January 22, 2026

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.”
James 3:17-18

Why do you love them so much?
 
Peace. If you imagine peace or a person of peace, what do you imagine? Let your mind wander. Is it Christ? Is it a saint? St. Mary or St. Francis? Is it a secular saint like Mr. Rogers or Bob Ross or Miss Rachel? Is it a peaceful place with no people? Is it a person meditating or offering a flower? There’s a good chance that if your mind wanders for long, one image that might come to mind is a small man in an orange robe. Maybe someone specific with round spectacles, or maybe a group. And if you’ve been watching the news this week, maybe single file, walking down a road.
 
Shortly after the great Southeast Asia tsunami in 2004 that devastated Thailand, I traveled there with my college Red Cross club. We went to distribute some disaster relief supplies and some in our group were to run in the SE Asia marathon to raise awareness and relief funds for the nation. Monks ran the orphanage we visited and came out to bless the first aid kits for the runners. I walked the countryside to see the temples along the race route. Their kindness, humility, and genuine welcome was a true blessing to me. When years later, I received a small box with a Buddhist medallion and a book of wisdom from Mahatma Gandhi, I thought of time there and those monks. It was a gift of peace from a family from India wishing me well in my next steps as I accepted a new call to a new city.
 
Now, serving in that new city, the monks of peace have found and blessed me again. A group of Buddhist monks are marching from Texas to DC, along the same route I took from the city I last served to my current one. They passed my church’s front curb this morning, taking special interest and delight in the children of our preschool gathered on the sidewalk to cheer them on. In world full of violence and fear in our streets and on the news, I was blessed again that our children would see holy people walking this long journey for the simple cause they understand - peace.
 
How do you explain the conflict and violence happening in many cities across the country? Not without great difficulty and disappointment. How do you explain these monks to a child? They’ve committed their lives to peace. Not just their own peace, but the cause of peace that requires love, kindness, and justice. Children understand this, as do we as adults. Little ones happily gather on a sidewalk in the bitter cold to offer smiles and shouts and waves for simple men in bright orange, who walk for peace. And that’s why I love them.
 
Prayer
 
Lord, by your spirit, lead me and sustain me to be a peacemaker, walking always in your way, and as an example to children. Amen.

Rev. Brian Daoust