Year C
May 26, 2019
John 13:23-29
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
The Roman Empire promised peace for its citizens. It was a peace given to them by Caesar, the
The peace of Rome promises that there will be peace when they’ve found dominance. The peace of Rome promises that there will be peace when the troublemakers are eradicated. The peace of Rome promises that there will be peace as long as everyone behaves - as long as everyone fits into the same box.
While this sounds good (and probably is good for those in places of power and privilege), this kind of peace comes at a cost. It comes at the end of the sword. It comes at the threat of violence. It comes at the cost of those on the margins - who are often used and abused to prop up the wealthy. While for those in power, the Peace promised by Rome, seems to be a reality, for those on whom that peace is built, this “peace” is anything but that. And this is something that Jews and Early Christians alike knew all too well. During a Jewish revolt, Rome, to keep their peace, waged war in Judea from 66-73, culminating with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple and the massacre at Masada. Further, Jesus’ crucifixion itself was an attempt to keep the Roman peace; to keep the masses in their place. If you revolt, this is what will happen to you too. They knew the consequences of “Roman Peace” all too well.
And, if we’re honest with ourselves, our world has similar promises to us. We’ll find peace when we build enough wealth and have material security. We’ll find peace when we close our borders. We’ll find peace when we incarcerate all the troublemakers. We’ll find peace through the defeat of our enemies here and abroad. We’ll find peace when we all fit into the same box - when we’re all “American” enough or “Christian” enough. And - to an extent - this is part of the reality of living in this world as it is.
Yet at the same time, if I’m honest with you, this world promises a peace that I have yet to see. I don’t know what the peace that the world brings is supposed to look like. I was nine when my first sense of security fell - with a machete attack at one of our elementary schools. I was nine on 9/11. I was eleven when there was a shooting at our junior high school. We’ve been at war for two-thirds of my life. While we were just kids on 9/11, friends and classmates went on to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan (and I’m deeply grateful for their service and the service of all our military members. War is part of this world as it is). I’ve had friends attacked and pushed aside for who they are - because they don’t fit into the “right” boxes due to their faith, their gender identity, their sexual orientation. I’ve yet to see this peace that the world promises us - with enough wealth, power, and might, we’re supposed to find peace. Yet, we’re one of the wealthiest countries of the world with the best and most renown military force in the world, and yet I don’t see the peace. (Again, not a critique on the military; I have profound respect for all who serve and all who have given their lives in service. But this is an honest look at this world as it is. If wealth and might don’t bring about peace, what does?)
This myth of peace that the world brings comes at a cost as well. We see the death-dealing effects of the world as it is all around us. Violence against women, against LGBTQIA+ people, violence against our Muslim and Jewish siblings. Wealth disparities between rich and poor are only growing. Incarceration disproportionately affects people of color, especially men of color (while people of other demographics get shorter sentences for similar or “worse” crimes). The powers at work in the world serve to keep those on the margins on the margins, and lifts up those who already have power and privilege. What the world promises will never lead to peace - at least the kind of peace that Jesus promises to us, the kind of peace that only the Kingdom of God can bring. Here’s the thing: no one can bring the kind of peace that Jesus does - not our politicians, not our celebrities, not our activists, not our religious leaders - myself included. Only Jesus can bring about this kind of peace.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
Peace - for Jesus - isn’t about physical or financial security. Jesus does not give as the world gives. Jesus gives peace - yet he is about to face the cross. Jesus gives peace, yet his closest friends and students face their own martyrdoms. In the Gospel of John, peace is about knowing Jesus, knowing God. It is about being in relationship with Jesus and the one who sent him. Peace is about being enveloped in the love of God that we’ve found in Jesus - that love we’ve found in Jesus is what binds us into an intimate and unconditional relationship with God. Peace is about being invited into a community defined by that love. Peace is the assurance that the worst thing is never the last thing; Neither the grave nor the powers of this world have the last word. Instead God’s word of life will always have the last word. Peace is God’s ability to bring about new life and resurrection where we’d least expect to find it.
One commentary puts it this way, “Anxiety, fear, and troubled hearts are much on Jesus’ mind. The antidote to such fear is the peace given by Jesus, and not peace as the world gives. Many people yearn for peace in the world’s terms: cessation of conflict, whether psychological tension or warfare… The peace that Jesus promises as he takes leave might include such things, but the peace that Jesus gives is nothing less than the consequence of the presence of God. When God is present, peace is made manifest.” “When God is present, peace is made manifest.” (Hoare, Feasting on the Word, Year C. Vol. 2, 495). God’s presence is made known to us through Jesus, his incarnation, death, and resurrection, and that presence continues through the gift of the Holy Spirit - as the spirit dwells with us now. That peace is something that the world can not give. And as hard as it might try, the world cannot take away the presence of God either. The empty tomb assures us of that. It is still Easter, after all. Not even death - a death at human hands - could tamp down and restrict the presence of God among us. Christ is still risen!
It is a peace that is not “of this world” but has tremendous effects on this world. While Jesus is the only one who can bring about this peace, we get to live out this peace that we’ve found. This kind of peace has the power to transform us into builders of the Kingdom of God. Because we are recipients of that peace, we get to share it with the world. With the gift of the Holy Spirit, we get to bring the presence of God to others. It is a response to the gifts that we have been given.
Where the world fosters hate and violence, we sow love - that love that we’ve found in Christ. Where the world pushes our neighbors to the margins, we welcome them into the center. Where our world tries to degrade and dehumanize the stranger, we see and proclaim the image of God and the face of Christ in them. Where the world puts up barriers, we tear them down. This is how we keep Jesus’ words; we live out the love of God that we’ve found in Jesus - EVEN when it goes against the powers of this world, EVEN if we risk getting pushed to the margins, EVEN when it means risking even death (like the disciples did with their own martyrdoms). And we can do that because we are given this peace and we know that the worst thing is never the last thing; God’s answer to us is always life - life in relationship with our divine parent and creator. Because of Jesus and Jesus’ loving embrace, we can face the world without fear and we can participate in the coming kingdom of God here and now.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” Amen
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