Our collect for today asks that God will “in our time grant us [God’s] peace,” “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.”(Phil.4:3) We know that the peace that comes from God is not merely a time without war, or conflict, or disappointment in the circumstances of our lives as our culture might describe peace. Divine peace comes from within, not from external conditions, and enables us to be at peace in the midst of disquieting situations in the world around us.

We can be at peace in our hearts when we know that God loves us no matter what and that nothing “in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Rms.8:38-39) We can have that peace when we trust God in all things, knowing that the Beloved is constantly at work in our lives, transforming us into the imago dei we were created to be. We can be at peace secure that the Source and Essence of all, the one who brings weal out of woe, indwells us each and all and enfolds us in the precious Presence of Love here and now. We can know that peace when we experience the Holy One calling us by name to join in the divine dance of harmony and reconciliation with God.

Take heart in Jesus’ words, “Peace I leave with you; my own peace I give to you,”(Jn.14:27a) realizing that such peace is pure grace, and to be ready to receive that sweet gift of divine peace, we have to allow our hearts to be changed from closed hard-heartedness to open welcomeness day by day.