Reflection
He stood in their midst and said to them,
“Shalom.”
Luke 24:36
Shalom is generally translated as peace, but in Hebrew there are no one-word translations rather, every word has shades. and depths of meaning. Thus, shalom implies completeness, order, fullness, harmony, tranquility, health, prosperity, wholeness and the absence of discord. Shalom embodies the Biblical vision of creation in which all are one, all reality is in harmony and unity and there is well being for every creature. We are not only bound to God but to one another in a caring and just community in which there is no reason for fear. This is the shalom Jesus gave to his disciples; this was his hope for them that they would continue to work to create a world of love, peace, harmony and justice.
Prayer
Lord, make me a channel of Your peace
Action
Within the sphere of your own life try to live the vision of shalom.
Suggested Reading
The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way,
and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread.
While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
“Shalom.”
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Luke 24:35-48
Renew our hearts and minds, so that …our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam!
Pope Francis
Shalom is a very dynamic notion. It’s always under way, always in process. We never finalize it. We take incremental steps along the way to try to create safer space for the flourishing of more people.
Walter Bruggeman
Shalom is intimately tied to justice, because it is the enjoyment or celebration of human relationships which have been made right.
Johann Arnold
Shalom is the webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight…. We call it peace, but it means far more than mere peace of mind or cease-fire among enemies. In the Bible shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight.
Cornelius Plantinga Jr.
Shalom is what love looks like in the flesh. The embodiment of love in the context of a broken creation, shalom is a hint at what was, what should be, and what will one day be again. Where sin disintegrates and isolates, shalom brings together and restores. Where fear and shame throw up walls and put on masks, shalom breaks down barriers and frees us from the pretense of our false selves.
Jamie Arpin-Ricci
Only a few people seem to realize that social harmony and peace with nature, between people, and within the individual only can come about when the material and spiritual realms are reconciled.
M. Fethullah Gülen
A society concerned with shalom will care for the most marginalized among them. God has a special concern for the poor and needy, because how we treat them reveals our hearts, regardless of the rhetoric we employ to make ourselves sound just.
Randy S. Woodley
Shalom is understood to mean peace, but peace is only one part of the word’s real meaning. The root shalem means completeness.
Celso Cukierkorn,