The Gift of Peace

Gospel: John 14: 27-31

Peace is a gift; this is the first point to be made about Jesus' short lesson on peace.  Peace is not something we can earn or acquire for ourselves.  It is a gift given to us by God or by the world.  The more we strive for peace in our lives, the further away it seems to be from us.  But once we surrender the chase and allow ourselves to be consumed by God's love we find peace.  

The second important point is that it makes all the difference in terms of who is giving the peace.  The world gives peace in the way the Roman Empire did - through coercion, violence, and war.  People would be "rewarded" with the spoils of war - stolen goods and enslaved peoples.  Jesus was the victim of this peace - an innocent man executed to keep the peace, a very common occurrence in our world even today.  This is not peace, for it is born of evil that disturbs the peace of soul, heart, and mind.

But the peace of God is found in accepting God's mercy for us and in extending mercy to others in the world.  It is the peace Jesus lived in his life, a peace we find in him as he goes through his trial and death.  Here Jesus forgives all people, endures abuse in silence, and offers the sublime prayer of Psalm 23 to God who is love for him and for us.  This is the peace we long for and hope to receive in our life, for it is offered in love, in freedom, in sincerity and truth.