Translation form

Text block 1

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord."Isaiah 2:3–5Do you remember the covid lockdown? When we emerged from it, many of us hoped we might build a kinder world. We had discovered how much we needed one another. We thought that things would get better.Since then, the world has become more divided. We think of Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, Sudan, Myanmar, Iran and Lebanon: places where conflict continues to destroy lives and communities. Just yesterday, there was horrific act of violence in Krakow.And we hear Isaiah’s promise:“They will beat their swords into ploughshares.”A future promise where Nations will not wage war and weapons becoming tools for growing food sounds beautiful.But it feels further away than ever.Isaiah felt the same way, but he ended with: “Let us walk in the light of the Lord.”There is something for us to do now.God chooses to work through human lives. His promise invites our participation. We cannot bring his kingdom to completion ourselves, but we can begin to practise its ways.Jesus says: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”That is a calling for ordinary people like us.We pray for peace, naming before God the suffering we might otherwise turn away from.We write to our politicians, asking them to pursue diplomacy, protect civilians and support those driven from their homes.And we practise peace within our own reach: at home, in church, in the words we speak and the things we share online.Sometimes that means apologising. Sometimes it means listening. Sometimes it means challenging cruelty instead of keeping a comfortable silence.Peace needs truth and justice if it is to last.These may seem small adjustments. But small choices accumulate.One person’s generosity encourages another’s.An act of grace interrupts an argument.Someone finds the courage to forgive.We know how hatred can spread like wildfire.But grace, generosity and peace can spread too.Jesus compared God’s kingdom to yeast working through dough: something almost hidden, gradually changing the whole.We cannot know exactly how God’s promised future will unfold.But perhaps its beginnings will come so quietly that we will only recognise them in retrospect.And we will wonder why we ever thought peace was beyond our reach.Today, we honour those who died by remembering them with love, and by choosing peace in the lives we still have.We follow Jesus, who loved his enemies and, from the cross, prayed: “Father, forgive them.”The promise belongs to God.The invitation belongs to us:“Let us walk in the light of the Lord.”