5th Tuesday of Lent (March 24). Be shalom

Prepare to Listen.  You are the light of the world.
 
Prayerfully Read John 14:25-31
25“I have said these things to you while I am still with you.  26But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.  27Peace 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.  28You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’  If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.  29And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur you may believe.  30I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me, 31but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.  Rise, let us be on our way.
 
Prayerfully Wonder
John 14 begins and ends with the same instruction from Jesus: “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”  They were troubled and afraid because Jesus said he was leaving them.  To encourage them, he gave this assurance: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”  “Faced with the emptiness of Jesus’ departure,” writes Neyrey, “the disciples are given fulness; that is, shalom, or peace.”[1]
 
Peace, from the Hebrew shalom, is more than the absence of disorder, violence, disunity.  It’s also more than brokering peace between warring parties.  Shalom has to do with wholeness, wellbeing, flourishing.  It’s about thriving not merely surviving.  And it’s not just for individuals.  Shalom is for the whole community.  When we work together, we’ll experience wellbeing and fruitfulness, that is, the peace, shalom Jesus gives to troubled hearts.
 
When bad stuff happens, our default mode is often fear.  Jesus didn’t rebuke his disciples for being afraid, but was compassionate.  Their future without him was unknown.  Of course they were fearful.  His compassion is also for us in our fears: ‘Don’t let your hearts be afraid; don’t let fear take over so that you respond badly.  Instead, receive my peace, a peace that works towards the wellbeing and fruitfulness of all.’
 
A friend ends her correspondence with, “May we be peace.”  I borrow her phrase.  May we be those who seek the welfare of all, enemy and friend, and live so they flourish and are fruitful.
 
How can you participate with God in not only giving but also being shalom to your neighbors, those you like and those you don’t, today?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Lord, help me be your shalom to those I interact with today, regardless of their race, gender, creed, political leanings.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Be shalom.
[1] Neyrey, Jerome H.  The Gospel of John.  New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.  2007, p. 252.