Jesus leaves the disciples a parting gift: peace. What we still get wrong about it and why pairing it with love is central.
And the presence of wholeness
Easter 6 | John 14:23-29
Last week, we talked about the Love Command. That’s where we left off. Near the end of chapter 13. Now we’re skipping about a whole chapter which includes Jesus warning Peter of his denials, telling the disciples that the Father’s house has many dwelling-places, and then the disciples trying to figure out what the heck he is talking about.
And yet we begin, again with commands. Doing, not just what Jesus tells us to do. But what God wants us to do.
Love.
Not some complex commandment dependent on loving certain people this certain way… Just. Love.
There is something unbearably simple about the idea. Of loving someone else. Of making that the center of our everything.
No wonder we seek to make it complicated. Something we can prescribe. Here’s how to love we say. The right way.
Even better when we say Here’s how to love me! Like there’s not only a right way, but a necessary way. Like we can pick and choose the right kind of love.
Being human! We can be so insufferable!
Now Jesus adds something else: peace.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”
Verse 27a
I love this saying. “Peace I leave with you,” like he’s dropping something off. Like soup when we’re sick. I’m leaving you some peace. I hope you feel better!
Of course, he’s saying goodbye here, so this is more like a parting gift. They’re all hoping he’ll stick around and teach them some more and he’s like I’ve got something better. Here you go. Peace. I’m leaving it for ya. Don’t use it all up!
Just…c’mon, right? This is not the gift they’re thinking about. Not when he’s talking about leaving forever.
What is peace?
If Jesus is leaving this behind for his followers, then what is it exactly?
We all think we know, don’t we?
Peace really has two common meanings in our American usage:
- as the absence of war.
- as reprieve from turmoil.
So we really have two variations of a similar concept: the momentary cessation of conflict; a moment’s peace.
This is not a biblical view of peace, of course. Not one that Jesus has. This is all us.
We define peace as absence. We seem to refuse to speak of peace as presence. And I think that is by design.
Peacetime is rarely described as a time of unity, engagement, or mutuality. It is usually the time between wars. All of it gets lumped together.
The same goes for the chaos in our daily lives. When we desire a moment’s peace; we’re hoping the swirling storms will slow down so we can catch our breath. Rarely do we question the storms themselves.
Jesus tells them that he’s leaving them peace.
What affirmatively is peace? And why is Jesus giving it as something he can leave behind?
Giving Peace
For peace to be given, it cannot be absence. Try giving a loved one a jar with nothing in it, label it “peace” and see what happens. I asked for an iPad Air and you gave me…air.
For the Hebrew people, peace is Shalom, which doesn’t only mean the absence of war, but the presence of peace. It is also the presence of justice, of hope, health, wellness, and wholeness. To give peace is to restore what is broken, heal what is sick, right what has been made wrong. It means freedom to the captive. And liberty to the peasant.
It means the affirmative removal of debts which bring unhealth and injustice to the poor. So that they can live, free of the oppressive and exploitative means by which we use money to control people in poverty.
That is peace.
And isn’t this really what we’re getting at when we seek “peace of mind”? We’re trying to create stillness when all is storming.
Seaking to embody something healthy, good, and right all of the time. Not just when times are bad.
Giving
Jesus says he’s leaving peace with them. Then he continues, saying
“I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
Verse 27b
His gift is not as the world gives.
And what is the world exactly? Good question. Let’s just say the world around us. The culture, environment, community. What and how “people” give to each other. “People” have a different idea.
So what do we give each other? A hard time. Violence and harassment. Critique and evaluation. Assumptions and mind-reading.
And what peace do we give each other?
The irony is that we actually have a moment in our liturgy we call “The Peace.” And in it, we wish “the peace of Christ” to each other.
Historically, this came in the form of kissing. It was known as “the kiss of peace.” Of course, that isn’t Safe Church, so we do not endorse kissing anymore. [So don’t get any ideas.]
But we are called to greet each other with peace.
The Peace
So what exactly do we do at The Peace?
Pre-Pandemic, we had all sorts of handshakes and hugs. We tended to straddle the line between moderately and genuinely friendly. Now, we mostly wave at each other.
This act, of greeting each other in peace, is ancient and followers of Christ have been doing it from, quite literally, the beginning.
The question, then: are we truly offering peace to each other? Particularly the kind Jesus has left behind?
Because I look at the people who gather on Sunday and I see people who are generally trying to make a good go of things. People who want to love. Who are seeking faithfully.
I also see the hurt and the confusion. I see people who face scary medical diagnoses and troubling relationships.
And above everything, I see people all over the place who are longing for peace. Not just an end to war in Ukraine, but for justice, health, and wholeness for the people torn apart by war.
I see people struggling with an unjust carceral system, racism, bigotry, and criminalization of the poor.
People struggling with children, parents, or spouses with substance abuse issues, mental illness, or dementia.
We long for peace!
And Jesus doesn’t just promise us peace from our burdens. But he promises us the means of sharing it.
So I wonder what it would look like if we didn’t just shake hands or wave at the people around us. If we didn’t merely offer an expression of peace, but if we found a way to dig deeper so that we might offer peace to each other.
What would that look like?
We already know some expressions of it. Food when someone is sick or grieving. Rides to appointments they couldn’t otherwise make. Visits when we’re afraid or lonely.
What else?
Might it look like…
…being a shopping buddy
…offering cooking classes
…freedom from yet more email
Or perhaps
…higher wages
…more vacation
…family leave.
Our world doesn’t give peace.
It gives burden. And it allows these burdens to compound. Burden upon burden. Pain upon pain. Dysfunction upon dysfunction.
Jesus gives peace. And it compounds. If we let it. Share it. Make it possible for one another. If we open our hearts to it.
Giving peace. True peace. With love. To everyone.
That is what we can offer each other. Not just a greeting, but the very peace itself. Given generously in love.