By Ishongkun Kurbah csc –
Readings: Acts 14: 19-28; Jn 14: 27-31
“My peace I give onto you it is a peace that the world cannot give.” Jesus knew that he would leave his disciples and the world shortly. Therefore, he promised them his peace and exhorted them to not let their hearts be troubled.
After his ascension, the disciples’ hearts were troubled, they were confused and did not know what to do. And they were hiding in fear to save their lives until the promise of Jesus was kept up, which was to send an advocate to keep the disciples out of trouble or clear their doubts.
With this, the disciples feared no more and experienced real peace from within, even amidst the trials and tribulation they faced for witnessing Christ. Maybe that is why Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, I do not give to you as the world gives.” It is indescribable that in the middle of trial and suffering, one finds peace.
How can a person find peace while in physical torment, pain, poverty, hunger or brokenness? It is hard to explain. I think the answer lies in this question, ‘where do we seek peace?’ There are some people who are happy and peaceful even if they are materially poor. There are also people, who are not happy and peaceful because they are poor materially. These people may think that by becoming rich, they will be happy and find peace. So, they may even use unfair and corrupt means to gather wealth. And there are people, who are rich and can afford almost everything, but they are not happy and find no internal peace.
It is not the wealth and richness of the world that can give them peace. We have many saints in our Catholic Church like St. Antony of desert and St. Francis of Assisi and so on. I have come across such people who find no peace and happiness in gaining and accumulating worldly wealth. They choose another path, the path that leads to Jesus. So strong is their faith that it is incredibly inspirational for us that even in their hardships, they still held on to hope and put their trust in Jesus. They are happy and willing to share with others. That is why Jesus says, “My peace I give to you, I do not give to you as the world gives.”