Have you claimed your gift of Peace?

PEACE, OUR UNCLAIMED GIFT

Jn. 14:23-29

Solicitors advise everyone to draw up a will.  We may not have much, but it is a wise thing to settle our affairs before the Lord calls us.  By drawing up a will we can decide to whom we will leave our belongings.

Today's Gospel reading tells about the occasion when Jesus did that.  He had less than twenty-four hours to live.  Knowing that death was imminent, He took stock of His estate and willed it to those whom He loved.  His material possessions were few.  Apparently, at this point in His life, all He owned were His clothes.  John tells us what happened to those.  The soldiers who crucified Him divided them four ways, and then rolled dice to determine who would get His seamless tunic. 

What did He have that was worth leaving to others?  Materially, He had nothing.  He left something more priceless than all the wealth in the world.  Listen to the reading of His will, "Peace is My farewell to you.  My peace is My gift to you.  Do not be distressed or fearful."  Fathers and mothers, who leave their children a tidy sum of money, hope that it will benefit them in days to come.  That does not always happen, but it is their intention.  They want their children to be freed from anxiety, so that they may live with a sense of security and well-being.

Jesus lived that way.  One of His distinguishing qualities was the serenity with which He moved through life.  His path was anything but easy.  He worked under the constant scrutiny of hostile critics.  He was often misunderstood, even by His closest friends.  He was poor and homeless.  He was falsely accused of everything from gluttony to political subversion.  On several occasions, His life was threatened by an angry mob, once in His own home town.  Through all of this, His serenity was unshaken.  He was not frightened by His enemies, nor frustrated by His failures.  Whatever the circumstances, He faced it with complete composure.

That kind of living was what Jesus had in mind, when He said, "My peace is My gift to you."  No greater inheritance has ever been left to the human race.  All of us would like to have it, but not many of us do.  That leaves us wondering how this gift can be appropriated.  Obviously, a serene spirit cannot be handed down, like the deeds to a house or the title to a car.  The greatest gifts can never be shared that way.  They have to be actively received, as well as willingly given.  Knowledge is a great gift.  But the greatest teacher in the world cannot share it with a lazy student.  The same is true of peace.  Christ can give it only to those who meet the conditions of receiving it.

One of those conditions is a clean life.  We know that Judas had already left the room.  His absence was just as well.  With his intent to betray Jesus, His gift of peace had no relevance for him.

He was the treasurer of the group.  All along, he had been stealing from their collective purse.  What is worse, he had already entered into a secret agreement with the authorities to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.  Still he feigned friendship with his fellow Apostles and his Lord.  There is no peace for a man like that.  He is constantly looking over his shoulder, wondering if someone is following.  Duplicity is always the deadly enemy of peace.  A man who cheats on his wife can never completely relax.  He will always be wondering if someone saw him with the other woman.  Even his dreams will haunt him.  Peace of heart can never coexist with a troubled conscience.  The two are not compatible.  A nagging sense of guilt will always preclude the possibility of peace.  This was a large part of the serenity of Jesus.  His life had no dark corners, where He feared for the light to shine.

We, of course, are not like that.  Even the most virtuous among us would not be willing for his or her life to be completely known.  We all have our secrets that we hope to keep secret to the end of our days.  There is a solution for that.  The Bible calls it forgiveness.  I remember a verse that says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  The good news, brought to us through Christ, is that we do not need to carry around a burden of guilt.  Whatever our sins have been, Jesus stands ready to forgive them.  We must start with that, in order to receive His gift of peace. 

These gracious words of Jesus, about giving us His peace, were spoken from the Upper Room, on the night before He died.  It was one of the most difficult times any human being has ever faced.  Despite what You had to face You were a Man at peace.  The popular idea is that peace is an escape from the hard knocks of life.  It is definitely not designed to keep us comfortable in the midst of a suffering world. 

Lord Jesus, You have left all of us a priceless inheritance.  It is recorded in Your last will and testament, "Peace is My farewell to you.  My peace is My gift to you."  You had more of that than any other person who ever lived.  It was Yours to give.  But most of us have never claimed our gift.  May we fulfil the conditions for receiving it - a clean life, and a willingness to accept the responsibility for making the world a better place.

