The Peace That Meets Our Pain

“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.” — John 14:27

Chapters 14–17 of the Gospel of John are known as the Farewell Discourse. It’s the night before Jesus’s crucifixion, immediately following the Last Supper. Having just shared the bread and cup and a special meal with his followers, Jesus gives a long speech to his disciples, sharing all the information they will need to continue doing his work. He is speaking, of course, to prepare them for a time when he will not be physically present with them, a time coming much too soon. 

I wonder how the disciples felt, reclining after their meal and receiving these teachings. What is he talking about? Where is he going? Why is he going? Why weren’t we invited? How can we follow him? (Questioning is an important part of all faith stories — including those in Scripture. Thomas, Nicodemus, Mary Magdalene, and the Samaritan woman at the well stand out as those up-front about their doubt, their hesitations, and their desire to believe; they question Jesus.)

Even if the knowledge will not make sense to the disciples for a while, Jesus teaches. He tells them he is going away, that they cannot follow but he will make a way for them, and that they will be provided for in his absence. Alongside the confusion and wondering, the disciples must have felt anticipatory grief, too.

Even here in the joy of the Easter season, when the resurrection appearances of Jesus form so much of our Scripture readings, an anticipatory or remembered grief will cast its shadow. Alongside the lengthening days, spring flowers, and blossoming trees, there is much to grieve in our own lives.

We live in a world of pain, uncertainty, and fear. We are so (rightfully) worried by what’s happening around us, and amid these worries we’re given something greater. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you,” he tells the disciples — and us — in his parting words. “I do not give to you as the world gives.”

Jesus tells us we will not be left alone. The Holy Spirit will come to dwell with us. Not only will the Holy Spirit comfort us in our grief, but the Holy Spirit will bring us God’s peace. In the world, peace may look like an absence of conflict, but God’s peace is far more powerful; it’s the presence of beauty and justice. God’s peace meets us in our pain and gives us hope for today and the future — for God’s right-now and coming redemption of all things.

It takes faith to live in a world where your identity is dismissed and attacked. It takes faith to live in a world that is denying protections to the most vulnerable. It takes faith to live in a world where the dignity of every human being is not respected. What kind of faith is it that keeps us going on in the face of these devastating challenges?

It’s faith birthed in the greatest gift Jesus leaves us: God’s peace. May your faith and mine be rooted deeply in the blessing of God’s peace, and may our hearts not grow faint, but may we live every day knowing the Holy Spirit dwells in us.

The Rev. Yein Kim

Mother Yein Kim is priest and associate director, Sacramental Life and Membership.

Read all of Sunday’s Scriptures

Step Into the Story

Here are some ways to think more deeply about God’s gift of peace.

Theology

The Rev. Dr. Peter Stube reflects on what it means to “wage peace” in a world where the logic of violence and retaliation so often predominates. “We must find ways to live in Christ’s presence with those we have viewed as far off or even an enemy,” he writes, “until we see Christ in them.”

Visual Art

French Baroque painter Laurent de La Hyre’s The Kiss of Peace and Justice at first seems to show a lovers’ tryst, but it is actually a depiction of the promise from Psalm 85:10 of a time when “justice and peace will kiss each other.” It’s a small reminder that, in Scripture, true peace is inseparable from just relations between all people.

Poetry

Spoken word poet Tanner Olson’s “Let it be peace” imagines how God’s peace accompanies us through our days. “Draw the curtains and bring my eyes to see there has always been beauty in front of me,” he says, “and there always will be.”

Prayer

This simple prayer crystallizes Jesus’s words from our reading and speaks to a deep truth: We do not walk this road alone but in community.

Music

“Come Creator Spirit” is one the most beloved hymns in church history. Sung before papal elections, ordinations, and at many other times, it is a fitting way to prepare to receive again the gift of the Holy Spirit.