Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” (John 14: 27). What is this peace that Jesus is giving and how is that different from how the world gives us peace?
Peace in our world today tends to be defined as might and dominance. It’s used to justify arming militaries and keeping nuclear weapons. Peace in Jesus’ time was similar. There was Pax Romana, Peace of Rome, which was defined by the rule of the Roman Empire in the world. In addition, peace today often means the absence of war or conflict. In his address to the members of the Diplomatic Corps, Pope Leo XIV said that this kind of peace appears to just be a break from conflict. In this perspective, tension always exists and is ready to break out at any moment.
Therefore, how does Jesus give us a different kind of peace? Pope Leo XIV gave some insights. From his “urbi et orbi”, he greeted the crowd,
Peace be with you! It is the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. A peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally.
From his address to the Diplomatic Corps, he said,
From a Christian perspective – but also in other religious traditions – peace is first and foremost a gift. It is the first gift of Christ: “My peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27). Yet it is an active and demanding gift. It engages and challenges each of us, regardless of our cultural background or religious affiliation, demanding first of all that we work on ourselves. Peace is built in the heart and from the heart, by eliminating pride and vindictiveness and carefully choosing our words.
Some key takeaways are that peace is love and a gift from God. Peace is challenging and requires us to work on ourselves, for what is in our heart comes out in our relationships with others. For example, if what is within us is pride and hatred, then pride and hatred will be present in our encounters with others. The world’s sense of peace with ever-existing tension becomes apparent. However, if the opposite is true, humility and love are in our hearts, then humility and love will be in the relationships we have with others.
In his “urbi et orbi”, Pope Leo XIV called us to be “a Church that always seeks peace.” How are you called to be a peacemaker?
—Sr. Emily Sandoval, FMI