“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you” (Jn 14:27). The peace that Jesus is talking about, the peace that he gives us is a peace the surpasses all understanding, because it does not come from this world but from the love of the Trinity. This peace Jesus can give because he has received this peace from the relationship that he has with his Father. “It is a supernatural peace that arises from a total love for the Father” (Martin and Wright, 252).
God is an infinite communion of Love. There are three Persons, yet one God, because of their infinite nature. There is a complete, perfect, and infinite giving and receiving between the Father and the Son and the love that is shared between them who is the Holy Spirit. We experience this peace because of Jesus, in his becoming one with us in our humanity, we become one with him in his divinity. Because of our union with Jesus, we too then share in the love of the Holy Spirit and experience also the peace of the Holy Spirit. This peace is not just an absence of stress, anxiety, violence, and war, but a receiving, resting, abiding, and sharing in his trinitarian communion of love. Jesus seeks to share the love and peace he has received from his Father with each of us.
Jesus does not promise with the bestowal of his peace a life of perfection and peace. We still live in a wounded, dark, and fallen world and there will be challenges, trials, tribulations, and tragedy, yet through all matter of what we encounter, we can tap into the infinite well spring of the love of the Holy Spirit. He is present and accompanies us in the midst of any and every situation we invite him into. There may be chaos all around, but as we turn to Jesus and trust in him, we will experience his peace.
Today, would have been JoAnn and my 29th anniversary. I can still remember the day we received the news of JoAnn’s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer during the Wednesday of Holy Week. From that moment, our life entered a non-stop whirlwind and flurry of activity. There was so much we had to prepare and plan for even beyond dealing with the diagnosis. Despite everything, there was a peace that was consistently present for both of us. Jesus sustained us through every step leading up to her death, the time of grieving and mourning that followed, and learning how to live again without her.
Nothing this side of heaven is permanent. At best, all God has created is good, but finite. The one constant we can place our hope and trust in is Jesus’ love and support for each one of us. This is why we are an alleluia people because even death does not have the final say, Jesus does. The veil between heaven and earth is so thin at Mass because Jesus is present with us in his word proclaimed, in his Body and Blood, in each of us who gather on earth as the angels and saints gather in heaven. Jesus seeks to enter our lives and to share with us his love and peace in every situation, are we willing to open the door and let him in?
Photo: Thanks for 23 blessed years and for your help and intercession these past five and a half years. Happy 29th my heart and my love!
Martin, Francis and Wright IV, William M. The Gospel of John. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 