I WILL GUVE YIU PEACE THE WORLD CAN NEVER GIVE, SAYS THE LORD(Acts 14:19-28/Psalm 145:10-13,21/John 14:27-31)

I WILL GIVE YOU PEACE THE WORLD CAN NEVER GIVE, SAYS THE LORD

(Tuesday, May 21, 2019)

Christ in the gospel of today made another remark that will help us to know that He is always with us. He said “Peace I bequeath you and my peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Peace is very important in our lives as human beings and no wonder then we always pray for peace: peace in our various families, peace in the society, peace in our religious communities and peace in the world at large.

This is because we achieve more in our human endeavours when we are at peace with one another and when there is peace in the society. For instance, when the society is experiencing some kind of violence, threats and war, everything stands still, nothing works but when there is serenity, calmness and peace, we see things flourishing. Even in the spiritual realm, when we are not at peace within, we cannot make any spiritual progress, we find it difficult to pray, coordinate, meditate and concentrate because there is no peace of mind but when we are at peace within, we not only pray well but also experience some kind of serenity and calmness. Even at the international level, we pray for the World’s peace. To show how important peace is in the life of the Church, Pope Paul VI in 1967 declared January 1st to be the World Day of Peace.

This day is set aside by the Church to pray for the peace of the world as the year begins because without peace, we will find it very difficult to progress not only in society but also in the Church. From these short examples, we can see how important the statement of Christ is in the gospel of today. When we have peace, we will not be afraid of anything and that is why when Christ finished imparting the peace on His disciples, He quickly adds as a follow up that they should not let their hearts be troubled or afraid. It was this peace that Christ imparted on the disciples that enabled Paul and Barnabas to keep preaching the Good News without being afraid of their enemies. Even when St. Paul was stoned, He was not afraid of firing on even to the extent of visiting Antioch and Iconium the same very places of those Jewish assailants who instigated the people to turn against the apostles and nearly stoned Paul to death.

Paul and Barnabas left Lystra where Paul was stoned and later went back there to finish the work of spreading the Good News they started. This is to tell us that the words of Christ really motivated the apostles to move on even when the going was tough. The vocation of being a Christian is not an easy one indeed and that is why St. Paul kept telling the people that they have to experience many hardships before they enter the kingdom of heaven.

He was not saying this to scare people away from becoming believers but to let them know that the road to salvation is not an easy road and those who persevere till the end will receive a reward that has no comparison with the sufferings encountered on the way. Therefore, let us dear brothers and sisters look unto Christ who has promised us today the peace which the world cannot give. The peace that will help us to be strengthened in our daily struggle to live out our Christian faith without fear of those who can only kill the flesh.

Let Us Pray: Lord Jesus, give me your peace so that I will have the courage to witness for you at all times. Amen.