Psalm 67
1May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
Selah
2that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
Selah
5Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
6The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
7May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.
5Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
The Hebrew word, Shalom, and the Arabic word, Sa’alam, are both used as greetings. They’re roughly translated, “Peace be with you”. On a deeper level, they mean call for a return to God’s perfect peace that reigned in the Garden of Eden.
We all long for the day when the world will finally be at peace. For people of faith, that includes a longing for all peoples to praise God together.
There is a Jewish prophesy which says that on the day that all Israel keeps God’s Commandments perfectly, the Messiah will come and bring peace to the world. St. Paul says that one day, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father. I’m certain that other faith traditions have similar prophesies about the day when God’s Peace will reign on Earth.
That seems to be good evidence of our innate desire to be at peace with God and each other. Even on those days when it seems as though no peace can be found and no end to human suffering is in sight, that longing for peace is God’s promise that it will one day be realized.
Prayer: Shalom, Sa’alam alechum, and God’s Peace be with you, my dear friends. AMEN