“The peace of the Lord be with you!” These words are familiar to us. We hear the Celebrant proclaim them when we gather for the Eucharist. The Peace comes right after the confession and absolution. Trusting in the grace and mercy of our ever-faithful Lord, our sins are forgiven, and we are offered shalom, inner peace, through the reconciling act of Jesus Christ. We then turn to each other, sharing the peace, as a sign that we are not only individually reconciled with God but also communally with each other, the Body of Christ.
In this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 10: 1-11&16-20), Jesus appoints seventy disciples to go ahead of Him in pairs, to towns where He intended to go. They were endowed with the power to heal the sick and proclaim the nearness of God’s kingdom. Their mission had one foundation: God’s reconciling peace to all who would receive it. Jesus, therefore, instructed the seventy that upon entering each house they should first say, “Peace to this house! And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.”
From Jesus’ words, we understand that we pursue God’s mission in the framework of peace. But we can only share God’s peace if we have God’s peace. We can only share what we possess. Jesus’ invitation to the seventy was to journey spiritually into a way of life, a way of being in which the soul becomes centered inwardly on God as peace comes from within. We grow into inner peace when we believe and trust in God’s sovereignty, God’s power, and God’s love for us. In turn, we grow in love for God; imitate His way of being, allowing the Spirit to root out all that hinders inner peace. Peace may then mean letting go of habits of self-justification, or anger, hatred, and fighting, just as the followers were instructed to let go of concerns for material possessions. Peace may mean embracing mercy, compassion, and love and letting go of judging and labeling others for Jesus placed no conditions on the worthiness of the persons to whom the seventy should offer His peace.
In his book The Gift of Peace, Cardinal Bernardin states that the gift of peace is God’s special gift to us. “When we are at peace, we find the freedom to be most fully who we are, even in the worst of times. We let go of what is non-essential to embrace what is essential.” Because of God’s gift of indwelling peace, the seventy focused on their mission, even when they were vulnerable “like lambs into the midst of wolves.” The outcome was unimaginable. The reconciling love of God was discerned, people were healed, and the kingdom of God proclaimed. Even evil spirits submitted to them.
In our world today, we yearn for peace. But true reconciling peace begins with the transformation of each person’s heart, starting in the Church. Lord, please make me an instrument of your peace today.
