“Thầy ban bình an của Thầy cho anh em, Thầy ban cho anh em không theo kiểu thế gian.”
Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu nói gián tiếp với chúng ta về thập giá: Ngài sẽ ban cho chúng ta sự bình an, nhưng với giá Ngài phải trả là sự Khổ nạn, đau đớn của Ngài trong thế giới này. Hôm nay, chúng ta được nghe những lời Ngài nói trước khi phải hy sinh trên Thập Giá, nhưng đã được viết sau khi Ngài sống lại. Với cái chết của Ngài trên Thập giá, Ngài đã đánh bại cả cái chết và sự sợ hãi. Ngài đem lại cho chúng ta hòa bình “nhưng không phải sự hoà bình của thế gian” (Ga 14:27), bởi vì như Ngài đã làm điều đó bằng cách chấp nhận những nỗi đau đớn và nhục nhã nhất: đây là cách Ngài đã chứng tỏ được tình yêu và lòng thương xót của Ngài đã dành cho con người chúng ta.
«I give you my peace. Not as the world gives peace do I give it to you»
Today, Jesus speaks to us indirectly of the cross: He will give us the peace, but at the cost of his painful “departure” of this world. Today, we read those words He said before the sacrifice on the Cross but that were written after his Resurrection. With his death on the Cross, He defeats both death and fear. He gives the peace «but not as the world gives peace» (Jn 14:27), inasmuch as He does it by going through the most excruciating pain and humiliation: this is how He proved his merciful love for man.
Why did He do it in such a way? Because thus, human pain —together with Christ's suffering— becomes a sacrifice that saves us from sin. «In the Cross of Christ (...), human suffering has been redeemed» (John Paul II). Jesus Christ quietly suffered to please the Heavenly Father with an act of costly obedience, through which He willingly offered Himself for our salvation.
There are two types of peace we can enjoy. First, there is worldly peace. This peace is the absence of conflict, war, or external turmoil. Civil governments must work to ensure this peace by protecting their societies from outside aggressors, maintaining order within their communities, and assisting with basic human needs, such as economic development, healthcare, and justice. This form of peace aligns with human reason and is based in the natural law, which is written on the consciences of every person.
Though that form of natural peace and justice is good, it is not the highest form of peace we are called to enjoy. The peace that our Lord came to bestow is supernatural, enabling us not only to survive, but to thrive on a moral and spiritual level, even in the absence of worldly peace. Jesus’ spiritual gift of peace enables us to find fulfillment in the midst of every external difficulty.
If we seek only worldly peace, then any difficulty or disorder will trouble and unsettle our hearts. For that reason, Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” Wars, oppression, crime, poverty, and disease have plagued humanity from the beginning and will persist, in varying degrees, until the end of time. Only when Jesus returns to establish His visible Kingdom as the Universal King will external peace be fully and permanently established. What a glorious day that will be!
For now, until the Second Coming, we must learn not only to survive but to thrive within the world. Given the inevitable challenges every human life will encounter, if we want to live in true peace then we must seek out the peace that our Lord promises in today’s Gospel. This Gospel comes from Jesus’ Last Supper Discourse with His Apostles. As that discourse concludes two chapters later, Jesus prays His High Priestly prayer to the Father: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). We must live within this fallen world for now, but we do not have to suffer interior afflictions.
The evil one has great influence in this world, yet our Lord promises that if we receive His peace, we will be kept safe from the devil’s attacks. Though we might suffer some form of external oppression, internally we will be at peace, no matter what we face.
The gift of peace that Jesus promises confounds the powers of darkness and is freely given to all who turn to Him and submit to His spiritual governance. The martyrs are the prime example of this interior peace in the midst of exterior persecution. They imitate our Lord, Who permitted the evil one to afflict Him with earthly suffering and death. Jesus confronted that evil with perfect confidence and peace, overcoming it through divine love that won the final victory. In the Eucharist, He continues to share His peace with us, strengthening our hearts against every trial.
Reflect today on Jesus’ words to His disciples at the Last Supper. At that time, they did not realize they were about to witness Jesus’ Passion. Nor did they realize that, in the years to come, they would endure many hardships in their faithful service to God’s will. Similarly, if we listen to Jesus’ discourse and heed His words, we must embrace them as the Apostles eventually did, once they received the Holy Spirit. We must rely on grace to find courage in the face of life’s afflictions—poverty, illness, loss, persecution, and temptation. As you ponder yourself being with the Apostles during this discourse on Holy Thursday, resolve to accept Jesus’ promise so that you are spiritually prepared to live in interior peace, no matter the exterior circumstances you might face.
Lord of true peace, there are many things in this world that seek to steal my peace. Please give me the confidence I need to always turn to You, no matter what affliction comes my way, so that I will remain in You as You remain in me, enabling me to receive Your all-consuming gift of peace. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. The Conclusion of the First Missionary Journey: In the Acts of the Apostles, we read about the conclusion of the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas. They started their journey in Antioch in Syria, having been chosen by the Holy Spirit for this mission (Acts 13:2). They sailed first to Barnabas’ homeland, Cyprus, and then spread the Gospel in the southern part of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). They preached in the cities of Perga, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. During their ministry in Lystra, Jews from Antioch in Pisidia and Iconium incited the people to stone Paul (possibly for blasphemy). They left him for dead outside the city. Paul, though, was undaunted by the stoning and, on the very next day, went with Barnabas to the city of Derbe. After making disciples for Christ there, Paul and Barnabas fearlessly retraced their steps and appointed presbyters (elders or priests) in cities they had evangelized. “These presbyters had oversight and authority over local churches, while individual apostles like Paul and Barnabas evangelized a wider region. The word for ‘appoint’ in the Greek literally means to ‘stretch out the hand’ and likely had a technical sense of laying on of hands for ordination. Here at the outset of the early Church, there is already a sense of order and hierarchy” (Gray and Cavins, Walking with God, 295). Paul and Barnabas eventually returned by boat to where they started and were commissioned – the Church of Antioch in Syria.
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