O God who stirs as ceaselessly as the roaring sea and who is as still as a silent mountain, stir within and among us this morning a determination to be peacemakers.
In this season of festive gaiety and quiet contemplation of snow on snow, we can forget that war and violence are widespread. War marches in the mountains of Afghanistan and rumbles through the dusty streets of Iraq. Every day, violence touches lives in Washington, D.C. -- and its suburbs, too. Strife and harsh words can mar our personal relationships. We can harbor anger and carefully tended resentments in our hearts.
So now, especially, as we wait for the birth of the child who brings new life to the world, we yearn for peace. We ask that You sweep away the violence in our world and the turmoil in our hearts, leaving Your peace, as still and strong and ever-present as a mountain. We ask that You do this by instilling an awareness that we are not passive and hapless bystanders, but rather the instruments of Your Peace.
Make us always and ever peacemakers, O God: peacemakers in the world, peacemakers in our nation, peacemakers in our city, peacemakers in our families, peacemakers in our hearts -- so that we may truly be called Your children.
Amen.
4 December 2005
by Deacon Dave Skidmore