BENEDICTINE REFLECTION (6th Sunday of Easter, 5/25/25)
“My peace I give to you.” (John 14:27)
We have an inherent need to want to be part of a group. Quite apart from our connectiveness to our family, the desire to belong to a wider whole is one that stays with us the whole of our life. Through childhood to adulthood, we can trace non-stop tests to be welcomed and affirmed within a particular human grouping, whether it be an athletic team or social unit.
It should come as no surprise that the early Church reflected this same yearning to form part of a group in its early years. The Acts of the Apostles in our first reading presents us with the story of the first Council of Jerusalem and the debate about including Gentiles as part of the first Christian community. Like so many stories of inclusion and exclusion, it recounts a candid exchange of some differences of opinion. In the end, a compromise is reached. The Gentiles do not need to be circumcised, but they do need to show their good faith in following other Jewish practices. It was not a compromise that caved in on a matter of principle, but rather one that sought to ground all members in a basic harmony that was moved by the Holy Spirit.
Such a spiritual consensus was precisely the goal that Jesus had prayed for while speaking to the apostles on the night of the Last Supper in our Gospel reading. One can imagine the fear and apprehension that must have been in the upper room among the apostles after Judas had departed. Did they really want to belong to this group that was already breaking apart? This is where we need to turn to the words of Jesus on that night. Know well, he says, if you love me and keep my word you will find welcome with my Father. Moreover, the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, will be sent as your guide. Know too that I give you the gift of peace, a peace that will alleviate the anxiety in your hearts. This peace is more than just a flashing V sign. It is a peace that is the natural sign and fruit of our living in the presence of God. We long to belong and to stay in the presence of such peace-filled persons. We want to be part of their faith communities, not just because they make us feel secure, but because we know that in these spaces we feel a deep and abiding acceptance of our call.
Perhaps when the priest just before Communion recites the words of Jesus: “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you,” we can concentrate on how in this place of peace we wil come to know Christ’s peace. We should want to belong to a group that brings us to a place of peace. For there we can experience to the full Christ’s farewell gift of peace. There we can experience to the full the peace that is the fruit of the Holy Spirit at work in us and those around us.