Peaceful cities

Lily Cathcart November 28, 2022 0 0

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Psalm 122 (NRSVA)

1 I was glad when they said to me,
    ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’
2 Our feet are standing
    within your gates, O Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem—built as a city
    that is bound firmly together.
4 To it the tribes go up,
    the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
    to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For there the thrones for judgement were set up,
    the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
    ‘May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls,
    and security within your towers.’
8 For the sake of my relatives and friends
    I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
    I will seek your good.

As we approach life, but especially as we approach Christmas through Advent, we have a chance to recognise how important it is to build peace within ourselves. For many this can feel selfish — like we should be looking outward all the time to the needs of family, friends and even our wider communities and world. This Psalm reminds me that I can do both, in fact, that I should do both.

To build a city of peace we need to fill it with buildings of peace. I have never built a building but I can confidently assume it takes time and effort and planning. Because what happens if the building's walls are not stable? It will collapse under pressure and might even knock down the buildings around it too.

We are encouraged to build a city of peace. To take time to build up our walls, our boundaries so that they are strong. We can build beautiful doorways to invite in others but our own peace, and the peace of the community we live in, depends on our good walls.

I struggle, as I’m sure many people do, to set healthy boundaries which protect my peace. But with God’s guidance and love I hope I can become a strong building welcoming others and sharing the peace I find within.

PRAYER:

Dear God of foundations

Thank you for showing us we matter and we are loved

Please help us to protect and love ourselves as you do

Teach us to build up our community with personal and collective peace

Bring us into a place where all our cities know your peace within

Amen