Unity and harmony in community

The true saint goes in and out amongst the people and eats and sleeps with them and buys and sells in the market and marries and takes part in social intercourse, and never forgets God for a single moment. -Abu Sa'id
There are some who like to imagine themselves as pilgrims moving among the deer on high forest paths, simply clad, sipping only pure headwaters, breathing only ethereal mountain air. To meditate, we needn't drop everything and undertake an ascent of the Himalayas or Mount Athos or Cold Mountain. It may not sound glamorous, but you can actually do better right where you are.

Your situation may lack the grandeur of those austere and solitary peaks, but it could be a very fertile valley yielding marvelous fruit. We need people if we are to grow, and all our problems with them, properly seen, are opportunities for growth. Can you practice patience with a deer? Can you learn to forgive a redwood? Trying to live in harmony with those around you right now will bring out enormous inner toughness.~Easwaran

The tempestuous Peter, who is now regarded by the catholics as the First Pope*, had this(I Peter 3) to say about living in harmony:
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
There is great value in being at peace with others. I am praying that a new pastor who is unifying and possessed with a new vision in Christ will be given to our church. 
I am also asking the Lord to inoculate our church(Calvary-Waco) so that it will be a safe and inspiring place of peace and harmony in the coming days. It seems that the are always storm clouds on the horizon. There seems to be ever present danger in the form of distrust and suspicion. There are seemingly endless issues that divide and cause contention among us.
The Spirit of God can help and enable us to live in harmony. Oh that all of us can rely on the Holy Spirit to infuse with His Unity and Peace. May we find common bond in Christ as Lord and in the unity of His Spirit.




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