Making Peace

For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there will also be turmoil and everything vile.  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere.  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for they who make peace."  - James 3:16-17

The present state of things in the United States could summarized as "in turmoil." Certainly, some wisdom from above would be welcome.  But I don't believe a big rain cloud of wisdom will drop from the sky and dump the listed virtues on the population, or even just our politicians!. Those virtues - peace, gentleness, reasonableness, mercy, etc. are available only to those who actively seek, perceive, and adopt them for their own.. Sadly, that isn't an automatic occurrence.  It is sometimes difficult to find those virtues under one's roof!  There are plenty of reports that even in monasteries and abbeys these qualities are known to take flight. Living in a hermitage might get you close, but that's not practical for most. So what can we do?

I know that we can put our heads in the sand and swear off paying any attention to the news in this quest for peace.  But that is, in essence, leaving the world to fend for itself.  As we already see that doesn't work out well when power structures are hellbent on grabbing as many of Earth's resources as they can for their own power and gain.  When cruelty becomes the goal and masses are being hurt. We see, too, that the evil this brings also tends to corrupt the religious structures and we see dimensions of this evil in Christian Nationalism. So we shouldn't build any hermetically sealed bubbles to ignore what is going on. Jesus didn't.  So neither should we.  But what can we do?

We can limit our consumption of news. Take in enough to know where things are going. Participate in what ways you're comfortable.  This is the public engagement phase of life.  But then it is important to withdraw, to remember, and to recognize that this entire planet is the tiniest of specks in a colossal galaxy.  God's "church" is the universe and God will be here for us regardless of what transpires. Take time out to bask in silence, and practice breathing deeply from your toes to your head. Pick one of the above virtues and think about it for the duration of time you can give over to the meditation.  For instance, what does gentleness feel like?  When have you been gentle with someone?  What would the world be like if gentleness were the primary indicator of social welfare (rather than the economy as it is now?)  Then, make a pact with yourself to try living gently for the rest of your day. Every day you can take a different virtue. This is the way to righteousness. It is the way to make peace.