Tuesday of Fifth Week of Easter
One of my favorite moments in the mass is when we are invited to give to one another a sign of peace. In that moment, we all turn our attention from what has been unfolding in front of us to the people gathered around us. People often start by passing the peace to those nearest to them. Couples kiss one another. Folks extend a hand to those in front of them or behind them. People take a few steps along the length of their pews and say to one another, “peace be with you.” Adults here and there bend down to reach the hand of a child. Doing this mass after mass has delightful effects as we come to anticipate seeing the folks we’ve “passed the peace” with many times.
But to what peace are we giving a sign?
As we consider that question, it is worth remembering the context for the verses before us from the book of John. Jesus knows what’s coming. And it is his passion. He will be leaving the disciples soon. They will have to figure out how to live in this world while he is in another. Into that moment of anticipated loss, Jesus gives them the gift of his peace. He says,
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you.” And in the verses that follow, he tells us some things about the nature of that peace.
One thing we learn for sure is that his peace is not the peace that “the world gives.” As he looks ahead to what is to come, he knows very well that the kind of peace that rulers of the world have to offer isn’t his kind of peace. They will take his life. He has taught us to turn the other cheek. They promise security by means of eliminating threats like him. He has taught us to love even our enemy.
This peace that we pass is also a peace about not being troubled and not being afraid. Again, the context for what Jesus is saying here is really important. Jesus knows very well the “trouble” ahead. So, he’s not saying this lightly. He’s not saying that we should not be afraid because there is nothing to be afraid of. He knows very well that there is plenty to be afraid of. Instead, he is speaking out of a wisdom that he hopes the disciples will come to know after the resurrection.
There is much to be afraid of. And the rulers of this world are good at having their way. They will certainly have their way with Jesus. But that is not the end of the story.
Jesus is going away. And he is coming to us.
It is right when we give to one another the sign of peace that we delight in it. And that is because the peace that we pass is an extraordinary peace. It is the peace of the Father’s world to which Jesus belongs and to which he knows he is soon returning. And in anticipation of his “absence” he is saying not just to the disciples but to all of us that it is our task to pass his peace to one another. May we bring his peace to all in our broken world. Amen.
- Sue Trollinger