Pastor Bill Johnson says that we do everything that we do from one of two places: love or fear. I have started using this as a measure for myself especially when faced with tough decisions. Am I coming at this from fear or with love? It has given me new insight into what I allow to motivate me, and when fear is in play I find myself praying for peace. Bill Johnson also says that peace is not the absence of chaos, but the presence of a person: Jesus. Today’s gospel is an affirmation of this truth. “Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” Jesus could have chosen lots of other words to leave, but he chose “peace” and to specify not the world’s definition of peace, which would be the absence of chaos. There will be chaos, but the presence of Christ gives us calm in the midst of it. Calmness gives us clear thinking, level headedness, time to step back and see, confidence to stand firm, hope in the triumph, and vision to see beyond. Jesus imparts these supernatural gifts to us, like a handprint on our heart. His words are efficacious, his peace is literal, and his light is permanent. 1 John 4:18 says that, “Love never brings fear, for fear is always related to punishment. But love’s perfection drives the fear of punishment far from our hearts. Whoever walks constantly afraid of punishment has not reached love’s perfection.” (The Passion Translation) Jesus is that perfect love and he freely gives himself to us so that our hearts will not be troubled or afraid. I know that for me, the worst decisions I’ve made have come from being afraid. This means that I ignored the perfect love of Christ being freely offered to me, and chose fear of punishment instead. This only clouded my thoughts and stripped me of the calm that allows me to see clearly. I’ve been working on this, but if I’m being honest there are still many places where fear has a hold on me. Today, I am not even going to ponder what those places are, but rather focus on Jesus’ words, “peace I leave you; my peace I give to you…Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”
I just had some minor surgery to remove a pretty deep spot of skin cancer. The spot itself was not that big, but the margins were apparently rather large and so the wound in the end was four times as large as the original spot and the scar is so much larger than I anticipated. It is located just to the right of my heart and quite visible on my chest. When I put my hand on my heart my fingers actually touch the wound/scar and when I was operating from the place of fear I connected the cancer to something that I had done to somehow deserve it or some sort of dysfunction in my soul. This morning, in the glow of today’s gospel, a friend texted me that my scar seems to be a gateway for Jesus to impart his heart to me. When I let his hand touch my heart, his love will pour through. This instantly changed the way I saw my scar, from fear to love with one single word of encouragement. And this is the peace that he leaves us. We can be the ushers of that peace or the agents of fear. Which one will I let bend my ear today? Jesus wants his handprints on our hearts so that we can impart his peace. It is well with my soul.
Reading 1 ACTS 14:19-28
In those days, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium
arrived and won over the crowds.
They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city,
supposing that he was dead.
But when the disciples gathered around him,
he got up and entered the city.
On the following day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
After they had proclaimed the good news to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
"It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the Kingdom of God."
They appointed presbyters for them in each Church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the Church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Then they spent no little time with the disciples.
arrived and won over the crowds.
They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city,
supposing that he was dead.
But when the disciples gathered around him,
he got up and entered the city.
On the following day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
After they had proclaimed the good news to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
"It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the Kingdom of God."
They appointed presbyters for them in each Church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the Church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Then they spent no little time with the disciples.
Responsorial Psalm PS 145:10-11, 12-13AB, 21
R.(see 12) Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May my mouth speak the praise of the LORD,
and may all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May my mouth speak the praise of the LORD,
and may all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia SEE LK 24:46, 26
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead,
and so enter into his glory.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead,
and so enter into his glory.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel JN 14:27-31A
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
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.'
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.
I will no longer speak much with you,
for the ruler of the world is coming.
He has no power over me,
but the world must know that I love the Father
and that I do just as the Father has commanded me."
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
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.'
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.
I will no longer speak much with you,
for the ruler of the world is coming.
He has no power over me,
but the world must know that I love the Father
and that I do just as the Father has commanded me."
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