An Instrument of Peace

Last Sunday, at St. Mary's Anglican Church, during a simple congregational prayer response written by St. Francis of Assisi, I was overwhelmed by simple words:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Those who know me, know I love words. Each year, I choose a word as a theme to focus on. In the past, the words have been simple ones such as joy, hope, beloved. Leading up to each new year, I start meditating on words and themes. During this past month, I have been thinking about what life would look like if I really put others before myself. It is amazing how life works itself out as during that Sunday morning service last week, I knew that my theme for 2008 will not be a single word but a prayer. The prayer is simple but the reality of living it is not. What I have learned from the past is the chosen words/themes reveal truth and learning I could not comprehend at the beginning. I do not know if seeking to live this prayer is possible but I know that it is an area I need to explore. What would my life look like if I became an instrument of peace?