Island of Peace

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 72; PM Psalm 119:73-96; Isa. 54:1-10(11-17); Gal. 4:21-31; Mark 8:11-26

It’s a new month, which means I’m reading something new for my Tuesday conversations with those who attend the Rector’s Reading class. This month, we’re reading Meditations of the Heart by Howard Thurman. Thurman was a spiritual advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. and to others, including civil rights activist and Episcopal priest Pauli Murray. His meditations were first published in 1953, and I’d like to share an excerpt from his first meditation, “An Island of Peace Within One’s Soul”:

“The individual lives his life in the midst of a wide variety of stresses and strains… No one is ever free from the peculiar pressures of his own life. Each one has to deal with the evil aspects of life, with injustices inflicted upon him and injustices which he wittingly or unwittingly inflicts upon others. We are all of us deeply involved in the throes of our own weaknesses and strengths, expressed often in the profoundest conflicts within our own souls. The only hope for surcease, the only possibility of stability for the person, is to establish an Island of Peace within one’s own soul… How foolish it is, how terrible, if you have not found your Island of Peace within your own soul! It means that you are living without the discovery of your true home.”

Our Gospel reading this week feels timely. Religious leaders are in conflict, and Jesus withdraws. The disciples struggle to live out their faith, missing the bigger picture, while Jesus remains engaged in healing and acts of mercy. There’s even a warning to the disciples about the “yeast of Herod” and the “yeast of the Pharisees,” a cautionary tale about religious leaders becoming entangled with political power. Sometimes, we can see the scriptures lived out right before us.

Our baptized identity is rooted in being sealed by the Holy Spirit—the promise of God’s unfailing love, mercy, and care. Though we may live in uncertain times, our faith anchors us in God’s enduring promise. May it help each of us find that Island of Peace within our souls.

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection: How do you find inner peace? What is the connection to the outside world and the state of turmoil in your soul? How can faith help you navigate this?