Jn 14:27-31a w
Peace be with you! My peace I give to you; not as the world gives peace do I give it to you. Do not be troubled! Do not be afraid! You heard me say, ‘I am going away, but I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
I have told you this now before it takes place, so that when it does happen you may believe. There is very little left for me to tell you, for the prince of this world is at hand, although there is nothing in me that he can claim. But see, the world must know that I love the Father, and that I do what the Father has taught me to do. Come now, let us go.
REFLECTION
In today’s gospel reading we hear Jesus tell his disciples on the eve of his death, “my peace I give to you; not as the world gives peace do I give it to you.”
Here we could ask ourselves where exactly lies the difference between these kinds of peace, which Jesus opposes sharply.
Well, if we look at the present situation of the world, we see that there is no World War dividing nations as we have seen twice in the Twentieth Century. And that is indeed good. And we have the United Nations, a world organization gathering all nations and providing them a forum to ventilate their grievances and aspirations in a non-violent way. But not much has been accomplished by this forum. Nations are strongly polarized along ideological lines (socialists against capitalists) and are at loggerheads on most issues. This is merely a “balance of terror” between nuclear nations, not much more.
Jesus’ peace is completely different. It rests on fraternal love, mutual trust, God’s strengthening grace. Because the hearts of Christians are at peace with God, they can be at peace with all other humans, who are seen as loved brothers and sisters.
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