Weekly Liturgy : May 19-25
- Cory
- May 19
- 3 min read
John 14:23-29
NIV Translation
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 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.
“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.
REFLECTIONS
Thoughts from Cory:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives.”
During the Civil Rights Movement, those who protested against the racial, economic, and political injustices of America were often charged as “disturbers of the peace.”
In his sermon, “When Peace Becomes Obnoxious,” MLK wrote, “If peace means this, I don’t want peace: If peace means accepting second class citizenship I don’t want it. If peace means keeping my mouth shut in the midst of injustice and evil, I don’t want it. If peace means being complacently adjusted to a deadening status quo, I don’t want peace. If peace means a willingness to be exploited economically, dominated politically, humiliated and segregated, I don’t want peace.”
The peace that the world gives is rarely real peace. It is mostly just turning a blind eye to the injustices of the world to avoid the difficult and painful process of forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation.
May we all be disturbers of that type of peace.
PRACTICE:
Outward Mindset Application
What difficult conversation have you been avoiding? Engage in that conversation today with an outward mindset.
Non-Violent Communication Question of the Week
Is there anywhere in your life where you are experiencing hidden conflict, a situation where it has become easier to just pretend that everything is fine? How can you see the others in that conflict as real human beings, with their own feelings, needs, and stories?
Pathways toward Centeredness
Activists: Loving God through Confrontation
Activists love God by standing up for righteousness and justice.
Go on a walk through your neighborhood, a park, your town. As you walk, pray or meditate on the ways that your neighborhood can become a true place of peace for all.
Questions for Reflection
Where is there false peace in your own life, work, and world? What would it look like for you to be a disturber of that peace?
“Liturgy” refers to the habits and practices humans use to form community around shared values and meaning. At Church at the Park, we desire to be a community of practice, becoming people who see the world through the eyes of the marginalized, making meaning through the lens of pain and suffering, and committing ourselves to non-violence in a wounded world. This weekly email is intended to provide pathways of practice for becoming the type of people who embody these values.
Many of our reflections on each week's text come from other sources. If you're interested in reading more of what inspires us, here our our two favorite reflections.
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