HOMILY FOR 6^TH SUNDAY EASTER  - YEAR C

By Deacon Jerry Franzen           Cathedral           5/222022

Acts 15:1-2, 22-29   Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23   John 14: 23-29

Praised be Jesus Christ!  Good Morning!

Under our great window we find sixteen men depicted in small windows, each one having

some special connection to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The fourth little window in from the right end is St. Thomas.

He is St. Thomas Becket, who was martyred as the Archbishop of Canterbury

by the henchmen of Henry II, the King of England.

St. Thomas’ martyrdom is the subject of the play, “Murder in the Cathedral” by T.S. Elliot.

In the play, St. Thomas delivers a homily on Christmas day.

In the homily, Becket asked the following question,

“ Does it seem strange to you that the angels

should have announced Peace, when ceaselessly

the world has been stricken with War?

Does it seem to you that the angelic voices were mistaken,

and that the promise was a disappointment and a cheat?”

 

I

It seems that the promise of peace routinely clashes with reality.

We still hear of minor skirmishes between the Israelis and the Palestinians

 in the Middle East.

There are hot spots in Africa,

a stalemate in Korea, concerns about China and Taiwan

and a full-fledged war in Ukraine.

We even have conflicts in our own streets and establishments.

Yet today we heard Jesus make a simple promise:

“Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”

If you are having trouble finding the fulfillment

of the promise of  Jesus’ peace, it is understandable.

Even scripture can be a paradox; some say a contradiction.

In today’s Gospel selection Jesus told his disciples

that He will leave them, actually be killed and still He promised them His peace.

Now that we have relaxed some of the restrictions of the pandemic,

we offer each other a sign of peace; but where is the peace?

Is peace really possible, or is it just one of those

“easy to say” words that helps us to forget

that the world of blood and tears is still out there

and that a war of passions and fears is still inside us as well?

                                             II

What is this peace of Christ?  Where is this peace?

If we are having trouble recognizing the peace of Christ,

maybe that is because Christ’s peace is different 

What would make the peace of Christ different?

For that answer we must start in the Old Testament.

The concept of “Biblical peace” is so rich in content

that no single English word can be used to express it well.

“Peace” in the Old Testament meant:

          “Things are going well with you.

          You are happy. You feel secure.  You have friends.

          You have a fruitful land.

          You eat your fill and sleep without fear.

          You multiply your progeny

                  and triumph over your enemies.”

For the Israelite people, being in a right relationship with God

topped the list of peaceful situations.

In a word, peace was salvation.

That is the saving peace that Jesus proclaimed.

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells the sinful woman

after she washed his feet with her tears  that she can now “go in peace.”

As the disciples were sent out, they were to greet people with "Peace to this house.”

And in Acts, Peter preaches:

“You know the word which God sent to Israel,

preaching the Good news of peace through Jesus Christ.”

Peace is resting in Christ, the greeting of salvation, the Good news of the Gospel.

 

And to the Colossians St. Paul wrote:

“Through Jesus, God was pleased to reconcile to Himself

all things…making peace by the blood of the cross.”

It is the peace that is one of “the fruits of the Spirit,”

        the peace that surpasses all understanding,

        the peace that endures stress and tribulation,

        the peace that will keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

The God of peace is the God who saves;

a heart at peace is a heart one with God in Christ.

                                             III

So peace is:

          a cease fire or a treaty,

          a warm hug or a friendly handshake

          a sleeping child,

          a boom box with the speakers disconnected.

Peace is the end of a rough day,

          the ending of the school year,

          a walk in the woods or on the beach,

Peace is a cold beer with your feet up on a hot day,

          or it can be simply an hour without pain?

These are all phrases that we might use to describe peace.

However, the peace that Christ has left us is so much deeper than any or all of these.

 

It’s a peace that the world cannot give.

It’s the presence of God within us, our communion with the Trinity.

It is our reconciliation with God through Christ.

The peace of Christ is the presence of Christ within us, in all that we say and do.

This peace doesn’t mean that we will not encounter distress and tribulation.

God did not promise us a rose garden here on earth.

 

Our courage to survive, to overcome, to endure

rests in the fact that Jesus Christ , who is our peace,

has broken the chains of sin and death,

not by the force of power, but by surrender to love.

Our part is not just a matter of clutching the peace of Christ as Linus’ would his blanket

and enduring the difficulties with a stiff upper lip.

 

No, the very life of Christ, the peace of the risen Lord,

flows through us like another bloodstream.

Through the peace of Christ, indeed like Christ,

we conquer the world by the force of faith,

by living our faith, by loving in our faith, by being crucified in our faith.

Am I asking you to bring together the Israelis and Palestinians?  No.

Am I asking you to step in and stop the conflict in Ukraine?

Or to stop the conflict between Pro Choice and Pro Life?

No!  But I am asking:

What wars have you ended in your backyard, or in your family room?

What mines of envy and hate have you defused in your office corridor?

Who hurts less because you love more?

Who hurts more because you love less?

Who was depressed but has come alive at your touch?

Is anyone more free to act because you swallowed your pride?

Who, hungry for food or affection, is fed by your faith?

Who, thirsting for justice, feels satisfied by your presence?

Who experiences God’s absence and finds the image of God on your face?

 We open our hearts and, ironically, then we experience the peace of Christ there.

Want to experience the peace of Christ?

Glow with it.  Share it.  Give it away.

 

When I invite everyone to exchange the sign of peace

later at this Mass, let it be a wish for freedom from war and anxiety,

for health and harmony, for well being in every way.

But, over and above all these things, realize what a Christian, nourished by Scripture,

wishes by simply saying “the peace of Christ:”

 

That might be something like this:

“With all my heart, I pray that you will receive

the salvation God took flesh to bring, 

the redemption from sin that Christ bought with his blood,

I wish you the grace of God that is the beginning of glory,

that is the eternal life here and now.

I wish you deeper and deeper openness with God.

I pray that you will feel the peace of Christ

          To make your spirit spin,

          To make your blood run thin,

          To make your very pulse to create a din,

          To make your flesh to melt inside your skin,

          To make you realize that heaven is not up   but within.”

 

This is the peace of Christ we will wish for each other,

The peace of Christ we will receive in the Eucharist,

 And the peace of Christ which we will carry with us as we leave.   

 Based on “Peace L eave to You by Walter J. Burghardt, S.J. in “Sir, We would Like to See Jesus – Homilies from a Hilltop”

Paulist Press, New York, 1982 pp 75-79