I was just informed that coming up soon -- like on this very next Saturday evening of April 5th -- there will be a special church service in Victoria to pray for peace during these troubling times.  Some of the clergy here in town are planning the ecumenical service and trying to get the word out to the entire community on short notice so the pews are filled with plumes of prayers on their way to God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, of all things seen and unseen.
Victoria clergy involved in preparing this event include Pastor Frank Jones, Pastors Bill and Maureen Bonner, and Father Bob White.  It is being billed as "An Ecumenical Service of Peace, Hope, and Prayer."  Come, won't you?  It will be held at 7 p.m. at the St. Victoria Catholic Church. 
Obviously this prayer service hasn't been long in the planning.  Most of us, ordinary citizens and clergy alike, are still trying to get used to the fact that we are involved in a War on Terror, a war in which people are using real guns and bullets and artillery of all kinds, a war where people are getting killed, where there are tanks and helicopters and sand storms, where there are bombs and blood and other bad things.
This is not to say that terror is a recent phenomenon for us.  Terror has been around for eons, like since the first generation of human history.  Don't forget there was already a snake in the Garden of Paradise.  And don't forget that in the second generation it was brother killing brother when Cain killed Abel.  The oldest book in the world is a veritable history of terror either propagated on or by the human race. 
No, terror is not new, but the recently declared "War on Terror" is new ... as new as huge jets loaded with fuel flying into skyscrapers on a mission of mass murder and suicide.  Because the method of the terror is new, and able to be seen over and over again via repeat telecasts, our reaction to the terror is new.   
It is also a fact that today's snake plays by no rules whatsoever.  He seems more evil than in times past.  He cuts out tongues and nails them to his bulletin board.  He decapitates and mutilates without pause. 
But the good people also seem better than in times past.  Our good and brave people in our good and brave country are responding with courage and right reason, with wisdom and good heart, with strength and clear vision, not to mention informed conscience.
The good leaders are choosing not to be guided by wrong reason, cowardice, weakness, or tunnel vision.  They are not intimidated by media moguls, Hollywood, or other centers of high self esteem and low moral standards.
No, terror is not new.  I would venture to say that all of our country's wars have been "wars on terror" in some manner or other, but we just haven't used that particular nomenclature before now.  Each generation seems to have its own terminology to define itself and its wars, but it seems that when the USA gets involved in war, whether at home or abroad, the intention is to help people who have become victims of terror.
In no way am I suited to expound on our country's wars, but maybe I can safely say in a generalized way that our Revolu-tionary War was a war on the terror of taxation without representation.  Our Civil War was a war on the terror of slavery.  World War I and World War II were wars on the terror of aggression, the latter becoming a war on the terror of holocaust and genocide.  The Korean War and Vietnam War were wars on the terror of communism. 
The USA is not the attacker in these various wars; it is the defender of good people and their inalienable rights and freedoms.  I don't understand the recent rhetoric regarding "preemptive" strike.  The U.S. is responding to terror, not initiating terror.  Remember 9/11?
Each generation since Genesis has had a snake that waited in tall grass to attack on a whim or a notion to satisfy its hunger for power, its desire to corrupt and debase, its ghastly enjoyment in casting dispersion on others in order to justify its own wrongful pursuits.
Thank God there is also in this world a different kind of hunger, a hunger for peace and justice.  As a matter of fact, it seems you can't turn around anymore without hearing about peace and justice, to the point that I'm not sure just what they're talking about.  I don't mean to be caviling, but it's like they don't complete their thoughts or their sentences. 
Furthermore, I might ask, are we praying for peace and justice for everyone in the whole wide world?  Are we not allowed to be selective in our praying?  My list of favorites is already endless, and I'm not inclined to pray for snakes.
I would not pray for peace for the wicked.  I would only pray for peace to men of good will.  I would not pray for peace among liars.  I would only pray for peace among those who reverence the   truth.
When Jesus was on earth, He didn't say "Peace be with you" to His enemies.  He only said "peace" to His friends and those who sought it honestly.  His enemies received other salutations such as "brood of vipers," "hypocrites," "liars," and "den of thieves."
And, then, to His disciples He actually said, "I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy."  Wow!
I believe that in order for there to be honest peace and justice, there has to be knowledge and acceptance of that which is true.  Truth is simple.   It's not the product of convoluted thinking, rational-ization, imagination, or transcendental meditation.  Truth isn't the product of assuaging a guilty conscience.  And it's not a product of gossip or innuendos.  You don't have to be a contortionist to know or tell the truth.
Think about it.  That snake in the garden was the Father of Lies.  To this day he uses every twisted trick in the book to tickle our ears and plunder what is true and good.  This is not mystery.  It is not difficult to see.  It is clearly evil, and it is precisely what we are up against.
If you are able to join the Victoria community at its service for "Peace, Hope, and Prayer," please add a prayer also for Truth ... because there won't be peace and justice in the world at large nor in our private lives unless there is victory for truth.     ~Sue