World Peace

As seen in the HEARTbeat and the Village Voice

“World Peace”

When I hear those words, I think of the movie “Miss Congeniality” starring

Sandra Bullock. The comedy included such stars as William Shatner, Michael Caine, and

Candice Bergen. Bullock’s character, Gracie Hart, is an FBI agent who goes undercover

in a beauty pageant. The other girls are graceful and talented, walking as if they walked on

air. Agent Hart is anything but graceful, which makes her name “Gracie” even more

comical. She is rough tomboy who has trouble just walking on high heels! Somehow

she doesn’t blow her cover even though it’s plain to see she didn’t grow up traveling the

pageant circuit.

During the interview scene, each contestant comes forward to be interviewed by

the emcee played by William Shatner. Each gives the same old “feel-good” answers

finalized by “World Peace.” When Gracie comes forward, she gives answers that make

the other contestants as well as the audience gasp. Silence falls over the auditorium and

she fears her cover has just been blown, and so do her fellow agents standing just off-

stage. Then as the silence hangs in the air as if it were a huge tree about to topple, Gracie

gives her final response to make the world a better place, a response given by every other

pageant contestant. She says, “Oh, and world peace.” The crowd erupts in applause, her

fellow agents finally exhale in relief, and Gracie awkwardly turns on her high heels and

walks back to her place among the other contestants.

Is world peace a concept we throw around to make people and us feel good or is it

something we truly desire? Some people just thrive on controversary. They are

constantly “stirring the pot.” And if there are no controversies, they will make one up!

And don’t get me started on reality TV. These shows are nothing more than chaos and

controversy created for TV. And of course, my favorite saying is, “Reality TV isn’t!”

Can we find peace? I would say we can, but then that begs the question, where?

We can look at instance after instance in the Bible where people had encounters with

Jesus. The Samaritan woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery brought before

Jesus, the blind man who Jesus rubbed mud on his eyes and restored his sight, and many

more. If would be safe to say, after their encounters with Jesus they felt peace. Why?

Were their troubles gone? No, because they still lived in this world! What they had was

a new perspective on it.

I don’t think peace is the absence of turmoil and controversy. I think having

peace in the midst of turmoil is the pure peace we should desire. There will always be

turmoil in this world, but there is only one place to find peace while we are in the world,

and that is an encounter with Jesus Christ. As the sign says on the church I pass every

day, “No Jesus, no peace. Know Jesus, know peace!” Go find your true peace. Search for

Him and you will find Him!