And so shall the peace of God, which exceeds all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus
Philippians 4:7
I was on the phone conversing with my friend who said, “I
had the most unusual experience yesterday; I felt enveloped in peace at the
same time I was experiencing a deep sadness.”
For the past thirty years he has worked with at-risk youth,
and presently is entrusted with youth on probation, so I certainly related to
his experience of deep sadness. He works
in areas many of us are not inclined to drive through, much less stop and visit
the families that live there.
His comment inspired me to think about how I view
peace. I realized that often I think of
peace as that sense experienced when everything works out well; when a
challenging situation has good results; when what I have hoped and hoped for,
finally happens. Is that the peace
promised and given to us by Jesus? The
peace bestowed not as the world gives? I
would name what I experience, “relief,” for it is the same sense I have when
the ache in my shoulder goes away.
I went to the Gospel of John where we find so many
comforting, challenging words of Jesus.
The first passage I read showed me that the Peace Jesus gives us is
connected to who we are. Knowing our
identity and that God's desire is to preserve us from evil, is perhaps our
foundation for receiving this peace, a
peace that exists because it is based on truth, the Truth that is grounded in
the reality that we are not OF this world, but here to sanctify it in the power
of Jesus.
(John 17.14-18) “I
have given them your word, and the world has hated them. For they are not of the world, just as I,
too, am not of the world. I am not
praying that you would take them out of the world, but that you would preserve
them from evil. They are not of the
world, just as I also am not of the world.
Sanctify them in truth. Your word
is truth. Just as you have sent me into
the world, I also have sent them into the world.”
Another aspect of this peace is, as in my friend's
experience of deep sadness and comforting peace, that it can coexist with all
circumstances of our lives. (John
16.33) “These things I have spoken to
you, so that you may have peace in me.
In the world, you will have difficulties. But have confidence: I have overcome the world.”
And yet another mark of this peace is that it sets us apart,
again because we rely not on passing circumstances but on the transforming
power of God. (John 16.20) “Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall
mourn and weep, but the world will rejoice.
And you shall be greatly
saddened, yet your sorrow shall be turned into joy.”
It is a peace we lose only through sin. This thought came to me as another friend and
I were chatting about his work experience:
He said. “I can't do less. I have realized that even though it is
tiring, challenging and sometimes seems impossible, I need to stay with my
job. Years ago, I got tired of it. I took another job that was a lot less work,
thinking this would give me a respite.
But I had no peace. I was miserable.
I had less demands upon me, but I was upset all the time. So, I went back to my former job. I am sometimes tired, worn out by the
demands, frustrated by the slowness of some aspects of it, yet I am at
peace. This is who I am and I can't
settle for less.”
My friend illustrated in a most powerful way, what sin
is. So often we think of sin as a list
of do nots
and weaknesses, when actually, it is a deliberate,
knowledgable choice; we decide to settle for less even though we know what we
are called to do. We'd like an extended
vacation and we're tempted to take it.
When Jesus lived His Truth, “
... many of his disciples went back, and they no longer walked with him. Therefore, Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you
also want to go away?” Then Simon Peter answered him: “Lord to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John
6.67- 69) When we are trying to live our true calling, where else do we have to
go except to the Source, who strengthens us constantly with His Eternal Peace,
the first gift He gave as Risen Lord:
(John 20.19) “Then, when it was
late on the same day, on the first of the Sabbaths, and the doors were closed
where the disciples were gathered, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood
in their midst, and he said to them: 'Peace to you.' ”
Nothing had changed in external circumstances; everything changed internally with the
Presence and the Promise of the Risen Lord because His Peace transcends the
physical stage of tranquility; it is an
internal dynamic that empowers us to endure. It is a gift grounded in truth, not
circumstances, that we can receive in the midst of our trials. It is a gift that only our choice to settle
for less can affect, and even then its very absence is often the most effective
message to return to truth. In that way
and in others beyond our full understanding, this Peace of Christ is our
protector. “Be anxious about
nothing. But in all things, with prayer
and supplication, with acts of thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known
to God. And so shall the peace of God,
which exceeds all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 4.6-7) And not only guard,
but elevate, encourage, inspire, put things in perspective: “And let the peace of Christ lift up your
hearts. For in this peace, you have been
called, as one body. And be
thankful.” (Col. 3.15)
Peace is wonderfully contagious. If you've ever been upset and you move into
the presence of a peace-filled person, somehow, you catch that peace. It goes beyond words, answers, solutions, or
any changes in circumstances. It's just there, and you know it. A world filled with individual bearers of
this Peace of Christ, can be powerfully contagious. With that in mind, let us greet each other
this Lent with the prayer of 1Peter 1.2:
“May grace and peace be multiplied for you.”
