The One Who Makes Peace

One of my favorite parts of my Hebrew class are the little snippets of sermons we get in our lessons. There's nothing quite like a professor who is awed by her subject and revels in the process of learning and what that brings to us both personally and corporately as we discipline ourselves into learning a language, specifically a biblical language.

Last Wednesday night we interpreted some prayers from a Jewish reformed prayer book. One in particular has stayed with me this week.

The prayer says:

Maker of peace, from his high place, he will make peace over us on all of Israel, and say Amen.

There are a couple things that are significant about this prayer. First, this prayer is said by the Jewish community. Peace has historically not existed for the this community. From the time spent in Egypt, the exile, views of Jews that existed as Christianity became a state sponsored religion, the Holocaust and the continuing conflict in the Middle East today, peace seems a distant dream. This is a prayer of faith for a people who have not experienced peace, but continue to place their hope in God.

The second thing that stood out to me is the first section. "Maker of peace" would read literally, the one who is making peace. The verb "making" is indicative of continuing action. Linked with the next clause, there is an image set up for us. The one who is continuing to make peace, will make peace over us. I God directing the clouds over our heads, a spattering of rain on the sidewalk quickly changing into a steady rain that soaks through; cool, wet heavy rain that leaves us drenched but oddly refreshed. Instead of rain, though, we are drenched with peace. As the storm clouds drift away and the rain lets up, we are left with the same world around us, but the smell is fresher, the grass is greener and renewed hope is held quietly, preciously, in our hearts.

What do we do?

I've mentioned before my frustration with some of the e-mails sent around about Obama during the political campaign.

Today, I was forwarded an e-mail that surpassed all those. It moved from ignorant e-mail forwarding...the kind where the sender doesn't check facts and forwards on incorrect and often harmful material...to one of outright racism.

I think what stunned me the most was that this was from an individual I really respected.

Just last night, my husband shared with me a story of a friend who has what we might call naive racism. He doesn't even realize that what he says is extremely hurtful and propagates the current power structures. His reality says this is all true and yet he is somehow blind to the faults of this way of thinking.

The fact is that this is me, too. I make my own assumptions and think that's reality for all. I use structures that work for me. I don't want my ignorance to be an excuse, though. I want to hear the stories of people not like me...and let it make a difference. Lord, open my eyes.

Another Funny Kid Story...

Last night I was working on a school project with our boys. They had to do some research about someone they knew who served in the military and then write up some of that information. Along with this project, the kids in the school are doing extra chores and raising money to send a veteran on a 3-day trip to Washington D.C. to look at the war memorials. It's a pretty neat project. And, we learned along the way, a needed trip into history for our children. So, here's my conversation with your 7-year old.

7-year old: Mom, what did Papa do in the Army?

Me: In the Army, he was an accounting specialist, but he was a cook when he served with the Air National Guard.

7-year old: What did he cook?

Me: Food.

7-year old: Wow, you mean food was invented way back then?