PEACE AND LOVE.
May 22, 2022
Sixth Sunday of Easter – C.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” John 14:27
A Russian proverb says: “A bad peace is better than a good
quarrel.” And a Danish proverb adds: “Peace feeds, war wastes; peace breeds,
war consumes.”
The Little Poor Man of Assisi, St. Francis, one of the
greatest Saints the Church has ever known, had a famous greeting to his
brothers and companions: "Pax et Bonum", literally translated, as
Peace and Good, but which could also mean, Peace and Love. This expression
became a hereditary and a testament to the Franciscans.
Peace and love, quite a simple expression, but a challenge
for he who uses it to make himself an instrument of peace and love. We do not
merely wish peace and love to others but we promise, as an oath before God and
men, to contribute to bringing about peace and love and good wherever we are
and to whoever we meet.
Our world today, more than ever, needs dearly that peace and
love and goodness. Going through the news and happenings, we realize how peace
is needed. This is not only because of the current war between Russia and
Ukraine or Russia and NATO, but also peace in African countries where wars,
terrorism, and crises have become the ordinary wage. Peace in the Middle East,
Peace in some Latin American countries where though silently, some wars are
unending. Peace even in Europe where ideological wars are more present and with
greater consequences on diplomatic relations. And in the end, peace and love in
the whole world suffering from indifference, egoism, inequalities, and racial
and ethnical segregation…
Regrettably, the way this world seeks that peace and solves
the fractions is asymmetric. Many people think peace can be won by guns and by
the use of more powerful weapons. Peace in this world is understood as the
supremacy of a powerful leader and lording over others. European countries show
Democracy as an asset of peace. Asiatic and the Middle East countries think of
Communism as means to peace. Other people speak of liberalism, federalism,
socialism... And in between all these, grows individualism as the new social
option.
The Risen Lord, before departing from his disciples,
presents another model, the greatest of all: Peace that is won through love. In
today's Gospel, we hear the Lord promise to his disciples, “Peace I leave with
you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” And
he takes time to emphasize that it is a peace the world cannot give. His peace
is not the peace of the world. How, then, does the world define peace?
The world, or better, today's leaders think war can bring
peace. Many people see killing others as the means of settling conflicts. The
Lord teaches us differently. The peace he brings is not the peace of the
weapons. It is a peace that the world cannot give. For, it is a peace that is
conjugated in love, goodness, concern for the needy, forgiveness, mercy, and
compassion. Thus, he started saying, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with
him.” God dwells where there is goodness and love. God dwells where reigns
solidarity and compassion. And there, he brings his gift of peace. A heart that
exudes revenge and retaliation is never at peace and therefore does not have
God in it. The Lord gives us his peace so that we may in return become
instruments of peace. We could sing the beautiful prayer and hymn of St.
Francis saying:
"Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace; Where there
is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is
doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy; And all for thy mercy's sake. O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; To be
understood as to understand; To be loved as to love; For it is in giving that
we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life."
At the coming of the Holy Spirit of God, that is what we are
called to be, vessels or satellites of peace. As the Lord said, the world
cannot give such peace because it does not understand it and knows it not.
Our world today can change, and it must even change for our
good. Each one of us must put a little of himself to make of this world the new
Jerusalem St. John saw in his apocalyptic visions, a Holy City that comes down
from heaven in all its radiant beauty and glory. A city where reigns the Lamb,
and where prevails only one religion, the religion of love. For, love has no
temple, no color, and speaks no strange language. It speaks and shines in each
one's heart. We are to be instruments of love.
The evil of this world will not end by imposing rules, regulations, interdictions, and sanctions. Since the world exists, there have always been interdictions and rules, and imposition of power by the supreme but nothing has changed. War has never put an end to war. Iraq, Syria, Libya, Congo, Mali, Ukraine, and the list can be extended... where is the peace of the world? Where is the peace won through weapons? So, resounds anew these words of the Lord, “Peace, I give you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.” May our hearts not be troubled. Rather, may we be transformed into instruments of peace at the example of the Apostles of the Lord. In your family, in your school, at your office, at your work, in your service, and even as a social, public, or political leader, try to be an instrument of peace. Bring peace, love, and goodness with you and in whatever you do or say or think. Pax et Bonum!
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