“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” ( John 14:27)
Now Noah sent out a Raven and it found nowhere to rest, then he sent out a dove, twice and it returned with an Olive leaf, the symbol of reconciliation and peace.
Noah had built an Ark of salvation and had travelled on the waters and learned obedience through the experience. Now he is sent out. Noah was called sanctified and sent, just as we are, our lives of salvation are not to be lived in the Ark forever, we are not saved for our own sake alone, we are saved to go out into the world and live to God’s praise and glory.
Jesus said – 5Whatever house you enter, begin by saying, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7Stay at the same house, eating and drinking whatever you are offered. For the worker is worthy of his wages.b Do not move around from house to house.
8If you enter a town and they welcome you, eat whatever is set before you. 9Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’
10But if you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go into the streets and declare, 11‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off as a testimony against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’
Can you see how the Raven and the Dove preached this same message in the creation/Salvation story of Noah.
As Lent draws to a close and we in effect rest on Mt Ararat, I ask you. Have you sent out your raven and your dove? The raven was a carrion bird a symbol of the wild and reckless, and we have that spirit within us, but it will not find peace no matter how much you fly around in this false self, but we learn that we must persevere in faith, we must continue to go out until we find the blessing of peace in finding our purpose in God. We all have this Raven and Dove, and we all go out into the world with these two ‘spirits’ and face a world that has these two ‘spirits.’ But we must act when God’s peace rests upon our lives. We must act when it is God’s time for us to do so. We must act in love and peace not anger or frustration or cynicism.
Live life in the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.
Let us pray.
God give us wisdom to be discerning and enable us to act in peace and not recklessly. Give us patience to await your time. Jesus in your life on earth, you were able to distinguish, between , “my time has not yet come”, and “now is the hour.” lead us that we too may know time, to do what the Father has commanded us to do.
Amen.
