Peace

Peace

May 18, 2020

Scripture: John 14:27-29; 16:33

Peace. To me peace is the best word in the English language. Its equivalents are the best words in other languages too—Frieden (German), mir (Russian), pais (French). paz (Spanish), pax (Latin). When I used to do contemplative prayer (which it wouldn’t hurt me to take up again) I used peace as my sacred word. I use Peace as a benediction at the end of most of my correspondence. Peace is the best thing there is. It is the opposite of the worst things there are—war, other kinds of violence, troubled minds, hearts and souls. Almost everybody says they want it. The world’s militaries say they fight to maintain or to bring peace, never mind that violence mostly just begets more violence. The UN and NATO put together “peacekeeping forces,” and I guess they do sometimes stop warring parties from fighting. Sages of all the world’s great spiritual traditions want peace in the world. They say that to get peace in the world we must start by finding internal peace, peace for our hearts, minds, and souls. I suspect that I find peace to be such a powerful concept because I long for more of it in my life. In my heart actually, for externally my world is not particularly violent. I hear about violence all the time, but I’ve rarely seen it. I have no personal experience of war, having been medically ineligible for the draft during the Vietnam War when I was of draft age. Still, I long for peace. Peace in my heart. Peace in my soul.

I long for peace, but just what exactly is peace? On one level peace is the absence of certain things. It is the absence of violence, all kinds of violence whether personal or military. When a nation is being defeated by another nation in war it may “sue for peace,” with peace meaning an end to hostilities and to violence, and end to the maiming and killing of some human beings by other human beings. Sometimes police forces “restore peace” when they put down some king of public disturbance. So on a very basic level peace is the absence of conflict, especially violent conflict.

As he nears the end of his life on earth Jesus speaks to his disciples. At John 14:27 he says to them “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” Just what does he mean? Perhaps he means that he wishes them an absence of violence in their lives. His disciples were facing if not actual violence against them then at least the threat of violence against them. They were after all living in the Roman Empire and were part of a movement Rome certainly wanted to put down. Rome never had any qualms about using violence against people it perceived as a threat, and the threat of violence against the earliest Christians was real indeed.

Still, Jesus just wishing them an absence of violence doesn’t quite add up. He knew they were almost certainly going to encounter violent opposition no matter what he said to them. At John 16:33 he says to them “I have said this to you so that in my you may have peace. In the world you face persecution….” We just saw that at John 14:27 he says specifically my peace I give to you. These statements of his are quite enigmatic, as Jesus’ statements in John so often are, but he sure seems to be talking about peace as something other than a mere absence of violence. Peace is something that he has that he can give to his friends. Jesus’ peace is  something they may have “in him.” What are we to make of these puzzling statements?

First of all Jesus clearly is not talking about peace merely as an absence of violence in the world. It seems clear that he is talking about an inner peace rather than an outer one, a spiritual peace rather than a physical one. He offers it to his friends, and they can have it in him if they will live their lives in him. Living in him means, I think, living the eternal life that in John means a life lived with the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. See John 17:3. He means, I think, living as close to God as he did or at least as close as we are capable of. The peace he gives them is the peace of knowing the love of God that we see in him and know through him is ours too. Jesus rather clearly intends that the peace he gives and which in him we can know is first of all an inner peace. That intention of his raises a couple of important issues. What is this inner peace that he offers? Once we know what it is, how do we attain it?

The inner peace that Jesus offers is a heart, mind, and soul free from whatever it is that is keeping them from peace. What that is will vary from person to person and from time to time. Perhaps it’s anxiety or fear. Perhaps it’s frustration or disappointment. Perhaps it’s loneliness, or maybe it’s overwork. It can be physical illness and anxiety about one’s life coming to an end. There are all kinds of things that Jesus’ peace can address. Faith in Jesus Christ is not a substitute for medical care for any medical condition including mental illness. Yet holding on to Jesus helps a lot with the kinds of things that keep us from a blessed inner peace.

So just how do we do that? By turning to Jesus mostly in prayer. Praying for inner peace is a big part of finding inner peace. Also by turning whatever it is that we’re dealing with over to God. Admit that you need help, ask God for that help, and then let go of whatever it is you need help with. Let it go to God. I know that it’s a lot easier for me to say it than it is for most of us, myself included, to do it, but please remember. Practice helps. Don’t turn to God once and expect to feel that inner peace that Jesus wants to give you. Turn to God every day. Pray every day. Read the Bible every day. Go to church when you can even if that means doing it on line these days. Practice, practice, practice. That’s how we reach the inner peace that Jesus offers.

When we do that amazing things happen. Mostly what happens is that we enter into God’s assurance that no matter what we’re dealing with, no matter what may come, no matter how our life unfolds, we are existentially safe with God. When we turn to Jesus for peace we know that God’s love will never forsake us. We discover that Jesus has very broad shoulders. They can bear whatever worries, anxieties, or fears we put on them. Perhaps most importantly when we turn to Jesus in any time of need we come to know that we are not alone. We are never alone. God is always there for us to cling to, trust, and rely on for a safety that surpasses understanding but that we can come to know is far more real than anything that threatens or disturbs us is or ever can be. So turn to Jesus Christ. That way lies peace. May we all cast our cares upon Jesus Christ and find that blessed peace that only God can give. Amen.