Why Peace?
Peace not Food! Peace not toilet paper, Peace not hand sanitizers or mask. That is what the good Lord brought his disciples in his first appearance after death.
In their confinement, He brought them Peace not Food. “Peace be with you”. These are the first words that the Lord addressed his apostles who were still in a lockdown, locked up for fear of the Jews. But why peace? What they really needed in that moment was not rolls of toilet papers nor hundred cans of none perishable food, all these items, though important, were not essential. What they needed the most, in that time of physical and emotional loneliness, was Peace, that which comes from the Almighty alone. Peace is the very first thing fear takes away from us. Fear is the first thing peace, upon return, kicks out of our soul. When we don’t have peace (that which comes from God alone) we become easily preyed upon by fear.
They locked up the room for fear of the Jews who threatened their lives. Why didn’t Jesus brings them powerful machines guns, arrows to crush the enemies? Why didn’t He, now that He overcame death, did not use his Godly powers to burn all those who put him to death? Why? And why didn’t he go, defiantly, to show himself to the high priests, the bastards that humiliated him publicly and murdered him unjustly? Why didn’t he? I would, if I was him, I would go back to the public places, call back all the crowds that chanted and demanded my death, show them how powerful I am now. My first miracle would certainly be to send tongues of fires to burn each of those assassins while others are watching. I would demand the roman occupiers to leave the holy land immediately and demand a public apology from Caesar. I would also demand that all Jews become Christians on the spot. That is how I would obtain revenge if I was Jesus. Unfortunately I am not (and I am glad I am not). Fortunately he didn’t follow human instincts like mine. That is what makes him God and I/you humans. His thoughts and actions are always elevated.
So, he brought his disciples peace, but didn’t remove the physical threat (Jews) subjecting them therefore to vicious prosecutions and persecutions in the near future. So what is the goal of that “peace” if life threats will continue? What good does a vaccine do if it doesn’t kill the virus? That is the point. Jesus bestowed upon them a “spiritual gun” more powerful to face and overcome any physical threat: His Peace. Jesus made it clear that his “peace” was given not like it is done in this world. His peace does not eliminate threats, dangers, failure or disappointment, it overcomes them. His peace is a vaccine against the virus of fear. His peace enabled the disciples to pass through fire without burning , burning with calcinations…. his peace equips them to face their murderers without fearing them; the peace of God helps them loose war without losing faith and hope. That kind of peace is something none of us can achieve by self sufficiency; it is a gift from the above. That is the kind of peace our graduate schools degrees can’t accomplish nor explain, a kind of peace our life can’t do without; that is exactly what you and I need (not necessarily want) in a time of confinement like this. We need peace, which is what our prayers ought to be. Peace will shield us from all kinds of fears. Though our current confinement may be coming to an end, there is a daily confinement, a spiritual one, that we sometimes are not aware of. Let us ask for true peace that comes, not from humans in the world, but from the above.
Peace be with you no matter what is boiling in you at this moment.
