Shalom (שָׁלוֹם)
is a Hebrew and Jewish word meaning peace, Nothing missing, Nothing
broken, wellbeing, and complete[1] [2] [3],
and used to mean hello, and goodbye.
(http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org)
I have been captivated by this word, particularly in the way
it implies wholeness. I thought of it
while reading David James Duncan’s novel The Brothers K, when Kincaid,
the main character, describes his vision of the Kingdom of God. In the beautiful treeless landscape of
heaven there are several pools. He
approaches one, hoping to escape from the group, and he sees a miniature
version of the world he is on, including
…a boy who must
correspond to- or perhaps even be, me.
He was like me, he was exactly like me. Yet he wasn’t me at all. There was none of my confusion in him, none
of my nervousness, nothing the least bit sad or dull or hesitant. His features were mine exactly, with a
single, all-encompassing difference: they had that indescribable quality – the kingdom
quality. He belonged to the world or worlds around him as surely as the
greenness belongs to the grass, and the longer I looked at him, the longer we
watched each other, the more I felt like a huge sloppy cartoon caricature of
the being who the boy in the pool really was. (p. 84)
I’ve come to believe that the Kingdom of God within each of
us contains a version of ourselves with the kingdom quality, and part of
our purpose in life is to discover that vision and rise above sloppy earthly
caricatures of our kingdom selves.
Before you dismiss this thought as sacrilegious, let me acknowledge that
the vision is God inspired, and only with the sure knowledge of God’s
unconditional love can we rise above the fear of failure and live boldly as the
people we were made to be.
It reminds me also of a truth expressed by Steve Brown, one
of my favorite podcasters. He asserts
that almost anything of value is a by-product of something else. If we search for this vision, we will be
miserable. But if we live our lives in
thanksgiving to the God of the universe, we will discover along the way our
unique giftedness and calling.
So as a greeting to you all, I say Shalom, and in that
beautiful word I express the confidence that you are more than what I see with
these earthly eyes. Shalom.
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