Churches Weekly Newsletter, 22 May 2022
In a time of war, we're greeted with the image of the risen Christ standing before his petrified disciples saying "Peace be with you!" This Hebrew 'hello' goes way beyond a mere greeting and carries a wealth of meanings in the Bible, far more even than an absence of violence. Rather, it signifies the wholeness and well-being of a restored community, of a people and their environment shaped in right-relation to their God.
Shalom, the main word for peace in the Hebrew scriptures is related to salaam in Arabic and shlomo in Aramaic, Jesus' language. All translate as wholeness and integrity, especially in relationships.
So, 'Peace be with you!' really means, 'Wholeness and health be with you!' Thus God's peace invites us to participate in the process of becoming whole and making whole.
As I'll be saying in church on Sunday, I now leave you with these words:
Shalom aleichem: Peace be upon you. Aleichem shalom: Upon you be peace.
