Praying for Peace and Justice on December 14, 2025
Holy One, hear our confession of faith:
1. Commandment to Love: We confess that God commands us to love with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Deuteronomy 6.5, Mathew 22:36-40; Mark12:30-31). We reject the falsehood that personal comfort or communal safety can be secured through seclusion, scapegoating, or persecution of others. God’s universal love embraces all creation and honors the God-given dignity of all people, no matter who they are or where they are from.
2. Love of Neighbor: We confess the truth of the good Samaritan: Godly love is not confined by legal definitions or cultural preferences—it is universal (Luke 10:25-37). We reject the falsehood that limits our understanding of neighbor to those who look like us, talk like us or believe what we believe. Even those we may consider our enemies are our neighbors. A peace built on persecution and marginalization is a false peace that is not sustainable without oppression. True peace begins with love—of God, of self, and of neighbor.
3 Authentic love:
We confess that Jesus calls us to embody a true love that disrupts oppression, speaks truth in love, and names injustice (Luke 4:18-119, Mathew 23:23). We reject the false notion that violence or hate can never be reconciled with Christian doctrine. We proclaim our commitment to love and nonviolence in pursuit of God’s authentic peace.
4. The Cost of Love: We confess that following Jesus requires a costly love rooted in courageous faithfulness to God (Mark 8:34-35, John 15:12-13). We reject the false idea that silence or disengagement in the face of injustice is faithful. Christ calls us to visible witness—standing with the vulnerable, caring for the poor, and crossing boundaries of difference in love (Mathew 25:31-45).
5. Faithfulness to God: We confess our first loyalty is to God, not to human authority, so that we may guard against human idolatry (2 Timothy 1:13-14; Acts 5:29). We are called to embody Christ, who led through service, humility and love (Mathew 20:25-28). We reject false claims that elevate political power, national identity, or human leadership above faithfulness to God’s purposes.
Amen. And so be it.
Background
We receive emails daily pleading for donations. I expect you get them too. These address various causes, like peace, democracy, climate change, someone promising to be a better senator. We cannot afford to donate to all causes, and how does one choose? Yet I am informed about the latest dread. Rumors of last week become reality like in the case of green card holders. In Robert Reich’s repeated email he writes that 19 mostly African and Middle Eastern countries, paused all asylum applications, and openly called for “reverse migration,” a term used by white supremacists to describe the mass ethnic cleansing of all non-white immigrants
While this form of Peace making is expensive for me, do I ignore such information, delete, or feel guilty or pay for the knowledge and support those who do their part, and like me expect the world to change? I wait patiently for a miracle, while admiring those who have made a stronger active commitment to peace and justice.
When I was much younger I used to wonder, why did God make some people poor, and less educated? Without TV, I was unaware of the guns and wars; maybe I was plain naive. Since maturing, I ask the Holy One, when are you going to create a world where nobody goes hungry, nobody uses guns, no ICE personnel on the roads, nofloods, where corporations become cooperatives, to name only a few issues? I have been waiting, possibly you too. While I am waiting for God’s answer, I believe I am prompted to become a partner with God during this waiting period. Will I make a commitment to love and care for each one and show compassion to all? What about considering, A Confession of Faith. See the recent Callings, p.7 which clearly defines the 5 truths to make a commitment.
I believe that God is asking me to do my part to achieve peace and justice without needing a lot of $$ or feeling guilty. It might be a commitment that goes beyond this formal waiting period.