Scripture ~ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9
Spiritual Focus ~ “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” Jimi Hendrix
Breath Prayer ~ Inhale/Exhale …Shalom
Devotion ~ Monday, September 21 is International Day of Peace, a day committed to putting global peace above differences to build a culture of peace. This year’s theme is “Shaping Peace Together.” Peace is and has always been a much sought-after experience. World peace, inner peace, peace be with you are just a few common phrases that we use to experience and express peace and share it in a meaningful way when we are intentional about being peacemakers.
The scripture today is one of the beatitudes found in Jesus’ most powerful teaching, the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is an ethical teaching of how people should live in order to experience the fullness of living as beloved children of God. Pastor and author, A.W. Tozer, called the beatitudes “markers on the road to greener pastures.” If love is the way of Jesus, peace is the vehicle that Jesus emphasized in his preaching and exemplified by the way he lived. As difficult as it might be to follow the way of the Prince of Peace, we have the promise of the Holy Breath to move us toward the goal of global peace and to encourage us to shape peace together.
The word peace in the New Testament is almost always derived from the Hebrew word shalom. Intentional shalom is the practice of empathy for our enemies and seeking peace above difference. This does not necessarily mean we endorse or embrace the differences that separate us, nor does it mean the consequences of those adherent to differences disappear. It does mean that as peacemakers, we try to understand and shape peace at a level where we can empathize with people who see things differently.
One practice of shalom, or shaping peace, is to create an alternative narrative around the differences in order to create a culture of peace. When we are not immediately able to do that, we can lean into the Holy Breath by practicing the breath prayer of shalom. In yoga, om—as pronounced at the end of the word shalom—is the universal hum of the universe. OM is a vibration of unity and peace that heals and centers us as beloved children of God so that we will know peace by the power of Love.
