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PROOF OF PEACE What does it mean to live as a faithful Christian? A Christian is faithful when he lives, not for the sake of his own will, but for the will of God. He believes with all his heart that the good for which he prays will come to pass. Trusting God, the faithful Christian joyfully anticipates discovering how God will answer his prayer. We may say, therefore, that the proof of trust is "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit". [Rom 14:17] For if we believe that the season of spring follows a harsh winter, we must surely trust in the promises of God who made the earth and its seasons. “The world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear". [Heb 11:3] Thus what is seen is a prophecy of what is not seen. How, then, should we understand the phrase “proof of peace”? The proof of authentic peace is the calm repose and contentment of the righteous, joyful human heart. Faithful Christians abide in the peace of Christ anticipating the day when all things are reconciled in him. Christians should prepare morally and ethically as if Christ would return within the hour; they should work in the Lord’s vineyard as if Christ would delay his second coming another thousand years. In his meditation on love, St. Paul reminds the Corinthian Church that "love never ends". [1Cor 13:8] By its very nature, what never ends has no ending or beginning. Love has no beginning or end, because God himself has no beginning or ending--and God is love: SO WE know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17. In this is love perfected with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so are we in this world. 18. THERE IS no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love. 19. We love, because he first loved us. 20. If any one says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21. And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also. [1Jn 4:16-21] Thus, we may confidently state that the virtue of love was awarded to mankind before the advent of the Spirit at Pentecost. With the Spirit, however, love becomes supernatural and so remains the greatest of the Spirit's gifts. Further, to love God and neighbor as the Spirit wills is the greatest sacrifice one can make in the name of divine goodness. Love must be planted and grown in the soil of humility: "A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." [Jam 3:18] Peace and love, therefore, are inseparable. Love is proven when enemies become brothers. The hard work of reconciliation ultimately will yield a rich harvest of unity, a gathering-in of the Christian family to the heart of God: "So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." [1Cor 13:13] The litmus test for the proof of peace must be the manner in which a nation treats its poorest and weakest members; historically, these fragile groups are endangered by indifference or outright aggression by powerful political and economic special-interests. According to the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the revelation of divine love defended by more Christian martyrs in the past century than in nineteen previous centuries [cf. Nina Shea, IN THE LIONS DEN (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1997) ix.]—all necessities and comforts required for dignified human existence, however important and desirable, must bend the knee [cf. Phil 2 :10] to the innate, aboriginal human right of all human beings to live with dignity and without threat of extermination. Our divine lesson today affirms the “right to life” of all human beings irrespective of their age or health—from the unborn to the grace of natural death. All men and women of good will are obliged to promote and safeguard the priceless dignity of all human beings--most especially the helpless and innocent among them! No exceptions can be made to the absolute right of all human beings to the fullness of life! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Old Testament tells the story of Israel when the children of God were weak, blameless and attacked on all sides. The Book of Nehemiah (chapter 4) recounts Israel’s release from Babylonian Captivity and its return to Jerusalem and Judea in 6th c. B.C. They begin to rebuild their shattered city. Despite fierce opposition from marauding tribes, the backbreaking work of rebuilding the walls and gates of Jerusalem continues: FROM THAT day on, half of (the) servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail; and the leaders stood behind all the house of Judah, who were building on the wall. THOSE WHO carried burdens were laden in such a way that each with one hand labored on the work and with the other held his weapon. And each of the builders had his sword girded at his side while he built. [Neh 4:16-18] Nearing exhaustion from their work, the Israelites long for the day when they can sleep in peace behind strong city walls and battlements. Nehemiah, the governor, however, is perfectly aware that God's people cannot rely merely on stone and mortar for their protection. After all, they are rebuilding the shattered walls that an earlier generation of Israelites valued more highly than God himself. Now what did this weak and discouraged people deserve? Weren’t they the smallest of all peoples? [cf. Deu 7:7] Did they deserve to be wiped out because they were weak and helpless? What did God have in mind for them? Nehemiah and Ezra the priest call an assembly of all the people. They intend to announce what God wills for the Israelites in their time of distress. The priest Ezra invokes the blessing of God and begins the solemn and extensive proclamation of God’s Word for the benefit of the people. The people weep in