| "My Peace I Leave You" |
| (John 14:23-29) |
|
| In Sunday's
gospel, we read of the last discourse of Jesus, and He tells His
disciples, "Peace... Peace I leave to you. Peace is My gift to you."
What could be simpler? We all know what peace is. Actually, it's not
simple at all, not the peace of Christ. There is a problem. This
problem was put powerfully in T.S. Elliot's play, "Murder in the
Cathedral." He has the Archbishop, Thomas Becket, say in his Christmas
sermon, "Does it seem to you that the angels should have announced
peace, when ceaselessly, the world has been stricken with war and fears
of war? Does it seem to you that the angelic voices were mistaken, and
that the promise was a disappointment and a cheat?" |
| We,
too, can ask with Thomas Becket, does the promise of peace clash with
reality, especially now? As we see war and violence in so many places
around the world, where, oh, where, do we see peace on earth? We see
dissention, division, disunity. So, is our liturgy then a mere
make-believe pretense? Because we will soon wish one another peace, and
there is no peace. Is peace possible? Or is peace another of those
words that allow Christians to live at ease in a world at war? War even
on the streets of our cities. |
| Does
the word 'peace' enable us to forget that the real world is out there,
and that world is fashioned of blood and tears? To forget that there is
a real world inside ourselves and that world, too, is at war, seething
with passions and fears and at times, with anger and hate. |
| So
what is this peace that Christ promises? What does it mean? For that,
you have to go back to the Old Testament. Biblical peace has so rich a
content that no single English word can render it. For the Israelites,
peace was not simply harmony with nature, with self, with others. True
peace meant harmony with God, a right relationship with Him... unity.
For the Lord is peace. |
| Sailors
have an old adage. They say the worst storm cannot sink a ship unless
it gets inside. The life of Jesus demonstrates this truth, especially
in His final week. The storm was raging all around Him, but it never
penetrated His heart and mind. He was surrounded. He was surrounded by
fear. Pilate was afraid for his position. The priests were afraid for
their power. The disciples were afraid for their lives. Fear was
everywhere, but the fear never got inside of Him. He was surrounded by
hate. The Jews hated the Romans. The Romans hated the Jews. And in that
final week, the religious leaders joined forces in hating Jesus. But
the hate never got inside of Jesus. He remained steady. He was at one
with His Father. |
| What
does that word 'peace' mean for you? It will vary, of course. For a
soldier, peace is the absence of war. For a mother, a baby asleep. Now
each of these is, indeed, a facet of peace. But do you sense that the
peace Christ left you is deeper than any of these? A peace the world
cannot give, that is, the presence of God within you. All around you, a
communion with God, you are at one with Him. That is true peace. So
this peace of Christ can co-exist with war in the world, with human
agony, with death, lovelessness, loneliness, with sickness, with cancer.
Christ predicted this co-existence. "I have said this to you that in
Me you may find peace." In the world, you find suffering, but have
courage. I have conquered the world. |
| If
Christ conquered the world, so must each Christian. I am not asking
that you go to all the hot spots of the world. I am asking, what war
have you ended in your backyard? What mines of envy or hate, discord or
dislike have you defused? Who hurts less because you love more? Who
hurts more because you love less? Who was depressed, but has come alive
at your touch? Who is hungry for food or affection and is fed by your
faith? Who experiences God's absence and finds the image of God on your
face? |
| If you want to feel the peace of Christ, glow with it, share it, give it away. |
| My
friends, at each Mass, we wish one another peace. By all means, wish
one another blessings, freedom from war, wish one another harmony and
health. Pray, indeed, that in every way, they may be well. But over and
above all these good things, realize what it is that a Christian
nourished on scripture and the Eucharist wishes another Christian. I
wish you a deeper and deeper oneness with God, and oneness with His
image in those around you. And in the words of a poet, "May the presence
of Christ make your spirit spin. May you be aware that heaven is not
up. Heaven is within." |
|
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