Pray for Peace

How beautiful upon the mountains
    are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
    who announces salvation,
    who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

Isaiah 52:7

Glory to God is the highest,
And on earth peace

Luke 2:14

Said the king to the people everywhere
Listen to what I say!
Pray for peace, people, everywhere

Do You Hear What I Hear?

It’s almost here!  We have journeyed through Advent and Christmas is finally in sight. These last few days before Christmas have always been my favorite days of the year. I relish the excitement and sense of anticipation (especially on Christmas Eve) as we focus on the birth of the Prince of Peace.

Peace: our world hungers for it. However, peace can seem no more than a distant dream. We live in contentious and violent times. There is the war in Ukraine; there is political unrest; there is gun violence in the United States. (Depressingly, I just learned that firearms are the leading cause of death among children in the United States. Sigh.) It is enough to make you lose hope.

The loss of hope is one of the most serious things that can happen to an individual, or to a society. To think that things will never change, or never get better can be devastating. There is an insightful book called Hope in Pastoral Care in which the author makes a simple point: when a person loses their future story, they lose hope. I have seen that played out a number of times as people have faced an unexpected loss, or a devastating diagnosis and could see no future for themselves.

That is why prayer is so important. Prayer is an affirmation of hope. Prayer says that I believe God’s promises. Prayer says that I believe God hears me, that God loves me and that God has planned a future for me.

Additionally, prayer changes the one praying. We don’t change God’s mind through prayer; God changes our heart. Hopeful change will come to the world when first our hearts are changed. So, if we want to change the world, if we truly want peace, we must be engaged in prayer.

I would like to share with you a prayer practice, one that will not leave you unchanged.

The name of this practice is the Prayer of Compassion.

I have found this prayer especially valuable in trying to love people who do not love me, and who, frankly, have hurt me. It has helped me let go of a lot of pain and resentment.

The Prayer of Compassion consists of three parts. In the first part you pray for yourself:

May I be happy.
May I be free.
May I be loving.
May I be loved.

Give it a try.

How did that feel? When I first encountered this prayer, I had trouble saying it because it felt a little selfish. But, it’s really not, which I will explain later.

In the second part of the prayer, you choose someone to pray for. Someone you love or has shown you love.  Picturing them, you pray these words:

May you be happy.
May you be free.
May you be loving.
May you be loved.

How was that? Did it feel any different to pray for another person?

Okay, So far so good; now for the hard part.  You had to know this was coming! I would like you to think of someone you would consider – I hate to use this word – an enemy.  I chose it because that’s how someone once described themselves – as my enemy. If that description is too strong, think of someone you find it hard to love.  Someone you may even dislike.

Can you picture someone? Now, pray the same words for them that you prayed for someone you love.

May you be happy.
May you be free.
May you be loving.
May you be loved.

How did that feel? Was it difficult? Did it make you uncomfortable? It’s not easy to pray for someone who has hurt you. But, the moment you begin to pray for your enemy is the moment when peace becomes more than just a dream. If you continue to pray this prayer, you will eventually find that you have no enemies, only brothers and sisters. Through the repetition of this prayer hope is reborn and peace feels less like a dream.

James writes that prayers are effective and bring healing. That healing begins with each one of us and then flows outward. The great mystic Bernard of Clairvaux wrote “Have mercy on your own soul if you want God to have mercy on you…Be reconciled to yourself. Now that peace has been restored in your own house…extend it to your neighbor.”

As I said, the first part of the Prayer of Compassion is the hardest for me to pray. I’m not always sure that I’m worthy of love or happiness. It is much easier to pray for other people. But, how can I truly love anyone else if I don’t first feel loved by God? And how can I forgive others if I don’t first forgive myself? The change comes within as we first become reconciled to ourselves. After that, we can share that reconciliation with others.

Christmas, Good Friday and Easter are all bound together. Through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, God reconciled the world to God’s self. Now, the challenge for us is to be reconciled to ourselves and to one another.

At one of the churches I served it was a tradition to sing “Let There Be Peace on Earth” every Christmas Eve. The words bear repeating:

“Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.”

Hope, healing and peace come from God. Prayer makes them real. What wonderful Christmas gifts they would be.