https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041424.cfm
Praise be Jesus Christ – forever and ever. Amen.
Welcome to April 2024. So far this month has experienced an eclipse, earthquakes, and floods. The world suffers violence country against country, culture against cultures, and person on person. Political leaders, new agencies, and social media tell us how much we should hate each other. The self-proclaimed prophets in this world are preaching all these things and pointing them to the end of the world.
People believed them. It is something people have done.
Paul warned the early Church about these false preachings - Don’t be troubled or misled by any means – whether it is spirit, spoken word, or false writings. (2 Thes 2) Jesus said, No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. (Mk 13:32)
Why do people calling themselves Christian appoint themselves prophets to spread worry, anxiety, fear, anguish and all those scary feelings and troubled emotions and say it is of God? They proclaim the end is near instead of preaching the good news of Jesus Christ forgetting the Prince of Peace the Word of God,.
I am not going to deny that the end times will come. I just do not know when. I am not going to live fearing the end of time, because in that fear I will not know the joy, peace, and comfort that comes from God.
One thing each of us should know is if these are from God or from the Enemy. If it is something that moves you to happiness and spiritual joy and brings you closer to God. It is from God.
If it brings turmoil and sadness to our hearts and to our lives, it is not of God.
That was on my mind as I prayed with today’s Gos pel. The Gospel Scripture begins in a room full of excitement, anxious chatter, and probably confusion. Just like our world today. Into all of that, the Risen Christ came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
The people in that room were afraid the end was near. Their leader, the one they loved, was crucified. They had a time when sudden darkness came over the whole land from about noon until three in the afternoon, the earth shook, the rocks split, tombs broke open, and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. They hid behind locked doors, because people wanted to kill them.
Then Jesus appears in their midst. All those in the room were startled and terrified. Maybe Jesus should have asked, have you already forgotten me and all I told you? Instead, he brings peace. “Peace be with you.” And asks, “Why are you troubled? And, why do questions arise in your hearts?”
Jesus did not want them worried, troubled, or terrified; so, he speaks to them this word “shalom.” The word shalom means peace be with you, welcome, hello, and goodbye. It literally translates “may you be filled with a complete and perfect peace and be full of well-being.”
But, Jesus’ shalom is much more. It is shalom of the “peace of mind and spirit” that comes from the love Jesus taught. (Shalom) Peace I leave with you; my peace (shalom) I give 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. John 14:27
Jesus' shalom was spoken not just for the disciples gathered in that room. Christ speaks his shalom to all humanity. The ones who denied him. Friends that ran away when trouble came. People that did not understand.
The Risen Christ gives his shalom to those whom Peter preached. The ones who denied Jesus and chose another. People like us today.
We are the same people denying him by looking away; not seeing the poor, the hungry, the sick, or those in prison. Denying him finding it convenient to miss mass; but, inconvenient to stay past the hour.
In our denial, Jesus speaks to us his “shalom.”
We are the same people, who instead of preaching the good news of Jesus Christ sit in dark rooms worried and troubled by false teachings and not opening their mind to understand truth. We do not know the Word of God. We do not know the love of God. Maybe it is ignorance. In our ignorance, Jesus speaks to us his “shalom.”
We are the same people, who crucify him by choosing the world and rejecting him. The same people who have time for rumors, false prophets, and sinfulness; but, no time to stop, pray, and discern the voice of God speaking to us. In a world of sinners that chooses death over life, the risen Christ brings his love and peace, his “shalom.”
Christ brings the divine shalom of God. Jesus brings the peace of God to each of us who believe in him. He brings peace to the hearts and minds of those who seek to know his truth.
Peace that comes to us from the forgiveness of sins. Peace of mind and spirit found in our justification and redemption. His “shalom - peace” is wholeness, soundness, tranquility, fullness, rest, perfection and harmony. Jesus does not want us to be worried, troubled, or terrified.
The Risen Christ brings his “peace” full of grace and righteousness. Friends, it is for us to preach the truth of that good news to the world.
Be good, be holy, and preach the Good News of the Peace of Christ by the way you live your life and live him shalom. Praise be Jesus Christ – forever and ever. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment