The Peace different from the
World
The Lord remembered his holy word, and he brought out his
people with joy. Alleluia.
Acts 15:1-2,22-29;
Rev 21:10-14,22-23; Jn 14:23-29 (Easter 6/ C)
One day, Saint Thérèse of the
Child Jesus was offered various gifts to choose from, and she, with great determination,
despite her young age, said: "I choose all." As an adult, she
understood that this choice had to be realized in wanting to be loved in the
Church, for a body without love would be meaningless. God is love, and it is
the highest message from God through the incarnation of his only Son. From his
all-encompassing love, "peace” is born: “My peace I give to you; my peace
I leave with you”. We want peace, and we
see alarms and acts of violence all around. When we turn to him, we will only
achieve peace, the fruit of his total love. He does not give it to us as the
world does (cf. Jn 14:27), for the peace of Jesus is not stillness and
carefreeness, but quite the opposite. It is solidarity that becomes
brotherhood, the ability to look at ourselves and others with new eyes. From
this is born a great serenity that allows us to see things as they are, and not
as they appear.
Today, we reflect upon Jesus’
gift of peace through his Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Hebrew Shekinah hints at a
maternal aspect in God, as the word is feminine and was used in Hebrew folk
religion as the name of Yahweh’s consort. The evangelist John hardly thought of
this in the Old Testament. However, the word for peace is shalom. Shalom never
means simply the absence of trouble but ranks above the peace of the world. The
world’s gifts concern the body and time. Christ's gifts enrich the soul for
eternity. The world gives lying vanities, and that which will cheat us. Christ
gives substantial blessings, which will never fail us. The world gives and
takes. Christ gives a good part that shall never be taken away. The world’s peace begins in ignorance, consisting
of sin, and ends in endless troubles. Christ's peace begins in grace, consisting
of no allowed sin, and ends at length in everlasting peace. As is the
difference between a killing lethargy and a reviving refreshing sleep, such is
the difference between Christ's peace and the world.
How can we attain the peace that
the Lord Jesus offers us, his followers? Through the gift and work of his
Spirit, the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, the Lord Jesus shows us how to
yield our passions of anger, fear, and pride to him so we can receive his gift
of peace. The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and strengthens us, enabling
us to live as wisely as Christ. Caesarius of Arles (470-542 AD), an early
church bishop in Gaul, linked peace with the character of Christ to grow in Christ.
He says, "Peace, indeed, is serenity of mind, tranquility of soul,
simplicity of heart, the bond of love, the fellowship of charity. It removes
hatred, settles wars, restrains wrath, tramples on pride, loves the humble,
pacifies the discordant, and makes enemies agree. It does not seek what belongs
to another”. When a Christian exercises the peace of Christ, it is brought to
perfection by Christ. We can only achieve it by detaching from things and
persons. We can achieve detachment when we do not have any expectations from
anything or anyone, even from our acts of charity.
The Holy Spirit will keep us right in matters of conduct when
we are tempted, at times, to do something wrong and are on the very brink of
doing it contrary to the peace of Christ. Even in the moment of danger, a saying from
the Bible flashes into our minds (Ps 32:8 ). May the Holy Spirit lead us to the
Union with the Triune God. “Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the children of God” (Mt 5:9).
“God will perceive your intentions,” St Augustine
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