Fr. John Ryan

 

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

13th May 2007

 

During the discourse at the Last Supper as outlined by John, Jesus addresses many things but they tend to converge on relationship - his relationship with the Father and our corresponding with relationship with God. He goes to great pains to tell us that we are loved and are called to love and in the lived experience of the mission to love we are supported, accompanied by God, Father, Son and Spirit. Love for Christ results in our keeping his word; it leads to an active belief. We are called, in love, not just to believe in Jesus but also to believe Jesus.
In order to live this commitment of love, a commitment that can bring its challenges and trials, Jesus promises his peace - peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you - and he asks us to trust, not to let our hearts be troubled or afraid. In order to reach that level of calmness we must listen to him and ensure that the relationship we have with him is kept alive and nourished.
An interesting feature of this gift of peace is that Jesus says the world cannot give it to us. It is an inner peace, a spiritual peace, one that calms the heart, mind and soul. It is a peace there for the taking, so to speak, freely offered to us. What is a shame is that there are so many people in the world who suffer stress and tension and cannot see that a deep relationship with Jesus Christ can help to relieve all that stress. His peace, that inner peace born out of the reciprocal love between God and us is the answer to the toils and troubles of the world. Today, instead of turning to Jesus, many turn to various alternatives in order to restore the balance of mind and body. During the week I came across a brochure for a new health spa, attached to a very reputable hotel and I was absolutely bemused at the range of therapies and treatments on offer -all for a price - ranging from hair removal (an eyebrow costs 20 euro to remove), 'Resurfacing facials' (99euro), Aromatherapy Mud Steam Serial (for 1-150 euro), Himalayan Ayurvedic Bathing Treatment (225 euro), Private Spa Suite, 3 hours of treatment for two plus lunch (530 euro) and everything else in between. Peace, calm, 'beauty' therapy and physical rejuvenation at a price is costly - and temporary. It is a stop gap measure clutching at straws fro the peace of mind and contentment that we all seek.
St. Augustine said: My heart shall not rest until it rests in thee, addressing God in whom he recognised the true oasis for the human person. God is the source of true and lasting peace - offered to us for nothing and realised in relationship with him. It is a peace which leads to self-acceptance, recognition of the inner beauty we have been granted by God - a beauty not reliant on waxing, exfoliation, eyelash tinting et al, but on the recognition of our being created in God's image and likeness. It is a real pity that so many fail to see that Jesus offers us what we are looking for on the basis of the most positive of things, love, and we turn it down, instead, trusting in things that rest on a negative foundation of discontentment with ourselves and which ultimately can lead to a deepening of discontentment rather than granting the peace that we seek.
A peace that the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. May we reach out and accept the gift that is being offered and appreciate the Lord who offers it to us.