Peace I leave with
you
When the summer temperatures
arrive, it’s a sign for me to keep my remarks brief, so I won’t say much today,
but I do want to share with you two thoughts about the readings that we’ve just
heard: first a word about the Holy City, the City of God; and then a word about
the tools that Jesus left for us, to help us to get there.
The second reading, from the
Book of Revelation, describes in great detail the vision of the Holy City which
John saw. The structure was familiar to
his hearers: he speaks of gates and walls and foundations – things that all
Jews would have immediately associated with the Temple, the place of worship,
the place where God dwells. Yet, John is
careful to point out that although it bears some resemblance, the Holy City is
not like any other earthly structure. It has … a radiance like a very rare jewel,
like jasper, clear as crystal – almost as though he could see right through
it.
The truth of the matter is
that the Kingdom of God is not like any building that we have ever seen. Even the most magnificent Cathedral is only
an attempt at portraying the beauty of heaven.
Even Jesus, the Son of God, did not use images of buildings to describe
heaven; instead he described it in terms of attitudes – as though heaven is a
place not to be seen or touched, but rather a matter of relationships, and this
leads me to my second point.
When the time came for Jesus
to depart this world, he left his disciples a parting gift – a souvenir of
their time together. The thing was that
this souvenir was not a tangible thing, but rather a much more precious
gift. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Peace is indeed a priceless gift, a gift very
unlike those which other people might give, might wrap up and present in a
box. Peace is fragile: it must be
guarded with great care, and shared with great love.
Peace has always been the
central gift which allows Jesus’ disciples to speak his truth, and to act in
his name. When peace was threatened,
Paul and Barnabas returned to the Apostles and the elders in Jerusalem to ask
their advice, because they recognized that without peace, the gift of God,
everything else they said or did was worthless.
We too must be careful to safeguard the gift of peace which has been
handed down to us. If peace indeed has
been threatened, we must first pray for those who have been hurt by its absence,
and then we must do all in our power to restore it. Peace, the gift of God to his beloved
disciples is the proof that Jesus is always close to us, accompanying us on the
road until we meet him face to face in the heavenly kingdom, the Holy City.
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