As a Christian, I want to affirm that peace is at the centre of all that I aspire to be and do, because of the example I see in Jesus. But then I am aware that this peaceful vocation is not unique to those who seek to follow Jesus; we see it manifest in Islam, in Buddhism, in Judaism and in many other followers of faith traditions. More than this, we often see the quest for peace deeply etched on the hearts of those who have no faith at all who seek to follow a path of justice and to disarm the hatreds of the world. In this we Christians have a minor place amongst those who diligently follow a way of non-violence, or community cohesion, of shared justice. To claim superiority is not only delusional but also to revert to a kind of colonialism that implies we know best. To find our place in the peaceful order of things, amongst the passions and protests of an alliance of kindred peacebuilders, is a peaceful action in itself.
To Practice: An old Shaker hymn tells us that it is "a gift to come down where we ought to be" — to "the place just right." Write out your thoughts in response to this journal prompt: "One way in which I can place myself on more even footing with others in my current circumstances, not thinking of myself as superior or inferior, is ..."
— Barbara Glasson in Peace Is a Doing Word