Restoring Peace

In praying with this morning’s readings, a couple of points in the passage from Acts stood out to me.  The letter and exhortation from the first council of the Church, that of Jerusalem, among other things instructed the gentile Christians to abstain from the meat of strangled animals.  I couldn’t help but wonder why this was considered important. 
 
There are some different explanations offered for this, but I guess, of greater importance is the other point that really struck me. 
 
According to the comments of “the apostles and presbyters” in this important gathering, the reason for this session was to restore the peace of mind of the gentile believers who had been upset by other teaching and whose peace had been disturbed. 
 
The Council met to determine what should be required of these converts, and they settled on some minimal requirements. 
 
I found it interesting that this Church directive (if you follow my logic here) was given to restore peace.  Wouldn’t it be great if more people today saw Church teachings as instruments of peace, as given for our welfare, rather than seeing them as restrictive or in a negative light? 
 
During these days as we prepare for Pentecost, might one of our prayers be that the Holy Spirit would enlighten more hearts with an appreciation for the Church’s motherly guidance for our lives?
 
Another prayer might be that each of us, by our gentleness and kindness, as friends of Christ, might be instruments of His peace to hearts that are troubled. 

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