Shalom

I get a slight sense of elation when something I’ve broken gets repaired.

It can be a pair of shoes that have been re-soled, sunglasses that get restored, or a fence that gets mended. Some part of me feels as if I cheated the system because I didn’t have to buy something new. Rosanna is this way too. We often tell each other stories of how a needle and thread or a hammer and a nail extended something’s life.

Earlier this week, Pastor Harry’s devotion reminded us of “Shalom,” and the Aaronic Benediction. Shalom is that ancient Hebrew concept that gets translated as “peace,” but means “the way things should be.” At a deeper level, it means “wholeness.”

The Spirit of God brings this wholeness to us when sin, guilt, regret, substance abuse, self-pity – you name it – have frayed the fabric of our lives.

There’s a great story in Luke 8 of a woman who has been diseased (physically) for twelve years.  In the ancient world, that meant you were diseased socially and spiritually too. She heard Jesus was coming to town. She fought through the crowds and she reached up and grabbed his cloak. Jesus said to her in verse 48:

“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

- Luke 8:48

Go in shalom. Go in wholeness. Go live physically, socially and spiritually the way you were designed to be.

Peace isn’t just the absence of conflict. Peace is the divine presence of the master craftsman remaking us to flourish as He intended. Do you need to touch the cloak today?  What’s fraying the edges of your life?

Let’s grab the cloak, experience His shalom, and take it to the weary world.

Pastor Jared

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