May 12, 2020

Jn 14: 27-31a

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. 

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

The peace of Christ

What is the difference between the kind of peace that the world gives and the peace that Jesus gives? It’s simple: Jesus’ peace is his peace. We know that the world’s “peace” won’t last, and that life will once again become worrisome, anxious, and frenetic. Jesus’ peace is the peace that comes from knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

 When we know in the depths of our hearts that the Lord is with us always until the end of the age (Mt 28:20), nothing, not even the “ruler of this world” can rob us of the peace that the Lord brings. Such peace gives us great freedom to embrace any call that the Lord gives us and empowers us to love in the way He loves. It is through embracing this gift of peace that we can pray as St. Ignatius did, “Give me love of you and your grace. That is enough for me.” 

—Matthew Stewart, SJ, is a transitional deacon of the Central and Southern Province preparing for priestly ordination in August.