True Peace

“I just can’t find any peace” she said, so I ask her, “where have you been looking?”

     For years I have tried to find peace within myself and one thing I am sure of, it does not exist. Self-produced peace is impossible, though many have claimed they have it. I am sure many are thinking now about swami’s or meditation gurus who claim inner peace as obtainable through study and reflection. In this I would agree, it is indeed possible to obtain a level of inner peace through the process of exclusion and avoidance. This type of inner peace is far from the universal and all encompassing peace that Jesus promises us. This type of inner peace, if you will notice, always results in the practitioner removing him/her self from common society, avoiding places of conflict and cloistering in order to control their surroundings. This type of peace is fragile and defensive and can be easily overpowered by the environment or by thoughts and emotions.

     This view of inner peace is based on the premise that it is the world around us that drives peace away. Through study, reflection and repetition the individual trains their mind to relegate, denigrate or ignore the world to control the emotions. While this provides a level of derivative peace, it cannot produce true peace because it is actually the war within that makes peace impossible.

     We were created to be in constant fellowship with God (Genesis 3:8, Gen. 5:1) and St. Paul reminds us that, apart from Christ, we are “far from God” (Colossians 1:21). Separation from God distances us from true peace in the same way that separation from each other robs of true fellowship. True peace can only be found when we are in fellowship with Christ. St. Paul reminds us that the “peace which passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) is found only in Christ Jesus, not in ourselves. Without a depth of relationship with Jesus, our own sinful actions leave us “without hope and without God” (Ephesians 2:12) and certainly without peace.

     To find the peace we so desire we must not look within, there we will only find transitory, fleeting glimpses of peace rocked and swayed by emotion and opinion. No, we must seek fellowship with Jesus, the Prince of Peace, through whom we are united with the Father (John 3:16-18). Jesus came to earth to bridge the gap between sinful man and a Holy God, “For He Himself is our peace, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall” (Ephesians 2:14). This union with Christ will obliterate our false view of peace, as Jesus said, “I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It is not like the peace that this world can give. So don’t be worried or afraid.” (John 14:27)

     The Peace of Christ does not require that we avoid conflict or seclude ourselves away. The Peace of Christ is peace in the midst of turmoil, strife and pain, it is peace in the face of fear, foreboding and uncertainty. The Peace of Christ is peace in all of our relationships and encounters and is a gift that is to be shared in the midst of conflict. As you learn to walk each day turning to Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, you will begin to experience the peace that is promised as part of the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22; Isaiah 32:17). As your relationship grows, “God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand” (Philippians 4:7).

Let us Pray:
“Dear Lord Jesus, I am lacking Your perfect peace. Please help me to turn my heart and mind toward You. I know that I am involved in a spiritual battle and that the enemy seeks to destroy the peace I can only find in You. Forgive me, Lord, for seeking peace apart from You and strengthen me according to Your Word. Amen.”
 
In the Peace of Christ,
Fr. Bill+