What does the peace greeting mean?

Last month we reflected on how God’s ways differ from ours by examining the life of Jesus. In this article, I will try to show how we can bridge the gap between God’s ways and our idea of things by surrendering ourselves to God in all situations.

Let’s start with Abraham, our father in faith. In Genesis 15 we are told God said to him: “Look up at the sky and count the stars — if indeed you can count them … So shall your offspring be”.
Abraham could not count the stars, and he and his wife were too old to have children. It was inconceivable that a man and a woman of that age could have children — let alone that number of children! But the Bible makes a point of telling us: “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness”. It was the same absolute faith in God which made Abraham obey the command to sacrifice his son (Genesis 22).

Abraham did not have a full understanding of what God meant, but we now know that not only did he and Sarah have a son, Isaac, but the promise of children as numerous as the stars of heaven has been fulfilled.

Today there are literally billions of people who acknowledge Abraham as their father in faith, in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We, the children of Abraham, are, from generation to generation, as impossible to count as the stars of heaven! God’s meaning of children was clearly different from what Abraham understood, but Abraham had faith in God.

a prirest exchanges the sign of peace with fellow clergy (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz, Long Island Catholic) (Oct. 7, 2011) See PRIESTS-ROSSETTI Oct. 7, 2011.

The bulk of the Christian children of Abraham seem to be in a situation where they misunderstand an important dimension of their faith without the kind of faith and surrender to God that Abraham had.

After his resurrection, Jesus had a favourite expression which he used to greet his disciples: “Peace be with you!” Today in the Catholic Church and other Christian churches, the peace greeting is an important part of worship.

We Catholics just love the peace greeting. It is a lively part of the Mass and songs have been composed about peace which we sing with great jubilation. We have done this over 2000 years, and yet we still live in a world of war, turmoil and tribulation.

So, where is the peace that we make such song and dance about? Has Jesus failed, then, to give us the peace he promised?

This is not to say that we should not pray for peace in our countries and the world; but we need to have a deeper understanding of what Jesus meant by peace. A key to an understanding of what Jesus meant is what he said to his disciples before he was arrested, tortured and crucified: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (Jn 14:27).

Jesus never promised us protection from the problems and challenges of this life. On the contrary, he said: “In this world you will have trouble” (Jn 16:33). The world will always have wars and all kinds of problems.

Jesus also said: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.” What Jesus is talking about, therefore, is spiritual and psychological peace — the peace of mind that comes to us because we remain connected to him and we have faith in God and surrender ourselves to God in the face of all trials and tribulations.

This absolute trust in God and surrender to God is the kind of faith that Abraham had. It is this faith in God that gives us the peace and joy that the apostle Paul refers to, the kind of peace that the world cannot give:

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:4-7).