Sixth Sunday of Easter-C
We are at the time in the liturgical calendar when the Easter season ends. Forty days after the Resurrection, our Lord ascended into heaven and sits at the Father’s right hand. In a few dioceses, the feast is celebrated exactly forty days after, on Thursday of next week. Most, however, will celebrate the Ascension next Sunday, the trend we will follow here.
On the Sixth Sunday of Easter, the reading from St. John reflects the words of the resurrected Jesus before he left them. He tells his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” As Christians, Jesus’s words are extended to us as well. It is hard to accept Christ’s peace when all around is anything but peace.
The disharmony we experience daily is sadly evident in the ruptured relationships of our families. Members of those families may be estranged from each other. Selfishness abounds, choices are dubious, and what was once considered the norm for healthy human behavior has been perverted by God hating ideologues.
Where is the peace you give us, Jesus, with all the dysfunction around us? Theologically, we have been taught that the Paschal Mystery has brought to the world the Kingdom of God on earth, but not yet in its fullness. Truthfully, it is hard to see it sometimes, most notably because we have come to think that the peace offered by Christ should correspond with a life devoid of any struggle. And so, the tendency is to doubt Christ’s peace is present. Human nature does this when the pains of life engulf us, we tend to think the worst, and our hope for a better future dwindles.
Such is the case with many people. From that negative backdrop, is there anything positive to be said about the invitation of Christ’s peace? Surely there is, but a new understanding of what the peace of Christ actually means.
Common sense leads us to think that peace exists only when violence and chaos cease. This is a rare phenomenon because peace is not lasting. If it truly exists, there needs to be another way to explain it. Perhaps the description below can help with this endeavor.
The first step is to recalibrate the meaning of peace itself. Few people realize that the notion of peace has its roots in the Old Testament. In Hebrew, the translation of peace is shalom. Unlike our interpretation, shalom is the notion of completeness, good health, and what can exist between good friends.
From this perspective, Jesus extending his peace means telling his disciples, right before he leaves them, that his mission of saving the world is complete. It also implies that the gift of peace is the grace given to his disciples, so their journey in life has a component of completeness. Their path has an element of completeness, meaning they incorporated the effects of redemption even amid the violence against them by preaching the Gospel. All of them suffered martyrdom and could not have endured the punishment without Christ’s peace leading them to their final completeness as residents in heaven.
If there is no peace in our souls, we must question how we have personally incorporated Jesus’ redemption. The apostles’ example of how the peace of Christ changed them from fearful to advocates of Jesus’ mission is well worth emulating.
The completeness indicated by Christ’s peace is the transformative grace that hopefully will be accepted. It is the help we need to live by Jesus’ precepts. When the way to live that Jesus shows us is ignored or denied, it is the rejection of his peace. Then the vacuum created is filled with hostility.
If you have lived a Christian life and accepted Christ’s peace, you will probably not be exempt from the pain of broken relationships. You will, however, have a much different perspective from those who have not. Jesus never promised smooth sailing in life, but rather a cross you must carry. Even amid the struggle, the soul is at peace because you know you work in the vineyard for the good. There will be peace within you even if there is disharmony around you.
You will know when you receive the peace of Christ when you know who you are (a Christian), live as one, and look forward to eternity with God.
This is the peace Jesus offers you. And it is the peace that brings completeness now and forever.