On Sunday, we will taste shalom.
The Hebrew word, shalom, means more than peace or the cessation of violence. In the context of God’s promise to His people, shalom means wholeness and wellness. It means universal flourishing and delight. Shalom is God’s desire for us.
But how do we experience shalom when we live in a world on fire? How do we feel peace and wholeness when it feels like we’re holding on by a single thread? How do we cash in God’s promise of shalom when we are racked by uncertainty and anxiety?
We know God’s shalom when we know Jesus. Jesus modeled shalom to a world inhabited by empirical powers, corrupted cultures, and hypocritical leaders. Jesus lived shalom by teaching love for enemies and by practicing forgiveness and second chances. Jesus, himself, is shalom. And we don’t simply feel, or experience shalom in Jesus. We taste it.
When we gather as Christ’s church for communion, we taste God’s shalom. God’s wholeness is made manifest in Christ’s ministry, his power, and ultimately his sacrifice. When we taste the bread at the Lord’s Supper, we remember Jesus’s teachings on how to live a life of shalom. When we taste the juice from the cup, we remember God’s promise to us through the resurrection of His son.
By immersing ourselves in the person of Jesus Christ, we will know God’s shalom. We will know God’s wholeness and delight. When we allow Christ to embody our thoughts, and our motives and our actions, the world of violence and disorder will become secondary to the quiet stillness that only Jesus can give.
I’m reminded of the rich description of shalom that is offered to us as testimony by Horatio Spafford, who wrote, ‘It Is Well with My Soul.’ He once penned:
“Tho Satan should buffet, tho trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well with my soul,
It is well, It is well with my soul.”
Consider taking a moment to listen to the haunting melody of Spafford’s proclamation by clicking the link below.
And go in peace. Go in shalom.