May 25, 2025: Sixth Sunday of Easter
John 14:23-29
Jesus said to Judas (not Iscariot), “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.
“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.”
Jesus’ parting words to his disciples are full of love and hope. He is trying to convey that though he will be leaving his beloved friends, the Holy Spirit will remain with them “and remind you of all that I have said to you” (John 14: 26). Jesus wants to let his disciples know he will not leave them bereft, and so as a final farewell gift he gives them the gift of his peace, a peace that is not of this world.
Just the other day, I saw this beautiful gift of Jesus’ peace evident in the face of a patient who suffers from ALS. Though she could barely speak and could no longer swallow food, her face was radiant with love and joy. Smiling, she shared that she felt blessed and expressed gratitude for her life. I could only look on in amazement that this woman, who by the world’s standards was so diminished by physical challenges, was yet so filled with God’s peace. She was an example to me that true peace comes from within, and not from external circumstances.
In this time of fear and uncertainty, when war, poverty and estrangement from others and ourselves are everyday occurrences, it is difficult if not impossible to know the peace of Jesus. It is not something that we can achieve by our own power but is a gift from God borne of love and being in relationship with God. “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” (John 14: 23). Rather than focus on all that is dark in our world, we ask for the grace to allow Jesus to make His home in us so that we may not only receive the gift of His peace, but pass it along to others.