PEACE-FULL

The picture in Isaiah is so peaceful and vast, world wide.  The previous verses give us pictures we yearn for: the cow and bear are happy neighbors, as are the wolf and lamb.  Even a baby can befriend a cobra!  This is beautiful but not real in our world.

We hear said "seeing is believing."  People of faith know that is only a half truth.  Faith will help us believe though we do not always see.  We believe in possibilities too.

What we see in our world is more chaos and war than peace.  In relationships we know there are times of upset, even being out of sync with one another.  True intimacy helps us work through these times together though at times there is a necessary separation.

We can look at our world and wonder "how does God see our world?"  Of course, God would see the chaos and confusion and wars.  God must see more though.

God sees into the heart and mind of each person.  God knows there are so many people world-wide who want peace.  God sees there are so many people who willingly work through chaos to creatively find, or build, a new reality.

A good friend of mine died recently.  Gigi was an insightful, wise woman, a holy woman, who talked about what she saw happening in the world and how concerned she was about all of the violence.

She prayed to hear what she could do to build a better world.  Until she got sick, she was a great advocate for persons and groups who wanted to build a more peaceful world, a healthier world.

That healthier world begins with you and me.  The closer we are to God, the more we will hear a call to reach out to others to build a more loving world.  St. Ignatius spoke of this as the importance of DEEDS OF LOVE, NOT JUST WORDS.

Emmanuel is "God with us."  God invites us to bring Emmanuel to others.  God invites us to discern and act.