Do you think of a church as a peacemaker in your community? You would if you applied to the church's role God's instruction to the children of Israel, as conveyed by the prophet Jeremiah. The instruction is this: "Seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace" (29:7).

The peace that comes from God isn't something attainable only in an afterlife. It's available now. And not just peace that's the absence of conflict but the spiritual calm—the grace and assurance—that expresses God's presence. Prayer to God and the understanding of His perfect government of man and the universe bring this all-embracing peace to human lives—to the community where you live.

God created His universe, including man, as His reflection. As such, it's entirely spiritual and good and always under the control of divine law. Everything made by God operates in accord with the all-loving, all-harmonious creator. Everything made by God reflects the nature of divine Love, the intelligence of divine Mind. God loves what He has made, and intelligently maintains order and peace throughout it. Because God's creation is purely good and at peace, His offspring, man, hasn't been put at the mercy of evil in the form of menacing disturbances, warring groups, economic hardship, or decaying conditions. Spiritual being is eternally perfect. It's always at peace. And it is a present reality. "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" is at the heart of Christ Jesus' message (Matt. 4:17).

Today, the Science of Christianity, as explained by Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, is helping people see the tremendous bearing this truth has on their lives. Clashes with others, uncertainty, hardship, decay, stem from believing oneself to be separate from God, outside of His control, the product of a restless, material world. Prayer to God pierces the fixation with this false, material sense of life, in which man appears to be helpless and evil to be real and gaining ground. It lifts thought to a higher, spiritual sense of being, revealing how things really are. This spiritual sense is a conscious recognition of divine reality, of God's peaceful, all-good government in action, right here. A recognition of the truth of being counteracts the belief that jarring and destructive elements are a fact of life. In doing so, it brings to light the law of harmony that governs God's creation. Science and Health describes the effect of this law of God. It says, "Christian Science despoils the kingdom of evil, and preeminently promotes affection and virtue in families and therefore in the community" (pp. 102–103).

The action of Christ, God's divine message to humanity, changes human consciousness. Thought is spiritualized. Spirit, divine Love, becomes foremost in thought, directing and correcting one's actions and quieting mental turbulence. Lifting thought to the worship of Spirit and to an abiding love for one's fellow beings, and so promoting healing, reform, and peace, is what Church accomplishes. Science and Health gives this description: "The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding frommaterial beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick" (p. 583).

Spiritualization of thought is key to a church that recognizes and wants to fulfill its mission as a peacemaker in the community. By understanding the laws and love of Spirit, God, church members bring to their services, collectively, the loving and purifying thought that removes fear, heals, and brings peace to the community.

Of course, the attaining of a more spiritual consciousness, which produces peace, isn't a goal reserved just for church services! Each spiritually-minded individual, wherever he or she happens to be, can commit to the role of peacemaker.

Here's an example of someone who did that. A woman boarded a plane, thinking, at first, that the upcoming flight would be a good opportunity for her to gain some inspiration by reading the Bible and Science and Health. As the plane took off she noticed that the man seated across the aisle from her was not acting normally. There were noisy outbursts, followed by periods of unhappy mutterings. There was no time when he would be quiet and still. Everyone within earshot appeared to be fearful and tense over the situation. The woman's first reaction was, "How did I get into this situation?" It appeared the rest of the flight would be one disturbance after another.

But then the woman prayed to God for comfort and direction, and a question came to mind. She wondered what Jesus might have been thinking while in the boat during a severe storm, when he was wakened from rest by his disciples' frightened call for help (see Mark 4:36–39). It seemed certain to her that the Master didn't resent the disciples for their call for help; that he didn't think, "Now, why did this disturbance happen and spoil everything?" The Bible says Jesus immediately rose and stilled the storm and there was calm. Then the thought came to her, "The question isn't 'Why am I in this situation?' but 'What can I do to bring harmony to it?' "

What soon followed was an opportunity to help another frightened, weeping passenger sitting nearby. Adhering to the unchanging truth of God's calm government of all, the woman confidently reminded the troubled passenger that God is ever present. Then came an opportunity to calm someone who had begun to show anger toward the man. Even the flight attendant noticed how this woman was bringing peace and order to an otherwise disturbing situation. By the time the plane landed, the man had quieted considerably, and when the woman left the plane, the flight attendant thanked her for all her help.

An individual or a church that sees troubled areas in the community can ask, as did this woman, how it can bring peace to those situations. In turning to God, one finds the direction, and the spiritual conviction, that are needed. And it is found to be true that "in the peace thereof shall ye have peace."

Russ Gerber

EPHESIANS

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:1–3