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an easter prayer

Posted on March 20, 2007 | Filed Under peace 

Wow! That was my reaction on reading this Easter letter written by the chair of our congregation’s board of deacons. I knew immediately I had to share it with all of you. Hear his prayer … and, if you will, make it your own!

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of laborers, the genius of scientists, the hope of its children.” Dwight D. Eisenhower, five-star general and the thirty-fourth president of the United States.

Religious people seldom have difficulty finding a scriptural basis for engaging in conflict. The Old Testament is a history of nations in conflict, and God was on the side of the faithful. The lesson of our Savior, however, is to bridge differences, to trample prejudices, and to bury animosities. To the surprise of most everyone, Jesus came not to lead his people in war, but as the Prince of Peace. Jesus died on a cross, not to defeat the Romans, but to bring the Kingdom of God.

As spring awakens the earth, let us be prayful and courageous. Let us pray that our eyes be opened. Let us see the world as it is and as it yearns to be. Let us pray for understanding, reconciliation, and the end of animosities, some of which have lasted for hundreds of years. Let us pray for ourselves. Let us pray for our neighbors and our enemies. Let us temper our passions and tend to the patient labors of peace.

Tags: easter, jesus, kingdom_of_god, peace, prince_of_peace

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