Daily Devotion – April 20, 2020 – Roy Hammerling
Micah 5:2-5a
“. . . and he shall be the one of peace.”
The One of Peace
How often the scriptures show God sneaking off into the lives of the lowly in order to provide them peace. There was a demoralized Israelite nation of slaves who against all hope were granted freedom from their oppressors; a widow and her child received oil and meal aplenty from the Prophet Elijah when they were on the point of starvation; and poor shepherds discovered an illegitimate child in a manger, who is none other than the one who brings peace to the world, even in the most troubled of times. And later, when that same babe turned to a man, who did the one of peace befriend? Prostitutes, tax collectors, and a motley crew of disciples – smelly fisherman, a guy who worked for the IRS, a zealot, and a few very ordinary types, none of whom were rich, famous, or powerful – all people in such desperate need that his days among them was sweet peace itself.
And what of us? Who will come to us in our isolation as the coronavirus lingers? Where is the one of peace today? As the winter’s darkness slowly gives way to spring, will the coronavirus curve ever flatten out and go away? Death shrouds this earth with far too many innocents lost not only to illness, but senseless violence and greed. Our anxieties about the uncertainty of our economic futures are real and they threaten to eclipse us. We need the one of peace. Amid the darkness days before us, there is dimly burning wick flickering in the breeze, a faint promise of peace, a babe born in a mangy manger, a broken man dying on the dies. How odd of God to give hope in weakness and death? How odd of God to place peace in Jesus, who in turn is incarnate in the people of God the church? How odd of God to make us God’s own hands of peace in the world? We are Christ in community and community in Christ, we are the one of peace for others, because it is Christ who dwells in us.
Prayer: Peace is all we pray for, O God, all that we need. Grant us that peace, O Lord, which passes all our understanding, and if its not too much trouble, grant us some peace we also can grasp. And once grasped, may we offer our hands to others, and be your presence, the one of peace for others. Amen.
Prayer Concern: For all those who due to their life circumstances feel that peace is beyond their reach because fear and uncertainty consume them.
