Thoughts for the Day

How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down over the collar of his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
life for evermore.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Psalm 133 is another Psalm of Ascents that we looked at yesterday. Probably written by King David, we should remember he had many sons who jostled for power, so his words would have had considerable meaning for him personally and for his family.

But we too, as Christians, are bidden by Jesus to live in peace with one another, and this isn't easy. Often our first reaction when we (or a nation) are in pain is to lash out at others, verbally or physically, as we saw at the beginning and continuing of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and more recently with the murder of Charlie Kirk in the US.

Jesus taught us that we should love each other. However, the first problem is that we're often not at peace within ourselves, and so find it difficult to be at peace with others, let alone to love them. We can be full of anger, frustration, or bitterness and be so concerned with this that we cannot find time or desire to love others, but just continue to fuel our sense of injustice.

Loving others, particularly those close to us can be difficult, we know. It takes patience and understanding not to say hurtful things or to keep a feud going. Perhaps the most helpful thing, is to put ourselves in 'another's shoes'. How might they be feeling? Can we change what we do or say? Ultimately, though we need to turn to God and ask His help for the rewards of peace and harmony are tremendous!

Heavenly Father,
You call us to live in peace and harmony,
copying the perfect relationship
of the Holy Trinity.
May we learn to love and live together
in perfect happiness with those around us,
that Your world may resound to the sounds
of joy and happiness.
Amen.