Peace and Love

Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. 13The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. (2 Corinthians 13:11-13)

Paul concludes his second letter to the Corinthians with the words above. You may recognize the final phrase from worship services you have attended. Many traditions use these words as a heartfelt greeting shared between the one leading worship and those gathered together in communion with one another – in Chaplain Okwori’s “sweet fellowship.” 

Sweet fellowship, communion, peaceful living can be an out of reach goal for many of our communities. We live lives that are anything but peaceful and grace filled. Our mission in this place can be challenging to the concept of peace as we face so much violence and fear. A kiss is anything but “holy” as we face the reality of sexual assault and other issues of brokenness in our relationships.

The picture created in this passage is one of unity and peace, something we have struggled with for millennia. As our world is chopped up in smaller and smaller bits even as we struggle to be more and more connected, agreeing with one another is valued less and less. We find less order, more disagreement, more violence, and the feeling that God is gone from this world.

We have the chance, in our community, to do something else. We have the chance to gather ourselves around the presence of “the God of love and peace.” Despite our differences and disagreements, our God still comes among us to bring peace and love. We are not left to find peace for ourselves, but are given a promise by our loving God and Father. That should be enough. It is enough if we trust that promise. We can live together in peace if we let Christ be the center of that life. 

When all peace seems to be long gone, remember that in the bleak darkness of our lives we see the light of promise that is a loving and peaceful God bringing us into a life of grace and community. When you can’t find peace, bring yourself more fully into the community that gathers here around a God of love and peace.