Psalm 66:8-20; Genesis 8:13-19; John 14:27-29
Saturday 16 May - Rev. Jerry Eve
Having the same portion of a psalm for the third day running, 7 verses from Genesis and 3 from John today, we’re getting off quite lightly today. And yet, as Polonius put it in Hamlet, ‘brevity is (indeed) the soul of wit.’ There is actually a lot we can take from these three readings alone.
The one from John, for example, reminds me of Philippians 4:7, which I often use as a benediction: ‘And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.’ It may well be that Jesus words, recorded by John at 14:27 that, “Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does,” were used as a source for this by Paul.
It’s an idea that has often puzzled me, even as I’ve said these words. How is it, I think to myself, that we, as human beings, can’t understand the meaning of the word peace? And how does the world’s understanding of that word differ from that of Christ’s – and Paul’s? Peace, surely, is peace; nothing more, and nothing less.
But this remains a conundrum, and yet it is one I’ve been helped with by reading work by the late American theologian, Marcus Borg. For, what Marcus said was that much of the New Testament was written as a critique of Roman imperial power, and the way Emperors sought to impose peace by military might. Which, although they were quite successful at it, Marcus points out by reference to Scripture (such as this passage from John) that both Christ and the early Christians challenged the likes of Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero by saying that what they were managing to achieve wasn’t a real peace at all. For, real peace (God’s peace / “my own peace”) they argued, can never be founded on fear, but needs to be grounded in love instead.
Which does, however, still leave me intrigued. For, I do think I (and the world) can understand that. And yet maybe we can’t, when, despite almost 30% of the world’s population being Christian, we are all still so reliant on weapons of war – to, as we claim, keep us safe, and prolong the peace.
Let us pray:
I weave a silence on to my lips,
I weave a silence into my mind,
I weave a silence within my heart.
I close my ears to distractions,
I close my eyes to attractions,
I close my heart to temptations.
Calm me, O Lord, as you stilled the storm.
Still me, O Lord, keep me from harm.
Let all the tumult within me cease.
Enfold me Lord in your peace,
Amen (David Adam 1936 – 2020).