Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Promise of Peace

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today encourage us to continue to work for peace in our relationships as we accept our role as followers of the Prince of Peace.




Hope for Peace


The reading from Acts 14.19-28 describes the end of the First Mission.


* [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). (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB, n.d.)


Psalm 145 invites all to praise 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 145:13, 21). The “works of God” make God present and invite human praise (Ps 145:47); they climax in a confession (Ps 145:89). God’s mighty acts show forth divine kingship (Ps 145:1020), a major theme in the literature of early Judaism and in Christianity. (Psalm 145, n.d.)


The reading from the Gospel, John 14.27-31, about the Advocate, concludes with a blessing of “Shalom”


* [14:27] Peace: the traditional Hebrew salutation šālôm; but Jesus’ “Shalom” is a gift of salvation, connoting the bounty of messianic blessing.

* [14:28] The Father is greater than I: because he sent, gave, etc., and Jesus is “a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God” (Jn 8:40).

* [14:30] The ruler of the world: Satan; cf. Jn 12:31; 16:11. (John, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB, n.d.)



Jay Carney recalls Steve Scholar (2016) who comments that farewell speeches often crystalize the moment and put a focus on the here and now as well as a glimpse into the future.


For the peace Jesus gave his disciples and likewise to each of us was the peace that passes all understanding.  A peace that allows us to conquer all of our fears, worries and anguish because we know that God’s love is with us always.  Peace, knowing that the hand of God is constantly on our shoulder; helping us, guiding us and supporting us whenever we feel the need to call upon him.  So in times of stress, tension and turmoil remember the great inheritance Christ left us through these powerful words, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.


Equally as powerful are the words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, I am going away and I will come back to you.” This was Jesus’s promise made during the Last Supper to reassure his disciples, to give them a glimpse of his future and theirs, that even though he was about to be crucified he would not be forsaking them and he would return. (Carney, 2025)



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) (Schwager, n.d.)


The Word Among Us Meditation on John 14:27-31 comments that the peace that Jesus promises us in today’s Gospel reading is not something we conjure up on our own. It doesn’t come from manipulating every “dot” that makes up the circumstances of our lives. It’s far more solid and reliable—far more like the “big picture.”


Today, lean into the arms of the divine Artist, who is painting the masterpiece of your life. Let the chaos and beauty of all those individual dots come together to form one amazing picture. The peace that Jesus promised will come as you look beyond your changing circumstances and remember his love and provision.


“Jesus, you are my Prince of Peace!” (Meditation on John 14:27-31, 2025)


Friar Jude Winkler comments that we hear of the persecution and success of the preaching of the Gospel. The Word is spreading even to the Gentiles. The suffering is an opportunity to purify their motives. In the The Last Supper Discourse, the peace He is leaving his disciples affirms God truly is guiding them and will get them through this “world”  (that part of reality the rejects rule of Jesus), Who will do what His Father commanded and respond to suffering with Love. Friar Jude reminds us to conquer the difficulties of the world with Love in our immediate surroundings to transform one heart at a time. 



Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM introduces authors and activists Alexia Salvatierra and Brandon Wrencher describe how enslaved Africans interpreted the Bible through their experience and found a promise of dignity and liberation.


In the exodus story, Moses gained power from God to part a sea, allowing the Hebrew people he was leading to escape from their oppressors, Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The sea collapsed on and drowned Pharaoh and his army as they chased the Hebrew people. The Hebrew people were set free with God’s help. In step with their radical interpretation of biblical stories, enslaved Africans would weave their own conditions into the biblical story through song…. 


One of these mornings, bright and fair  

Gonna take my wings and cleave the air  

When I get to heaven gonna put on my shoes  

Gonna run around glory and tell all the news 

When I get to heaven gonna sing and shout  

Ain’t nobody there gonna turn me out. [2]  


The message is clear: in the same way that God gave victory to the Hebrews over Egypt and to Jesus and the church over Rome, God will give victory to enslaved Africans over their bondage to white Christian American tyranny. And this victory, just like the victory God gave the Hebrews and Jesus and the disciples, will not be in “the sweet by and by” but in the present world. Enslaved Africans believed God would work through them to bring this deliverance. (Rohr, n.d.)


We entrust the Spirit to lift our expectations that our efforts to bring peace and love to all our relationships will serve the Promise of the Prince of Peace for humanity.




References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 20, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/14?19 

Carney, J. (2025, May 20). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved May 20, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/052025.html 

John, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 20, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/14

Meditation on John 14:27-31. (2025, May 20). The Word Among Us. Retrieved Ma y 20, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/05/20/1280978/ 

Psalm 145. (n.d.). Retrieved May 20, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/Psalms/145?10 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 20, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/interpreting-scripture-through-experience/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). My Peace I Give to You. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 20, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=may20 


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