” Rabbi Waskrow explains we all live in a sukkah. He writes:

            There are only wispy walls and leaky roofs between us. The planet is in fact one

interwoven web of life. The command to love thy neighbor as I do myself is not an admonition to be nice: It is a statement of truth like the law of gravity. For

my neighbor and myself are interwoven.

Global telecommunications brings neighbor even closer to home. Seeing headlines, reading articles, and viewing images of this war should make us recognize that we are all vulnerable and that we must become a world where all communities feel responsible to all other communities. The peace that comes with the love of God is so broad, so wide, so extravagant, that it embraces humankind.

Henry Timrod, known as The Poet Laureate of the Confederacy, wrote passionate poems that caused many young men to enlist in the Confederate Army of the American Civil War. But after seeing for himself the horrors of war, he wrote this poignant prayer for peace:

“Not all the darkness of the land, can hide the lifted eye and hand; Nor need the clanging conflict cease, to make Thee hear our cries for peace.”

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May the peace of the Lord be with you and remain with you.

Pastor Wes