Peace I leave with you. (John 14: 27)
Every now and then, a person will greet me with “Shalom.” That is a loaded word, loaded with grace. It’s a lot more than the peace sign of the 1960’s. Jesus, about to pour out his Blood on the cross, wishes everything good for his disciples. He asks his Father to give them everything necessary for a full life. He knows that not even his death can stop the flow of love from God to humanity and from one person to another. In fact, his return to his Father insures that flow of life. All limitations of time and space are removed. Jesus went to his death with the sure confidence that he and his Father were one.
We are invited into that same peace, that same sure knowledge that no one and nothing can separate us from the love of God, a gift that no one can take from us. No wonder we pray this prayer before receiving the Eucharist: “I leave you peace; my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom.”
Rev Joe Uecker, C.PP.S.
Kansas City Province