April 5, 2020

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; My peace is not like the world’s kind of peace.  Don’t let your heart be troubled, and don’t be afraid.”  John 14:27

On Sunday I wrote about walking in the sacred serenity of God’s open space surrounded by breathtaking views and greeted by God who invites faith by revealing divinity in flora and fauna.  To be in a peace-filled place goes beyond pleasant, it is the sense of being at one and in perfect harmony with all things.  How easy it is to feel at peace when in that type of setting, but how quickly peace dissipates when one returns to the real world. 

The One who has come from heaven, from a place of perfect peace, purposefully enters this turbulent world in part to disseminate and allow us to taste and partake of that other-worldly peace.  We see this and if we take a moment we even sense it on this Palm Sunday as He enters into Jerusalem, the place seething with hatred and anger and intent on seeing Him suffer and die.

St. Luke is unique among the Gospel writers, for he alone includes an acclamation of Jesus bringing peace from heaven (Luke 19:38).  How badly those who raised their palms to welcome needed the peace from Jesus whose palms would be pierced.  How desperately those who desired to see Him die needed the peace from the One whom they could only decry.  How certain it is that we who are separated by twenty centuries are in need of the same, for the world we live, the cities we inhabit and the homes in which we try to find refuge are void of peace.

We are overwhelmed with worries, suffocating ourselves under a blanket of fear.  We fear loved ones getting sick and dying; we fret about whether we’ll be able to keep our jobs, homes and livelihood; we’re filled with anxiety over money and the stock market; we grieve the loss of simple pleasures like being able to gather with family for Easter.  All of this, and so much more robs us of perfect peace and fills us with a fearful foreboding for the future, holding us hostage to our rapidly changing world events and wildly random emotions.

This is not surprising for when security and trust is placed in the things of the world, whether that be money, men, medicine, machines or even our own minds we are experiencing the unrecognized and unacknowledged truth of what Jesus says; the things of this world do not bring peace but only turbulence.  The source of real peace is radically unique from what passes for peace in the here and now, for it is the universal principal of peace that transcends time and space and events and goes far beyond all human understanding; it is the Peace of God ever present and always available for us in Christ.

This Peace of Christ is different because it is external.  The source of peace comes from outside of us, but not from objects, events, investments, special occasions or other people. The externals that give peace are gifts of God, treasures that do not rust or are destroyed, they cannot be taken from us. These gifts are present in the here and now and travel with us through eternity.  It is not possible for anything that we cannot take with us when we leave this world to give us peace IN this world. 

The Peace of Christ is also internal.  “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you” Jesus says.  He does this by being the every-vivifying Word (Logos) that speaks into us that which God desires and what we need.  Think of the effect of a parent who, when their child awakens during the night terrified from a nightmare, speaks softly and soothingly to calm and comfort them.

Just as God chose to pierce the thin membrane dividing this world from the next in the person of Jesus, so too God pierces our hearts with His loving and living words, incarnating Himself deep within us.  As God speaks the Spirit breathes life into us, just as the Spirit did in the first creation.  The Spirit hovers over us, dwells deeply within us and instills in us love and joy and hope and happiness and grace, all of which bring us peace.

Finally, the Peace of Christ is eternal.  It is not dependent upon day-to-day events that transpire in this transitory life.  Christ models this as he moves toward his own death.  He is at peace in the midst of the malevolent maelstrom that surrounds him.  The movie “The Passion of the Christ” perfectly depicts this.  Assaulted by his Enemies, Executioners and the Evil One Jesus nonetheless is the paragon of perfect peace.  Though unique as the One endowed fully with the divine nature, His peace is not restricted to Him alone, for he gives this gift to his followers who are invited to participate fully in His life. 

The prophet Isaiah says “The price for our peace was placed upon Him”.  The security for our peace has been deposited by Christ, therefore it is secure and cannot be taken from us.  The words Jesus speaks following his resurrection are assurance of this.  “Peace be with you”, He says.  This is not a hope, a wish or a dream, it is a statement of fact.  That which Jesus speaks is accomplished.  Proof is seen in the lives of those listening.  His words fall not merely upon the ears of his disciples, but sink deep into their very being, so that we see a group of his followers, formerly fearful, now filled with faith and exemplifying peace even and especially in the midst of suffering and death.  This is the gift of God, extended with Palms for us to receive with hands and hearts wide open to receive.

A Celtic blessing of Peace:

Deep peace of the running wave to you,

Deep peace of the flowing air to you,

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,

Deep peace of the shining stars to you,

Deep peace of the Sun of peace to you. (From Celtic Daily Prayer)