With these words Jesus promised His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit to them, to give them the confidence and the power that they would need to carry on His mission. But it was never meant to be a personal gift - for both Jesus and His people peace is for all, not just the Holy or deluded few.

And the Spirit did come, that's what we celebrate at Whitsun, yet there has been precious little peace in the world to show for it. And when I see what is happening in Israel today, with the holiest of Christian sites under attack and full of gunmen, my heart just goes cold.

It doesn't matter what the rights and the wrongs of the situation are, it is enough that we have got into this sorry state at all. How can we possibly prepare to celebrate God's generosity in sharing His lifeblood with us, for that is what the Holy Spirit is, when we have so frequently and so grievously turned our backs on Him?

There are many answers to that question, or rather, many parts to the one answer. God is good, and He is also faithful, unlike us, He keeps His promises. He has promised forgiveness to all who recognise where they have gone wrong; He has promised new life even from the darkness of the grave; He has promised satisfaction to all who hunger and thirst after what is right. He has promised, and He will deliver.

But God has chosen to work with us in a partnership, a covenant, in which both parties must play their parts for either to succeed.

So when we look at those terrible images from the Holy Land it is right that we should pray that God will bring peace, but it is also right that we should pray that men and women will put peace for all above their own pain and their own passions.

You and I can do almost nothing about the situation in the Holy Land other than pray. But perhaps the "almost" is just as important as the prayer. It is only when we can make our own contribution, be it ever so small, that God has something to bless and something to multiply. Our hope is in his promise that He will.

These days Governments are driven less by principle than by public opinion. If a policy is unpopular then they will think very hard before sticking to it.

And, although you may not believe it, ministers do take notice of their mail bags - if they are heavy enough!

If you want to play your part in making the peace of Christ real for those who have good reason to be sceptical about it, then start making your views known. One second class stamp is a very small price to pay for standing alongside those of God's people who, for no fault of their own, are forced to live second class lives.

We have seen here in Slade Green that when enough people want something badly enough, and are prepared to make their views known, then the politicians sit up and take notice.

Thanks to a lot of hard work by the Community Forum, a lot of people and a lot of money are now being focussed on bringing peace to this community. What we have done for ourselves, we can do for others - with God's blessing.

So God bless you all, and give you the courage to be peace makers.

Alan
1st May 2002