Advent 1:4. 4 December 2013

image by M Nota

by Teaching Pastor Eric Thompson

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
"May they be secure who love you!
Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers!"
For my brothers and companions' sake
I will say, "Peace be within you!"
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.

Psalm 122:6-9

     The city of Jerusalem has a fascinating history. There are many theories as to the exact meaning of her name but what is clear is that it invokes peace. Salem is a variant spelling of the Hebrew shalom. Very likely the name means "Foundation of Peace."

     Yet, peace is not what most people think of when they think of the Holy City. It has been fought in and over since long before Jesus rode into town. From Nehemiah's midnight ride to view the rubble left by the Babylonian conquest through the Crusades down to the tension of the present Israeli/Palestinian split, the name of the city may speak of peace but her reality has been one of perpetual conflict.

     When we pray for the peace of Jerusalem we long for the work that God has promised to do: to bring forth a new city on the site of the old--a place wherein righteousness dwells (2 Pet. 3:13); a city where the nations will come to learn the ways of The Lord.

     We wait for what is promised. We mourn over the condition of the city because what is wrong with Jerusalem is what is wrong with the world. They do not recognize that their Messiah has come. They do not know that the ancient rift between man and God and man and his fellow man can be healed through Christ's atoning sacrifice. When the vision of Revelation 21 is fulfilled the city will live up to its name and the world will experience shalom such as has not been known since the Garden. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Take some time to consider the following. Perhaps it would be helpful to record your responses in a journal.

     Meditate on the blessing of your healed relationship with God. Since God has brought peace to you, where might you be able to bring peace? Where do you long to see peace in place of conflict, abuse, violence, or estrangement?

Here is a prayer in response to today's text. You can pray this as your own or use it as a prompt for a spontaneous prayer.

     Our Father, many names are ascribed to you in Scripture. Among these is Yahweh-shalom: The Lord is peace. We pray for your peace upon Jerusalem that now is even as we long for the New Jerusalem that is to come. Show me where your peace is needed and empower me by your Spirit to be a peacemaker in those places. In the name of Jesus who is our peace, Amen.