Chasing peace and love

If we were to really start to think about the Gospel message then we begin to understand our paucity of knowledge. In the Gospel passage from John (14.23-29) there are three things that need to be noted and for us to know in our hearts as if they were a natural part of ourselves. The first is love, the second is peace and the third which is between these two is the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide. I can hear it now but we do know love; we do know peace; and perhaps we will acknowledge that the Spirit is a little bit beyond our comprehension. In saying that I think we need to look at our definitions and our knowledge a little more closely and ask ourselves the question: What is (peace, love, the Spirit)? I think that at the end of the day we will come up with a zero sum answer that tells us that we actually do not KNOW these things that we speak so glibly about.

Let's take peace first. The peace that Christ gives to us through his presence for this is truly what peace is about. In speaking about peace we often use war as a referral as the opposite to what we wish for. This is perhaps the violent option and the peace that comes with the cessation of violence in our lives is a harbinger of peace in terms of what we are striving for when we think along the scriptural lines. If I was to ask, Can we have peace in the face of and in the presence of violence? I wonder what our response would be? Many I am sure not all but many would suggest that this is one of the pre-requisites for peace that there be no violence. Yet, Christ offers us and indeed gifts to us something that is greater than this paltry expression. I would suggest that there are greater moments of peace than just security from violence. I would also suggest that the moments of peace that are found outside the absence of violence are often greater than those that are found as a result of the absence of violence. Of course the latter helps but it does not mean that when there is no violence that there is peace within the community or even the individual. We must strive towards the understanding that peace is so much more than what we believe.

True peace is not found in the absence of violence

If we move on to love, can we really say that we know what this actually is when it is in our lives? Indeed can we have true love in the absence of peace? Many people would see love as being something that is either tacky or mushy depending on the age group we are speaking to. We may even conceive of love as having something to do with cooperation or openness to the other. However, our practice of love is often the opposite of the openness that Christ showed. Our love is protective and a jealous love. We do not want others to be part of our love and push them to the outside if they do not conform with our ideas and our ideals. We are jealous of others that appear to have a deeper love then ourselves and moan when we are unable to achieve what we aspire to because of our own jealousies. God's love is freely given to all and encompasses a diverse population. Christ opens his heart to those who are shunned and in need. Christ does not preference any one group and is as sharp with his commentary of his disciples as he is of those that are not. This is the completeness of love to be able to be fully open sharing your thoughts fully without fearing condemnation from the other.

Where does the Spirit of God fit in? The Spirit of God is the one that shows us the difference between our conceptions and those of God. When we are filled with God's Spirit we are able to fulfill the demands of God's peace and love without condemning the other. The manifestation of the Spirit is not necessarily showy and effusive. It may be a simple opening of our hearts to someone that comes into our lives and needs the tender care of God's presence through God's love and peace and we become that conduit. God is not showy. God works on the periphery of life bringing hope into the hearts of those who are shattered and without hope. It is when we begin to recognise the fullness of God's presence that we begin to understand what it means to have God's peace and love in our lives.