Every single person on earth desires peace, but if the question were asked as to what constitutes peace we then arrive at a new war. Few can agree on a definition for what all human beings desire. Some say it is the absence of war, others the freedom from want, and still others speak of peace as an inner feeling of the soul. All of these definitions see peace as something that can be achieved through material human effort alone, and as a result all of them are lacking. This week's readings provide us with a greater insight into peace.In the first reading from the prophet Isaiah we do not encounter the word peace, but we do see images of peace: Israel as being like a nursling carried in the arms of a mother. What greater image of peace can there be than to see an infant sleeping in the arms of his or her mother? Yet, the prophet tells us that this peace comes from God; it is not something that human beings can create for themselves alone. The prophet provides this image of peace to a nation experiencing the trauma of foreign invasion, despoilation, and slavery at the hands of the Babylonian Empire - all the result of sin, which Pope John Paul II states "that violence and injustice have their roots deep in the heart of each individual, of each one of us." (Message for World Day of Peace, 1984) The image is of the Messianic age when peace would come to all people through the coming of the Messiah of God.
Paul reminds us in the second reading of a second characteristic of peace, namely, that it comes to all who follow the rule of life God has shown us through the example of Jesus. So, while the fact remains that peace is a gift from God, we nevertheless have a role to play in bringing about peace and mercy in our lives. As the Church states regarding its Social Teaching, "it is a word that brings freedom. This means that it has the effectiveness of truth and grace that comes from the Spirit of God, who penetrates hearts, predisposes them to thoughts and designs of love, justice, freedom, and peace. Evangelizing the social sector, then, means infusing into the human heart the power of meaning and freedom found in the Gospel, in order to promote a society befitting humankind because it befits Christ: it means building a city of man that is more human because it is in greater conformity with the Kingdom of God." (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, #63)
In the Gospel text we see Jesus send out the disciples to accomplish the very evangelization that we just read about. The mission is one of peace, and it is our mission as well. Pope Paul VI stated that the mission of the Christian in the modern world is to deliver the Gospel message of peace that is "founded on justice, on the sense of the inviolable dignity of the human person, on the acceptance of an indelible and desirable equality of human beings, on the basic principle of human brotherhood, that is to say, on the respect and love due to each person." (Message for World Day of Peace, 1971) As in the day of the first disciples, this message will not be accepted by many. In fact, this message will lead to violence being committed against the Christian community that raises up the message in every age. Yet, the fidelity to the Gospel brings with it the interior peace to accept this suffering as Jesus the Lord did.
As we prepare to go forth from the Eucharist which is the bond of peace and charity, may we have this prayer in our hearts: "We thank you, Father, for showing yourself to us in the life, death, and resurrection of your Son Jesus. We thank you for all that you have offered us today; help us to understand your will more fully, and give us patience and comfort when we fail. Lord, give us your peace: the world is tormented by war and hatred, by suffering and injustice; give us the peace that we should give to others, the peace we should treasure in our hearts, the peace the world cannot give. Amen. (A Christian's Prayerbook: Psalms, Poems, and Prayers for the Church's Year, p. 100-101)
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