On Sunday we talked about the "peace that passes all understanding" which we invoke at the last blessing in most Masses. The source of the expression is a statement attributed to Jesus in John's Gospel in which he tells his disciples: I leave my peace with you. I give you my peace. It is not like the peace which the world gives, so you don't have to be anxious or afraid.
The peace that the world gives is merely an absence of conflict. The peace conveyed by Jesus allows the Christian to be at peace even in the midst of conflict. Christ's peace is deeper, permeating heart and mind/ It cannot be earned, only accepted as gift to those who live their lives in the Spirit of God as revealed in Jesus. If you have it, you know what I mean; if you don't, you won't have a clue.
By the world's standards, the Las Vegas Shooter had it all. He was a wealthy entrepreneur with almost unlimited funds for the enjoyment of life, sex without commitment from a "friend with benefits," no political or philosophical bent, no involvement with charitable organizations, no religion to bog him down. What more could a devoutly committed capitalist ask for? Yet, he obviously lacked one thing that wealth, power, and disengagement cannot bring, personal peace. So, having gone from one unsatisfying "high" to the next, and with nothing left to live for, he committed a massacre -- killing fifty-nine innocent people, wounding almost five hundred others -- for one last exhilarating experience.
No peace. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus introduces us to the kind of life that brings us his peace. He presents six antitheses, six contrasts between Jewish conventional wisdom and the torqued-up Torah that he would demand of his followers. Important contrasts: you were told not to kill, I tell you not to hate; you were told not to commit adultery, I tell you not to lust. In the fifth antithesis, Jesus talks about who is a neighbour. You were told love your friends, hate your enemies (there is no such biblical injunction), I tell you love your enemies, pray for your persecutors. How intensely and irrationally radical is this gospel of Jesus! Yet only that kind of life brings the peace we crave.
Saint Paul tells us how to get into the mental state that will set us in that right direction. He lumps into one sentence thanksgiving and joy, prayer, and peace. He lets us know that an attitude of gratitude for all our blessings leads to joy, and turning our lives over to God as people of prayer brings us peace. The four "gifts of the Spirit" reflect a spiritual life that is healthy and vital: the blueprint for the peace that passes all understanding.
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