Peace in Challenging Times
As news continues to break of random acts of terror, we are mindful that we continue to live in a world where violence erupts in a heartbeat and in the most unexpected ways and places. Again and again, we are left mystified, floundering for answers, clinging to the hope of a better tomorrow and praying for peace that lasts.
On the night before Jesus died, John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus said,
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. John 14:27
How do we embrace that kind of peace?
Whenever we celebrate the Eucharist, we pray for peace, we exchange peace, and we are sent to be peacemakers.
In the Communion Rite, for example, we pray for peace:
Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles:
Peace I leave you, my peace I give you; look not on our sins,
but on the faith of your Church,
and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will.
Before we approach the table, we are invited to exchange a sign of peace with those around us, an action that is rooted in Matthew’s Gospel:
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:23-24
In the sign of peace, we both give and receive the peace of Christ. That peace is meant to reconcile and unite the community before it shares the sacred meal.
Sharing the sacred meal together is another way we experience peace. In the Eucharist, we are filled with the peace and reconciliation won for us by the death and resurrection of Jesus. When we say “Amen” to the Body and Blood of Jesus, we agree to participate in the peace and reconciliation of Christ.
After we pray for peace, exchange peace, and experience peace in the sacred meal, we are sent out into the world to be God’s instruments of peace and reconciliation.
The Eucharist summons us to be agents of peace at home, at school, at work, and on social media. Only in this way, will our “Amen” be authentic.