Easter 6 – 2022
John 14:23-29
Marian Free
In the name of God in whom we find true peace. Amen.
Maya Angelou was a multi-talented, black, American civil-rights activist who was raised by her grandmother Annie in the American South. In the first of her seven autobiographies, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” Maya tells the following story. Her grandmother, who owned a successful general store, was sitting on a rocking chair in front of the store when a group of young white girls began jeering her and making offensive, racist comments. One of the girls actually stood on her hands so that her skirt fell down and exposed her bare buttocks. While this was going on Annie simply sat there, apparently unperturbed. The young Maya was furious and couldn’t understand why her grandmother wasn’t reacting to the girls’ insulting behaviour. It was only when she moved closer to her grandmother that Maya heard her singing quietly: “Bread of heaven, bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more.” Annie continued singing to herself as she got up and returned to the store .
Secure of her place in God’s love and of God’s presence in her life, Annie refused to allow her peace and sense of self and worth to be disturbed by something that was beyond her control. Nothing those girls said or did could ruffle or upset her.
It is hard for many of us to imagine being so caught up in the presence of God and so sure that Jesus has made a home with us, that the daily irritations of life are unable penetrate the deep sense of peace that comes from having faith in Jesus! Yet this is the peace that Jesus offers his disciples – not peace in a worldly sense (for that would be impossible) – a peace that is not dependent on what is going on in the world around us, but a peace that derives from a relationship with God – a peace that is nothing less than “a profound and holistic sense of well-being” .
Such peace is not just for the monastics as Annie’s story demonstrates. It is a peace that is promised to anyone that calls themselves a disciple of Jesus.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to 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.”
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.” This is the second time that Jesus has uttered these words in this chapter. How can he say such a thing and at such a time? Jesus must have known, as he was preparing the disciples for his departure, what lay ahead – what he would have to face and what the disciples would have to experience. In the next few hours, days and weeks, the disciples would be exposed to situations that would pull the ground from under them and would fill them with trauma and terror. Jesus’ arrest, trial and crucifixion would leave them confused and shocked, fearful for their own lives. On that very night their hopes and dreams would be crushed, and they would feel lost and abandoned by the one whom they had thought would change the world. Yet, instead of giving the disciples advice about how to cope when their world falls apart, Jesus is telling them not to worry! It is rather like telling passengers on an airplane not to panic when they look out of the plane window and see that an engine is on fire!
Don’t panic! As if that we even possible!
Don’t panic when the storms of life rage about you. Don’t panic when your children leave home. Don’t panic when the doctor gives you bad news. Don’t panic when things are not going as you planned. Don’t panic when the bombs are falling. Don’t panic because Jesus has promised to come and live with you. Don’t panic because you are utterly loved and never alone.
The night before he died, Jesus knew the horrors in front of him – the betrayal, the ignominy, the excruciating agony. Despite this, he managed to keep his composure. He found the grace to put his own concerns behind him and to minister to his confused companions. Jesus was able do this not because he had some mistaken notion that God would ensure that he wouldn’t suffer but because, having placed his confidence in God, he refused to let the unfolding events determine how he felt and, more particularly, how he reacted. Throughout his passion Jesus, he calmly, silently accepted the events as they unfolded – no matter how cruel, how unjust or how soul-destroying they were.
Jesus didn’t panic when he was falsely accused and arrested. He didn’t panic when all his friends abandoned him. He didn’t panic when he faced a kangaroo court or when people bayed for his blood. He didn’t panic when he was handed the death sentence. Jesus’ absolute trust in God and in God’s purpose for him gave him the strength to remain calm and to hold his peace.
Today, more than at any time since the Second World War, peace on a world scale appears to be an elusive, even an impossible goal. So long as individuals and nations are driven by greed, anger, fear, insecurity, competitiveness, or a sense of incompleteness, there can be no peace. And until we – you and I and all who claim to believe in Jesus – can truly grasp and integrate into our lives Jesus’ promise of peace, there can be no peace in the world.
If only we could all be like Annie, like our Saviour. If only we could learn to so trust in God that we could be calm and self-contained when the storms of life rage around us, when others deride and revile us or when we see that others have more than us.
There will be no peace in the world, until we are at peace with ourselves, until we – who claim to believe – take up Jesus’ promise of peace.
Swallowsrest 