The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to greater exhortation and practice of peace.
Bringing peace
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells of Paul and Barnabas returning to Antioch in Syria.
* [14:23] They appointed presbyters: the communities are given their own religious leaders by the traveling missionaries. The structure in these churches is patterned on the model of the Jerusalem community (Acts 11:30; 15:2, 5, 22; 21:18).1
Psalm 145 praises the Greatness and the Goodness of God.
* [Psalm 145] A hymn in acrostic form; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Acrostic poems usually do not develop ideas but consist rather of loosely connected statements. The singer invites all to praise God (Ps 145:1–3, 21). The “works of God” make God present and invite human praise (Ps 145:4–7); they climax in a confession (Ps 145:8–9). God’s mighty acts show forth divine kingship (Ps 145:10–20), a major theme in the literature of early Judaism and in Christianity.2
In the Gospel of John, Jesus shares “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you”.
* [14:27] Peace: the traditional Hebrew salutation šālôm; but Jesus’ “Shalom” is a gift of salvation, connoting the bounty of messianic blessing.3
Steve Scholer reflects on the pre-Covid sign of peace.
But what kind of peace are we truly sharing? Are we at peace with ourselves and sincere in our offer of peace, or are we somewhere else, maybe thinking about leaving before the final blessing to avoid the traffic jam after Mass? Or, are we more Christ-like, and with our blessing of peace, encouraging to all with whom we share it to not let their hearts be troubled, for God is watching over each and every one? If we are sincere, then the peace we offer and the peace we receive is empowering. With the peace of Christ, our fears are allayed, our emotions held in check, and we can go forth and serve the Lord, just as Jesus did for the disciples in the locked room where they were hiding for fear of prosecution. His offer of peace was made to help take away their stress and anxiety and embolden them to go out and preach the Good News.4
Don Schwager quotes “The Following of Christ,“ by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Come, follow Me, says the Lord. Do you love? He has hastened on, He has flown on ahead. Look and see where. O Christian, don't you know where your Lord has gone? I ask you: Don't you wish to follow Him there? Through trials, insults, the cross, and death. Why do you hesitate? Look, the way has been shown you." (excerpt from Sermon 345,6)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 14:19-28 comments that Christian exhortation requires a delicate balance of positive encouragement and constructive criticism, all handled with such love and grace that the listener doesn’t feel discouraged.
Jesus told his disciples, “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Imagine the impact we could have on this world if we all grew to love and exhort each other in Christ! “Lord, help me deepen my friendships with my brothers and sisters so that we can help each other grow closer to you.”6
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the suffering for the faith endured by Paul and Barnabas. Elders and presbyters were leading many Christian communities in the first Century. Friar Jude reminds us that Jesus' peace is not measured by everything going well.
James Finley comments that our English word “pity” doesn’t do justice to the Hebrew concept of the bowel-shaking empathy Jesus felt for the wounded people who came to him. Clinical psychologist and Episcopal priest Rev. Dr. Sally Howard writes about how God meets us in our trauma.
It is a time to discover new stories about our God, who could not bear to stand apart from our suffering and joined us to live as we might live. Our God, who poured Herself into the creation of all that exists, is subject to risk, to being fractured and torn, just as we are. . . . The knowledge and experience of God’s solidarity and union with us is profoundly healing and can alter the sequela of trauma so as not to become repetitive and recurrent. God desires closeness to all our experience, naked and raw, in its particularity and commonality. . . .By providing the safe dwelling place, God defeats the horror in our lives. God catches up our trauma and weaves any horror-filled participation into an unending relationship of beatific intimacy. When we recognize God in our own narrative, there is no wound so deep that God cannot heal. [1]7
As we extend the “peace of Christ” to others we recharge our exhortations for our friends and community.
References
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