From the Deacon's Desk

Each day, I reflect upon a word or a phrase inspired by the readings of the day. I encourage you to do the same and perhaps incorporate that word or phrase into your daily prayer.

Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail… (Isaiah 7:1-9)

REMAIN TRANQUIL: This is likely the only time I will reference the movie, Animal House, when reflecting on scripture – but here it goes: There is a scene at the end of the movie when a celebratory college town parade is taking place and members of a rebellious fraternity are wreaking havoc. Their sole purpose is to ruin the parade and bring shame to the university.

At one point, the marching band drum major – with obvious chaos all around him (including firework explosions, people running in fear in every direction, and his band marching into a brick wall) – yells repeatedly at the top of his lungs, “Stay calm! All is well!”

Perhaps this is how you feel in response to the pervasive chaos of our world. So many things attack and intrude upon the peace we need and desire. It is overwhelming and unfortunately, lack of peace enhances fear.

God spoke through the prophet Isaiah: Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail…

Two important take-aways:

First, tranquility (peace) and fear are intertwined. We remain peaceful and fear is diminished. If fear gets the upper hand, we lose our sense of peace.

Second, courage plays a role. It takes courage – in the form of effort, determination, and perseverance – to combat fear. We must take deliberate steps (“Take care” as Isaiah said) to protect our peace.

How do we do that?

*We notch out time on our calendar to relax. For instance, my recent vacation restored my peace and perspective. That said, even blocking out 30 minutes a day for relaxation can be a great help.

*We make time to pray, asking for help in restoring our peace and giving us the tools needed to take on a chaotic world.

*We open our hearts to others – offering compassion, understanding, and acceptance. So much of our angst is self-induced. We bring fear upon ourselves as we view others as the opposition, rather than as fellow human beings searching for their own peace.

The fact that all is NOT well in our world does not mean that peace is unavailable to us. We must be deliberate and prayerful in our efforts to maintain an inner peace; we must allow ourselves to be at peace.