Big Veda

In Hinduism, a Veda is a knowledge or truth writing. I don't pretend that this stuff is anything more than rumination. But through writing it I find a bit of knowledge or truth. Hope you find some truth too. PAX

19.2.06

Peace of God

"May the Peace of God be with you."

"And with your spirit."

Such was the call and response at Holy Liturgy this morning. I don't know what the Peace of God is. I don't know what it looks like. It's such a nice thing to wish for someone though. It's sure better than saying, "Have a nice day." The Peace of God is this nebulous "other" floating out there somewhere and every once in a while we catch a glimpse of it. The glimpse never affords us enough time to study the nature of the Peace of God. It's not unlike driving around Portland and seeing Mt. Hood looming majestically in the distance. You catch a glimpse and it takes your breath away because, with all the clouds hanging around, you seldom see it and even forget it's there. But your breath is taken and you think to yourself, "Good God! I forgot how close it is to us." Such is the Peace of God. It looms out there, obscured by the shade of darkness and every once in a while we catch a glimpse of it and we are stunned at how near it really is.

St. Nicholas, in all of it's foreign ritual, reaches out to my sense of the nearness of God. I am encouraged by their community not because it is idyllic and serene. To the contrary, the small community is wrought with conflict between young and old, rich and poor, and the dueling traditions of the varied ethnicities represented. Little of the conflict is hidden and swept under the rug. They are a family, with all the light and heat that define families. And I believe that it is within this storm of conflict that the Peace of God can be glimpsed. And it is this honest life together that draws me in.

PAX

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