“Peace I leave with you” (John 14:27). If there were no other reason to love Jesus, if there were no other reason to want to be near him, if there were no other reason to think him divine, this would be enough.
Jesus is going away, and his friends and followers are afraid. They feel lost, adrift. They don’t know what they will do without him. They want to keep him near so they can hear his voice and feel the touch of his hand. But soon these opportunities will be lost to them.
Jesus speaks to their troubled hearts and to ours: Peace. So listen. Let all other voices be silenced. Turn from everything that distracts you from the voice of Jesus. Listen to one word: Peace.
Peace to the troubled places in your heart. Peace to the sadness and sorrow you carry. Peace to the anxieties you have about your life and future. Peace to the guilt or shame or regrets you bear.
Listen to the voice of the one who has gone all the way down into death and brought back nothing but life and grace, love and joy. Listen, for he tells you that the God of all creation—the one who formed you—wants this one thing for you: Peace.
You are not condemned. You are not rejected. You are not abandoned. The things you fear can and will hurt you, but they will never snatch you from the love that holds you in eternal hands. Not now. Not ever.
Jesus goes away, but he comes back to us. His Spirit abides in us, with us, among us. Always. He is as real as the person sitting next to you, as physically present as the bread and wine of the holy meal, and as warm as the hearts and hands of those soon to greet you with the word your heart craves: Peace.
From sundaysandseasons.com. Reprinted by permission, License #SAS024465