PEACE, OUR UNCLAIMED GIFT

Jn. 14:23-29

Solicitors advise everyone to draw up a will.  We may not have much, but it is a wise thing to settle our affairs before the Lord calls us.  By drawing up a will we can decide to whom we will leave our belongings.

Today's Gospel reading tells about the occasion when Jesus did that.  He had less than twenty-four hours to live.  Knowing that death was imminent, He took stock of His estate and willed it to those whom He loved.  His material possessions were few.  Apparently, at this point in His life, all He owned were His clothes.  John tells us what happened to those.  The soldiers who crucified Him divided them four ways, and then rolled dice to determine who would get His seamless tunic. 

What did He have that was worth leaving to others?  Materially, He had nothing.  He left something more priceless than all the wealth in the world.  Listen to the reading of His will, "Peace is My farewell to you.  My peace is My gift to you.  Do not be distressed or fearful."  Fathers and mothers, who leave their children a tidy sum of money, hope that it will benefit them in days to come.  That does not always happen, but it is their intention.  They want their children to be freed from anxiety, so that they may live with a sense of security and well-being.

Jesus lived that way.  One of His distinguishing qualities was the serenity with which He moved through life.  His path was anything but easy.  He worked under the constant scrutiny of hostile critics.  He was often misunderstood, even by His closest friends.  He was poor and homeless.  He was falsely accused of everything from gluttony to political subversion.  On several occasions, His life was threatened by an angry mob, once in His own home town.  Through all of this, His serenity was unshaken.  He was not frightened by His enemies, nor frustrated by His failures.  Whatever the circumstances, He faced it with complete composure.

That kind of living was what Jesus had in mind, when He said, "My peace is My gift to you."  No greater inheritance has ever been left to the human race.  All of us would like to have it, but not many of us do.  That leaves us wondering how this gift can be appropriated.  Obviously, a serene spirit cannot be handed down, like the deeds to a house or the title to a car.  The greatest gifts can never be shared that way.  They have to be actively received, as well as willingly given.  Knowledge is a great gift.  But the greatest teacher in the world cannot share it with a lazy student.  The same is true of peace.  Christ can give it only to those who meet the conditions of receiving it.

One of those conditions is a clean life.  We know that Judas had already left the room.  His absence was just as well.  With his intent to betray Jesus, His gift of peace had no relevance for him.

He was the treasurer of the group.  All along, he had been stealing from their collective purse.  What is worse, he had already entered into a secret agreement with the authorities to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.  Still he feigned friendship with his fellow Apostles and his Lord.  There is no peace for a man like that.  He is constantly looking over his shoulder, wondering if someone is following.  Duplicity is always the deadly enemy of peace.  A man who cheats on his wife can never completely relax.  He will always be wondering if someone saw him with the other woman.  Even his dreams will haunt him.  Peace of heart can never coexist with a troubled conscience.  The two are not compatible.  A nagging sense of guilt will always preclude the possibility of peace.  This was a large part of the serenity of Jesus.  His life had no dark corners, where He feared for the light to shine.

We, of course, are not like that.  Even the most virtuous among us would not be willing for his or her life to be completely known.  We all have our secrets that we hope to keep secret to the end of our days.  There is a solution for that.  The Bible calls it forgiveness.  I remember a verse that says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  The good news, brought to us through Christ, is that we do not need to carry around a burden of guilt.  Whatever our sins have been, Jesus stands ready to forgive them.  We must start with that, in order to receive His gift of peace. 

These gracious words of Jesus, about giving us His peace, were spoken from the Upper Room, on the night before He died.  It was one of the most difficult times any human being has ever faced.  Despite what You had to face You were a Man at peace.  The popular idea is that peace is an escape from the hard knocks of life.  It is definitely not designed to keep us comfortable in the midst of a suffering world. 

Lord Jesus, You have left all of us a priceless inheritance.  It is recorded in Your last will and testament, "Peace is My farewell to you.  My peace is My gift to you."  You had more of that than any other person who ever lived.  It was Yours to give.  But most of us have never claimed our gift.  May we fulfil the conditions for receiving it - a clean life, and a willingness to accept the responsibility for making the world a better place.

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