sorrow, for their burdens are great and their practice of God's law has been corrupted. Nehemiah and Ezra understand the character of Israel’s lament. Believing in the healing character of God’s law, they remind the assembly—those who are faithful to the Lord—that celebration is the appropriate response to God’s Word: “THIS DAY is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then (Ezra) said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” [Neh 8:9-10] God sustained the life of his chosen people and caused them to grow stronger and prosper. He is joy itself and Israel was to abide joyfully in his sovereign love. Joy, in the midst of trial, is the fruit of the virtue of fortitude. We are to trust the God of love with all our strength [cf. Deu 6:4-5] even when good people and good things are taken from us. Our nation has given much charitable assistance in the name of the underprivileged, including many unwed mothers and unborn children, but public money and social programs are notoriously manipulated by politicians and special-interest groups. Would that public giving was based on a national policy that recognized the true meaning of the virtue of justice—giving to others what God has determined to be their due! Legislators and judges increasingly trespass in the domain of human life, by acting as though human behavior could be evaluated and modified apart from a moral context and, horribly, by granting to certain classes of persons a mandate to destroy human life in the name of their own life. Beware, you who hold the lives of the helpless and the innocent in contempt: You cannot hide evil behind a mask of equality and empowerment. While there is still time, look closely at the rot on which the “Culture of Death" feeds. Here are the great evils—the great lies—of the present day: 1.) no human right is absolute, including the right to life, 2.) politicians and judges should “create’ rights and do away with rights as they see fit, 3.) the supreme human privilege is the power of one over another, especially the power of the few over the many, 4.) the weak and innocent are a threat to people with power, and 5.) power declines if it is not used aggressively and, conversely, power increases as its aggressive use increases. The consequence of this grotesque way of thinking is unbridled malice and hostile acts perpetrated against the weak, innocent and helpless members of society. It is the implementation--not of social improvements--but of a form of hell on earth. The original sin of pride is seen as a good thing and it’s peddled as a model of preferred behavior. As a warning to all who would threaten the weak and innocent, the Sacred Scriptures tell a poignant and painful story regarding the tragic loss of peace in the human family. A man murdered his own brother. The voice of his blood cried to God from the ground. [cf. Gen 4:10] This evil fratricide has cast a shadow across the whole of human experience, a shadow which persists to this day. [cf. Gen 4] That a human being, enjoying or at least claiming communion with God, would kill his own kin—indeed his innocent brother—forever remains a ghastly offense in the human consciousness. The Natural Law of God, implanted in the soul of every man born of woman, voices the commandment: "You shall not kill." [Ex 20:13] Should the world last another millennium, should civilization reach heights of sophistication and bio-technology unimaginable to us today, it’s impossible for the killing of human beings to evolve beyond its prime-evil and barbaric origins. Unquestionably, the impassioned, eloquent voice crying out for authentic peace belongs to our God. Only God can give his faithful followers true and authentic peace. "What have you done?" God called out to Cain. [Gen 4:10] Centuries later, God was fully aware that the Israelites had degraded themselves by idolatry and exploiting the poor, the widowed and the orphaned. The Lord condemned the greedy hearts of his people: FOR FROM the least to the greatest of them, every one is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, every one deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. [Jer 6:13-14] The Word of the World seduces us with a song that peace is freedom from and absence of any constraint, a deliverance of the human person from any and all responsibility to one another and to the society in which he lives. In its worst perversion: EVERYONE ELSE is considered an enemy from whom one has to defend oneself. Thus society becomes a mass of individuals placed side by side, but without any mutual bonds. EACH ONE wishes to assert himself independently of the other and in fact intends to make his own interests prevail. [Pope John Paul II THE GOSPEL OF LIFE (Evangelium Vitae) no. 20 1995] What is needed is not human pride and hostility but rather the genuine peace of Christ: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." [Jn 14:27] St. Paul prays: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." [Rom 15:13] What does Jesus Christ mean when he says “my peace” [Jn 14:27] or St. Paul who speaks of our being “filled with comfort?” [2Cor 7:4] A brief meditation on peace may point us in the right direction. Peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit [cf. Gal 5:22], our assurance that what we seek comes from God. As God's gift, it can be shared among his servants, but not vulgarized or hoarded. The peace of God is very powerful. It’s so strong that even one Christian, wrapped in the mantle of divine comfort, can prevail against the powers of hell itself. Though the "form of this world is passing away" [1Cor 7:31], peace endures as the fruit of faith, hope, and love. Yet, like a trusting child, peace is a fragile blessing in our broken