Peace, from the pieces

All the king's horses and all the king's men
couldn't put Humpty together again.
--- Mother Goose

The concept of peace in the Judeo-Christian tradition derives from the Hebrew term 'shalom', meaning wholeness and well-being. The closest Greek word was 'eirene', which can be translated as national tranquility, or even order. By the time of Roman rule, we get our closest-sounding version of peace, the Latin 'Pax'. The strictest definition of the Pax was the rule of law (the Pax Romana was not a time of national tranquility, nor certainly wholeness, for those living under the thumb of the occupying Romans). From the expansiveness of the shalom blessing of wholeness, the definition of peace was narrowed and constricted until it meant literally 'keeping the peace'.
Knowing the original intent of the Hebrew, I will never again let my mind accept only the narrow version of the word. Peace, for me, will always be wholeness and well-being, individually and corporately. for, of course, there is no way I can work for wholeness in my own life without concern for the brokenness in the world around me; no way I can look to my own well-being while my community flounders.
In this season of preparation, what part of your life do you find in pieces? Not whole? Where do you need to seek the wholeness of shalom? Where in this world of ours can you put your hand to the task of furthering the well-being of others? The king's men can't do this kind of putting back together; that is a job for shalom.
Peace, from the pieces...