Peace To Be New

Jesus instructed the disciples: “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’  And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.”

Luke 10:5-6

Notes for Contemplation as You Use this Devotional:

• This passage from the Gospel Writer Called Luke is sometimes titled “Jesus Sends Out the Disciples.” It refers to Jesus’s seventy-two followers who agree to share his wisdom in the world. As disciples, they are representatives, or ambassadors, of what they want to teach others, especially a new way to understand God and experience life.
• Peace is defined as tranquility, serenity, harmony, contentment, and calm.
• Peace is easiest to experience when you’re attuned to the present moment—living in the now—because it helps you release the past and avoid worrying about the future.
• Peace is an element of Advent, the contemplative season which prepares us for Christmas. But even if Advent isn’t part of your spiritual practice, you can still discover new ways to feel inner peace.
• As a great, first-century master teacher and psychologist, Jesus knew that the disciples could offer peace wherever they went.He also understood that peace couldn’t be taken from them, even when it was rejected.
• Modern psychology suggests that intrapersonal (within oneself) attitudes affect international relations. According to Linden Nelson, PhD, “the relationship between inner peace and interpersonal peace is reciprocal.” Thus, a peaceful attitude or “peaceful, easy feeling,” motivates you to treat others as you wish to be treated, overriding negative feelings, such as anger, envy, and judgment.
• Demonstration is the evidence you can see of what does or doesn’t work. You demonstrate your inner peace based on qualities such as:
  • faith in a beneficent God or Higher Power.
  • humility, self-acceptance, and self-compassion;
  • open-mindedness;
  • optimistic attitude and positive outlook;
  • hope about the future; and
  • concern for others’ well-being, and acceptance of their humanity, dignity, and divinity.
• You also demonstrate peace by how you treat yourself and others. So, someone else’s choices or behavior can’t disturb your peace, unless you allow it.

Contemplation Questions:

As you reflect on your life and circumstances, ask yourself:

• What negative, disturbing demonstrations do I see in my life now?
  • List, word map, or illustrate as much as applies.

• What positive, peaceful demonstrations do I see in my life now?
  • List, word map, or illustrate as much as applies.

• When I contemplate the negative, what’s focused on past regrets or worries about the future?
  • List, word map, or illustrate as much as applies.

• When I contemplate the positive, what’s focused on the new and now?
  • List, word map, or illustrate as much as applies.

• What gives me the greatest feeling of peace?
  • List, word map, or illustrate whatever is peaceful for you, no matter how small or insignificant it seems.

• When I contemplate the qualities which demonstrate peace, what are at least three (3) ways I can apply them to and/or enhance them in my life?
  • List, word map, or illustrate as many ways as you can imagine.

• When I contemplate the qualities which demonstrate peace, what can I do to keep a “peace-be-to-this-house” attitude, no matter where I am?
  • List, word map, or illustrate as much as you can imagine.

As you use this devotional, notice how you respond to upsets and challenges, especially when others aren’t behaving as you wish they would.  Remember that if you want peace, you also must be a messenger of peace, being clear about how you’ll respond, no matter what they others believe or how they behave.

Especially, avoid looking back at previous problems or past failures.  Stay in the now as much as you can, focusing on allowing new, positive attitudes and behaviors to unfold.  Trust that your peace can bring harmonious, fresh perspectives to ongoing conflicts and stale ideas.  Affirm as often as needed: “Peace be to me.  Peace be to this place.  With a calm demeanor and a tranquil soul, I am the presence of peace.  And so it is.”

© 2022 – Rev. Jennifer L. Sacks – All rights reserved.

Photo by djgis from Shutterstock.