May 1, 2016
Sunday Easter 6C

“Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
25”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.  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. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.” John 14:23-29

There is a qualitative distinction between the peace that the world offers and that which Jesus gives (14:27). Christian discipleship does not take place in a neutral environment. The peace that Christ gives comes with knowing him (16:33). It is a peace that comes to them in the midst of conflict and threat rather than as the absence of such. Literally translated, Jesus breathed “in” them, giving them the Holy Spirit. This is an echo of the original creative act in Gen 2:7. There is a persistent missional note in John’s gospel (v. 31). Here that note is brought to its final form in his sending of the disciples (v. 21). It is a cruciform sending (cf. vs. 20) and it will prove to be a cruciform going for them as well.” (DUANE A. OLSON Luther Seminary St. Paul, Minnesota)

The Peace that Jesus gives to his disciples is a peace that comes to them in the midst of conflict, but it does not guarantee an absence of conflict, trial and tribulation. But, it is peace nonetheless. Do you feel that peace? Or are you having a hard time finding the peace from G-d?

Remember, the peace from G-d is different from the peace we feel from the daily work, struggles and hardships that we encounter. To sit on the porch at the end of the day, with the small cocktail in our hands, listening to the lawnmower down the street, and smelling the aroma of roses wafting from our neighbor’s garden is not the peace Jesus is thinking about. That peace is a nice feeling, and we all seek it from time to time.

But the peace that Jesus gives is a peace that is breathed into us through the Holy Spirit – a peace that reminds us that when all around us is breaking down, G-d promises us life – true life in the name of Jesus. And it will be the Holy Spirit who will advocate for us – that is a peace that can come from nowhere else than from G-d. Who else but the author of life can promise the peace that surpasses all understanding – a peace that comes from knowing that we have Jesus, and the Holy Spirit who will advocate on our behalf – and are advocating for us at this very moment. And so, as Duane Olson says, that peace from G-d is what sustains us as we go forward as disciples, and as apostles (as the “sent forth ones”) into the cruciform life. The cruciform life is one that is formed by the cross – the horizontal bar is our life with all other people, sharing the Good News of the Gospel, and living the Christ-like life in a world that is ruled by the “Evil One” – and the vertical bar is our “Oneness with G-d just as Jesus and the Father are One”. We are sustained by that vertical relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, so that we can find peace as we live into the horizontal life of this world where there is constant conflict and threat.

If you haven’t been feeling the peace of Christ, take some time to work on your vertical relationship with the Trinity. The more we are immersed in the Word and praying for understanding and living the Christ-like life, the more we will understand the kind of peace Jesus gave to his disciples, and gives to you and me.

Pastor Dave