In everyday life we ​​use the word “peace” many times. We use it when we talk about wars: we are at peace when we are not at war. Many people, unfortunately not all, want wars to end soon and peace to be early. We use the word “peace” when we reconcile with someone after a fight and we say: “Let us make peace”. We use the word “peace” when we are a little angry or tired or want to stay alone and we say: “Leave me in peace”.

In the long discourse of John chapter 14, Jesus says to the eleven (Judas had already gone away): “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you”. Jesus likes to remember that it is his own peace and that it is different from that which the world gives. Let us consider the context in which Jesus pronounces these words: we are at the Last Supper, Judas betrays his Master, hands him over to the authorities who arrest him and condemn him to death. How can Jesus speak of peace? Jesus wishes the eleven shalom, peace, happiness, fullness of life, inviting them not to worry about what will happen.

It is clear that this Jesus’ wish for peace is not a wish for tranquility. It is not a peace that depends on external circumstances but it is an inner peace that allows us to support the fights of life without losing peace.

“Not as the world gives [peace] do I give you“. What peace does the world give? The world proposes a peace established on fear of the other: I put two missiles with nuclear warheads on my side, my enemy puts two missiles with nuclear warheads over there. If either of them came up with the idea of ​​firing a missile from the other side, the other would immediately respond and there would be the destruction of both. The peace given by the world, it is sad to say, is an unstable equilibrium which fortunately often stops at mutual threats. We hope everybody stops there but it is possible that someone crosses the line. Unfortunately these are current events.

The peace that the world gives, in general, is therefore established on fear. On the contrary, the peace that Jesus leaves is established on love and is a gift from on high. It is the presence of Jesus within the community and within the life of each one that creates true peace and that chases away all fear, the fear of others, but also the fear of God seen as the one who punishes, chastises.

The evangelist John himself says in his first letter (4:18): “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love”. Jesus leaves us his peace as a gift, leaving us the task of giving it. It is not a peace that makes us fall asleep but a peace that keeps us awake, a peace that cannot stand still until each one’s dignity is recognized, until each one may have everything necessary to live with the dignity of a man and woman his own existence. It is a peace that knows how to listen to the voices of pain; it is a peace that does not find peace until the last man in the world receives the smile of the Father who bends over him saying: “You are my son”.

When I reflected on the first reading, I thought how Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, summarized three years of history in a single chapter. Many places are mentioned in the journey of Paul and Barnabas. It seems that the two go from one place to another very easily, but this is not the case. In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells of the dangers of journey, of people’s hostility. He tells of when they were bit. whipped, stoned, insulted. Yet they continued to evangelize because they had the shalom, the peace of Jesus. They did not flinch in the face of danger, they had within themselves the zeal to proclaim the Gospel. If they have ever suffered persecution, they have faced it with courage. They took seriously the mission assigned to them by the community and, assisted by the Spirit, were able to testify to the brothers and sisters of Antioch, the city from which they had departed, all the wonders that the Lord had accomplished with the pagans.

Brothers, sisters, whoever has the peace of Jesus in his heart is called to be merciful like him, to include people and not to exclude anyone, to become a companion on the road as the pilgrim of Emmaus, so as not to leave anyone out, so that no one feels left behind, forgotten, excluded, thrown out the door. Whoever has the peace of Jesus feels pacified with the Father and with his own history, and like Jesus he is capable of giving his own life so that others may have life. Whoever has the peace of Jesus is capable of giving and forgiving. Whoever has the peace of Jesus, like him, has the strength to oppose the rulers, the powerful of this world, when they commit injustices, when they crush the poor and the weak.

There is certainly a strong ideal charge in the words of Jesus but above all there is a grace, a grace that deserves to be accepted by all of us who are listening. If we welcome this gift, our life can change, our family, our community, our world can really change, achieving peace.

Lord Jesus, give us your peace as well, give us the courage to spread peace so that our country and the whole world may know better days!