world. Years of harmony and trust among peoples can be destroyed overnight by ruthless and godless men. Yet the serenity of God, the "true light already shining" [1Jn 2:8], cannot be extinguished. Therefore, for a person to hate his brother is to live in the cold and writhing darkness. [cf. 1Jn 2:11] To walk in the serenity of God is to walk the path that leads to heaven. In his own day, Jesus weeps with sorrow and anguish over the reprise of Jerusalem’s destruction: "If you, even you, had only recognized on this day, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes." [Lk 19:41-42] Has the peace of your heart been disturbed? Do you find that you cannot rest? Is your soul troubled by anxiety and dread? When did you last seek spiritual healing in the Sacrament of Reconciliation? When were you last receive absolution for your sins? Be reconciled to God! You need the reassurance of a voice stronger and more powerful than your own, a voice "to give you a future and a hope" [Jer 29:11], a divine authority which dares to say, "Your sins are forgiven"! [Mk 2:1-12] In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we pray, “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: Grant us peace.” [SACRAMENTARY "Communion Rite" Agnus Dei (1985)] With God, peace becomes a reality when our lives mirror the righteousness of the Lamb. In righteousness, we rejoice that we are not alone in our struggle to bring about God's kingdom of true and authentic peace. When events appear to be hopeless, when the blood of the weak and innocents cries out to God from the ground, God will hear and answer. For the sake of his righteousness, he will not fail to act. He will not fail to uphold the rights of the poor, the widowed and the orphaned. No matter how bleak the circumstances may be, God gives his faithful followers true and authentic tranquility so that, "complete in everything good, we may do God's will, what is pleasing in his sight". [Heb 13:21] Working for peace is accomplished through, with and in Christ [cf. SACRAMENTARY Eucharistic Prayer doxology (1985)] “to whom be glory forever and ever". [Heb 13:21] The Holy Scriptures call the people of God to act decisively in the ways of peace. St. Paul testifies that we are to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. [cf. Gal 6:14] In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we hear the invocation of peace in one of the solemn blessings over the people: MAY THE peace of God which is beyond all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. [SACRAMENTARY "Solemn Blessings" no. 11 (1985)] The Church, the sign of genuine and lasting peace, was birthed by our Lord on the cross under the sign of water and blood. Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep [cf. Heb 13:20], dared to challenge the Word of the World with the Word of Truth. We must not run away from the reality facing us. Choosing both God and the world is not an option for the faithful followers of Christ: DO YOU not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [Jas 4:4] Should your blessing of peace not be received by the community on which you confer it, wipe off even the dust that clings to your feet in testimony against them and say, "Know this, that the kingdom of God has come near." [Lk 10:5-11] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In the present age which idolizes individualism and self-gratification, traditional Jewish wisdom offers a lesson to our own households. This marvelous and unique lesson from the commentary of Jewish rabbis helps to correct our vision and enable us to see how we are personally responsible to God for cultivating authentic peace. (Notice the interdependency of peace and purity.): IF PEOPLE fear to offer criticism lest it lead to a rupture of peace, that in itself proves that the peace is false. Peace, if it is to last, must be based on truth and lack of fear. WHOEVER CAN stop the members of his household from committing a sin, but does not, is held responsible for the sins of his household. If he can stop the people of his city from sinning, but does not, he is held responsible for the sins of the people of his city. IF HE can stop the whole world from sinning, and does not, he is held responsible for the sins of the whole world. [Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 54b, 77 quoted in Joseph Telushkin, JEWISH WISDOM (New York: William Morrow, 1994) 77.] We, all, are shepherds caring for the flock entrusted to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, however, many shepherds prey upon their sheep. [cf. Eze 34] Unsparing judgment will fall on those who torment the members of their own families, cooperate in acts of violence and aggression, victimize the weak and impoverished, profane religion, and degrade the world in which they live. God will force the aggressor out of his own hiding place, and the predator like prey in the eye of the hawk [cf. Job 39:28-29], will not see the hand of judgment fall: "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgment." [Jas 2:13] You say you have peace in your heart? The heart that is reconciled with God and man knows peace. You say you are reconciled with your God and your neighbor? Then love the weak and the innocent, and care for them as you would care for yourself. “And the King will answer (you), ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’” [Mt 25:40] Pray that the Lord's words to Cain—“What have you done?” [Gen 4:10]—do not condemn you as well. Open your heart to receive the Spirit of Repentance! Confess your sins!: "Pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects." [Jas 5:16] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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