Heralds of Divine Peace!

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Acts 14:19-28; Jn 14:27-31a

Today’s Gospel highlights the meaning of peace that Jesus promises his disciples. 

However, the promise of Jesus carries a clarification. The peace of Christ is not the same as worldly peace. It is different. Followed by this clarification, Jesus also utters words of comfort to strengthen them so that their hearts may not be troubled or discouraged. The statement of Jesus seems to contain a foreboding message for his disciples. 

If Jesus utters words of comfort after promising peace, what kind of peace is that? How is it different from the one that the world gives? How should we be prepared to accept it and proclaim the same to others? 

These are the questions that prompt our reflection for today. 

Worldly Peace: Worldly peace often signifies the absence of conflict. It is a form of passive existence that remains indifferent to what happens to others. It may often be silence or absence of noise. This kind of peace is shallow and transient, lasting only a short time. 

Peace of Christ: Whereas the peace that Jesus promises flows from the satisfaction of having intervened for the sake of others. It is a choice to suffer or endure pain for the sake of love and justice. Jesus’ victory over evil defines Divine Peace, and the cross became the symbol of it. 

Proclamation of Peace: Our mission is to proclaim peace by comforting others that Christ has overcome the world and its chaos. In a world marked by fear and instability, Christians are to persuade others to trust in God’s purposes even when they are not immediately clear. 

Let us pray that we may be heralds of the Divine Peace that Jesus has assured for us all. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar