difficult places - where do we find peace?

Give out an image:

Give out an action:

Place something beautiful somewhere you consider challenging - it could be a physical space, a relational space, or a symbolic space. Thank God that he is already at work in that place and that as you seek reconciliation there, you will also be reconciled.

Give out a thought:

Judah finds itself in exile in Babylon, this is bad news. Babylon is considered the antithesis of Jerusalem. It is corrupt at its core. 'How can we sing the songs of Zion in this strange land?' the Jews complain. Yet, one poet/prophet comes along. One of their own who not only suggests that they can, but that their sense of well-being, justice and morality will only be re-ignited as they seek the same for their captors.

'But seek the shalom of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its shalom you will find your shalom.'... (Jeremiah 29)

And the speaker for the vision dares to say, "Your shalom will be found in Babylon's shalom." The well-being of the chosen ones is tied to the well-being of that hated metropolis, which the chosen people fear and resent. It is profound and disturbing to discover that this remarkable religious vision will have to be actualized in the civil community. (Walter Brueggemann)