An Invitation to Peace

⁹ Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!

   Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!

Lo, your king comes to you;

   triumphant and victorious is he,

humble and riding on a donkey,

   on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 

¹⁰ He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

   and the warhorse from Jerusalem;

and the battle-bow shall be cut off,

   and he shall command peace to the nations;

his dominion shall be from sea to sea,

   and from the River to the ends of the earth. 

¹¹ As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,

   I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 

¹² Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;

   today I declare that I will restore to you double.  (Zech.   9)

I just reread a commentary, from Feasting on the Word year A volume, this morning.  Feasting on the Word is a set of twelve volumes.  Four volumes for each of the three synoptic Gospels.  It is an extraordinary set of books in my mind.  Each Sunday there are four commentaries on each text.  

At any rate, I was reminded that Jesus came to invite his followers into “ a movement that includes ‘command(ing) peace to the nations.'” (p. 195)

An invitation to become active participants in “a wild, upside-down, transforming movements….. a model of humility, representing a very difference face and form of power….a bizarre, against-the-grain, mutually inclusive resistance and renewal movement.” (p. 197)

Called to be a: “peace-giving and foot-washing people.”(p.199)

These words got me to thinking.  We humans are drawn to movements of all kinds.  

Today, and for some time, it is "black people matter.”  Has been alive since the 1960’s civil rights movement.

Also, at that same time as the civil right activity; there was a countercultural movement focusing on sexual freedom and peace.

Then we have seen the abortion movements and the homosexual movement.

All of these movements cried for challenging of the status quo.

I have to believe that most of such activity within our nation was, and is, connected to Jesus movement  “that includes ‘command(ing) peace to the nations.”

However one thing rings loud in my mind — the violence.

It seems that the movements created by the human mind are not all that peaceful.  

Some are.  

Most are not.

There is not a whole bunch of humility in the movements of today.

To be continued.