Peace be with you

This morning, I was talking to my beloved friend and spiritual advisor, Father Edwin Chinery, about our conference, the struggle for reentry funding, and simply trying to make the right decisions. Ed shared with me a story that happened some time ago during his church's Bible Study. Ed was guiding discussion regarding a specific passage in Scripture, and these are his words, "offering the 'proper theological implications of text'" when an elderly woman walked into Bible Study with a friend. 

The woman said the passage reminded her of when she was at a check-out counter fumbling with change while holding her parcels and becoming frustrated with her inability to simultaneously pick up the coins, hold the package, and manage her keys. And an older gentleman behind her touched her elbow and gently said, "Do it with peace." This woman shared how, when the gentleman spoke, her tension, fear, and concerns simply left her. 

Ed said to me that after the Resurrection, when Jesus would appear to the frightened, confused disciples, they would at first be filled with anguish and anxiety; Jesus would simply offer a salutation of peace. "Peace be with you, peace be unto you." 

For me, these past weeks have required us to plead our case and secure necessary funding while grappling with our clients' needs. During this time, I need to remember, and God-willing, we need to remember as a community, that the greatest gift we can offer one another—the greatest gift that God offers us, in whatever language we understand God—is simply peace. 

And hopefully, the courage and integrity to do "the next right thing." I need to conduct myself with a sense of spiritual peace that enables us to do God's will. 

So to Father Ed, the woman in Bible Study, and the gentleman behind her in the grocery line, today, I'm going to try to "do it with peace," that is until I get back on Route 1&9 and the Turnpike. :-)