Thought for the Day-Visions of Peace

Mount Zion and the Church of the Dormition, Jerusalem, 1923 by David Bomberg

A Thought for the Day given during Holy Communion at St Olave Hart Street on Tuesday 30th September 2025 based on the texts of Zechariah 8.20-23 & Luke 9.51-56

Addressing Israel after the exiles had begun to return from captivity in Babylon and the people faced the daunting challenge of rebuilding the sacked temple and the city of Jerusalem, the passage we hear today from the prophet Zechariah offers encouragement and hope for the task ahead.

A vision of a world no longer divided by fear, mistrust or violence — but drawn together by a shared desire to know God. The rebuilt city becomes a magnet for people from every background, every language, every nation, reaching out to grasp the coattails of the faithful so that they too might be led into God’s presence. 

Our past and our present shows us how elusive such unity has been.

On this day in our more recent history — 30 September 1938 - another prophecy of hope was proclaimed. The then British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (whose grandparents were married here incidentally) announced what he believed to be a breakthrough in discussions with Hitler. Austria had been annexed and Hitler had threatened to invade the Sudetenland. Without consulting Czechoslovakia, Hitler was given the land he demanded. Stepping off the plane from Munich and holding a piece of paper in his hand, Chamberlain declared there would be “peace for our time.”

We all know that didn’t last long. Within six months the rest of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany and within a year the world plunged into the horrors of the most devastating war in human history. The stones of this church, rebuilt from the rubble, still show its scars. 

On the same day that Chamberlain made his declaration, the League of Nations passed a resolution condemning the bombing of civilians. That too would soon be ignored. Time and time and time again. 

So Zechariah’s vision remains both a comfort and a challenge for the world today. Reminding us that true peace and unity is not assured by signatures and speeches but by hearts that desire to know one another through God. 

Jesus is the embodiment of that vision of peace. Yet even those who walked alongside him failed to see it. 

In our gospel reading Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem - the city Zechariah prophesied would draw all nations to God - but not everyone is rushing out to grab the hem of his garments. Jesus is rejected by a Samaritan village; perhaps the result of the deep-rooted animosity between the Samaritans and the Jews. James and John want to respond violently - to reign fire and brimstone upon the village, to raze it to the ground. 

But Jesus turns and rebukes them. And then continues on his journey. 

He refuses to retaliate. No violence. No outrage. No threats. Not even a disparaging comment about the Samaritans under his breath.

This isn’t appeasement. It’s not weakness - although it might seem like it to eyes conditioned to retaliate. It’s a conscious decision not to perpetuate centuries of division by responding with more of the same. A courageous choice to love and not hate - to walk towards the cross, not away from it. 

Sitting in our rebuilt temple, reconstructed from the rubble of war, the vision of deep peace in the scriptures today whispers to us through the echoes of so many paper-thin promises so quickly broken. 

We are being called to embody true peace in our lives. To resist the instinct to retaliate. To love those who are not part of the same tribe whether we encounter them at home, at work, in church, or in the world.

When we live like this - by turning away from the path of perpetual retribution and turning to follow the Prince of Peace, then others may look upon us and say: “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

Image : Mount Zion and the Church of the Dormition, Jerusalem, 1923 by David Bomberg