Jehovah Shalom

This week we celebrate peace. Peace is a prominent theme of the Christmas stories in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. “Peace on Earth, good will toward men” is one of the most well-known and often repeated phrases from these stories. Traditional Christianity believes that Jesus Christ, who is often referred to as “The Prince of Peace,” will return to establish God’s kingdom on Earth which will include a reign of peace. In addition to being essential to Christian eschatology, “Peace on Earth” is a common theme in many of the world’s religions. In the Jewish tradition, global peace and harmony are a part of the vision for the Messianic Age.  Other religions and faith traditions, including Buddhism and Hinduism, also include world peace in their vision of the final events in history or the ultimate destiny of humanity.

Some traditions assert that the end of the world as we know it, and the establishment of peace on Earth, will come quickly whether via the incarnation or reincarnation of a deity or by some cataclysmic event. We, in Unity, hold the vision for peace on Earth in our lifetime, here and now. Peace on Earth is not dependent upon a single event or coming of a Messianic figure. It is not Jesus, but the Christ, the only begotten idea in Divine Mind for humanity, that initiates the reign of peace on Earth. The Christ which is born through each of us, nurtured by each of us, and lives as each of us will bring forth the kingdom of God into manifestation. In order to establish peace on Earth, we must be willing to know ourselves as the Christ; allow the mind of Christ to be our mind, and allow ourselves “to be transformed by the renewing of our minds,” as St. Paul said in his letters to the churches at Corinth and Philippi. Our minds are transformed when we consciously surrender to the Christ, not an external being, but the idea in Divine Mind that is ever a part of our own minds. Peace on Earth will be established when we consciously choose for it to be.

We also hold the vision for a world transformed by peace, but the transformation we envision is not one in which the physical world ceases to exist. The world is a projection of human consciousness, the mind of humanity. A mind that is not at peace projects a world that is not peaceful. We have created and continue to create the world as we know it moment by moment. Likewise, we can end the world as we know it and transform it whenever we choose. We can alter human consciousness and establish peace on Earth by taking every opportunity to allow our own minds to be renewed and transformed by Christ.  The transformation occurs one mind at a time. The world as we know it is the world we have created and we can recreate it whenever we choose. 

In the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, Unity co-founder, Charles Fillmore, says “Jehovah of the Old Testament is the I AM, or Christ of God invisible; the Messiah is the promise of the visible manifestation of that I AM or Christ, and Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in man of that original spiritual I AM, or Jehovah.” 

In other writings, Mr. Fillmore said, “God was known to the Israelites as Jehovah-shalom: "I am peace." “You can demonstrate peace of mind by holding the words ’I am peace’.  If you take Jehovah-shalom into your mind and hold it with the thought of a mighty peace, you will feel a consciousness, a harmonizing stillness that no man can understand…Then you will know that you have touched something; but you cannot explain to another just what it is, because you have gone beyond the realm of words and made union with the divine cause.”

By taking the mantra “Jehovah-shalom” into our minds and focusing on it, we invite the Christ to fill our minds. As the Christ fills our minds, our minds are renewed. The consciousness of humanity is changed one mind at a time, and we begin to project the world from a mind that knows peace. The Christ is born in and through each of us, and together we bring forth peace on Earth.  When we are transformed, we transform the world. Peace on Earth, goodwill to all becomes our transformed reality.