Creating a City of Peace by Andrew Nash
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6 NIV)
Place names are fascinating.
There are the nods to places where settlers originated, like New Orleans and Boston, referencing cities in France and England. There are cities named after early historical figures, like Baltimore and Denver.
Some cities have names that explain their own history. When a Japanese emperor decided to move his capital city to the east, he renamed the town “East Capital” — Tokyo. Hong Kong, which used to export the fragrant agarwood, is translated as “spice harbor” or “fragrant harbor.”
Jerusalem, however, is in a class of its own. According to the Jewish Midrash, Jerusalem has 70 names. Other scholars have put it at 72 names. We modern-day English-speaking Christians know many of them: the City of David, Zion, Jebus, and Salem.
What we call Jerusalem has a fascinating name history. Before the Bible, the city was called Ursalim — meaning “City of Salem/Salim,” the Canaanite god of dusk, the netherworld, and other things. When the Israelites took over, they didn’t really change the name, possibly because “Salem” sounded like “Shalom,” meaning peace. After several steps through other languages, English speakers have Jerusalem, commonly interpreted now as “City of Peace.”
David, the writer of Psalm 122, didn’t have “Jerusalem.” In fact, the vision of Jerusalem he was describing was not yet a reality. David had planned the Temple, but it wasn’t built in his day. David wrote this psalm for people to sing when they made pilgrimages to the completed city. He wanted the setting of the City of Peace to match the name.
Consider the places that are holy to you and what you call them. How can you bring peace to a place that needs it? How can you make your community a City of Peace?
Andrew Nash