“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. 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.”
Conflict is a part of life. Unfortunately for humans it seems like it’s inevitable not only in say, family squabbles, but in out and out war along with armed conflicts. There really seems to be no end to it.
Enter Christ. I almost hesitate to use that title or name because of its closeness to Christian and then Christendom. Christendom’s history has been marked with armed conflict and wars. They evidently believed in the Pax Romana, or “peace through strength,” that is through military might and power. What else would humanity know? But is that what Jesus meant by peace? What did Jesus bring?
To understand that, you would need to read the entire chapter, Jesus saying that he is the way, the truth and the life, along with the rest of the four gospel accounts. You would need to start there. And then you would need to read Acts and all the follows through Revelation. A faithful read of that would be hard pressed to see anything other than the way of the cross, the cross ultimately the means by which peace is made.
I can’t help but think that the idea of peace for too many, even Christians is at the end of a gun. They have peace in significant part because they have a gun ready to take care of any intruder or threat which might come their way. Or the inner peace they have might come from any number of other things like a large bank account and portfolio, a safe neighborhood, and so on. But the peace of Christ is something else.
Jesus taught his disciples that he would be with them by the Holy Spirit, that they need not fear, that they are not to let their hearts be troubled even in the shadow of the cross and afterward. That he would give them his peace. It’s a peace which is only in the way of the cross, not the peace the world gives through the sword and whatever else.
The peace of the cross in Christ and the gospel is meant to bring peace through peacemaking and peacemakers. Never through force, but by the cross, which breaks down barriers between humanity and God, and the conflicts and enmity in humanity itself. That is the peace we’re given in Jesus meant not only for us, but ultimately for the world.
Jesus community 