“Peace is a Who”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
January 14-15, 2023
Gospel: John 1:29-34
29 The next day, he saw Jesus coming towards him and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. 30 It was of Him that I said, “Behind me comes one who has passed ahead of me because He existed before me.” 31 I did not know Him myself, and yet my purpose in coming to baptise with water was so that He might be revealed to Israel.’ 32 And John declared, ‘I saw the Spirit come down on Him like a dove from heaven and rest on Him. 33 I did not know Him myself, but He who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, “The Man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is to baptise with the Holy Spirit.” 34 I have seen and I testify that He is the Chosen One of God.’
This happened to me several times while I was overseas. The Army had some “guests” we were keeping. Apparently, they didn’t like our hospitality and began to riot. So, we sent in the Quick Reaction Force (QRF), and the riot ended rather quickly. That’s all I can tell you about that. But peace reigned again. I like that. But that’s not the peace our good Lord was talking about. He didn’t mean sending angels down to do a quick and brutal beat down on people. He was talking about the peace in our soul. Peace is not a “what”. Peace is a “Who.” Jesus is our peace, and He is a “Who.” If we want peace, we must have that “Who” inside of us. This gift of peace is one that the world cannot take away. “We want peace on Earth!” Great. I’m all for that. I was in an organization that enforced peace, but I’d much rather see people convert to Christ than receive an American bullet.
If you want peace, let Christ into your souls. Then you will have peace and a lot of happiness. That happiness will be deep and abiding. It will change over time and become deeper. It will be different, but different is not always bad. The true way to peace is Christ. It is not a negotiation. Negotiations involve conflict and don’t get to the root cause. The root cause of evil in the world is sin. “Nobody ever says that!” Shocking! The way to peace is Christ.
In every 12-Step Program, what is the basis for maintaining sobriety or abstinence? Do participants just “white knuckle” it? In these programs, there is a phase in which people have a spiritual awakening. They have something far better. They have God in their souls, and they no longer want the booze or drugs. It’s in the literature…check it. The same is true for us. Having Christ in our souls is how we get peace.
Recently, we had a Spanish quinceañera for a 15-year-old girl, and I gave her the secret to happiness. You all know what the secret to happiness is don’t you? It is to be holy. I haven’t done my job in over 18 years if you don’t know that by now. It is to be holy – that’s what Jesus said, and I tend to remember my boss’ words. You will have a peace that nobody can take from you. Look it up. It’s in the black part of the Book. He said, “You will have a peace that no one can take from you.” Our happiness lies in a Person and not in things. Even rich people get upset – did you know that? I was the curate at the richest parish in the diocese, and we had people who would get upset even though they had boo-koo cha-ching. The secret to happiness is having peace in your soul. And that peace comes with Christ.
That inner peace – that place where Christ resides in our souls – cannot be removed by any outward occurrence, be it spiritual or temporal. It can only be removed by us through neglect or unrepentant venial sin and directly by committing mortal sin and throwing Christ out of our souls. The only thing that can take our peace away is us. People may challenge our peace, and bad things may happen to us. We may get Covid. We may have our cars scratched. We may get cut off in traffic. People may give us the one finger salute. I’ve been here for 18 years, and I haven’t been made a Monsignor yet. And I’m very hurt. Saint Teresa of Avila said, “If this is how you treat your friends, Lord, no wonder you have so few.” Granted, sometimes our peace may be threatened, and we’ll be upset. But that is just normal.
Two by-products of having Christ in our souls is that it gets better and better the closer you grow to Christ. Your situations will be different that’s true. You’ll be older, maybe not as good looking, and you may not have as much hair. Nowadays at the barber shop, I try to convince myself that “I’m too sexy for my hair.” But whether it’s by scissor or by time, I’m losing mine. Your happiness will increase as your love for Christ and His presence in your soul increases. You will find that you will have more energy because you won’t be distracted by fighting all those other things.
The second by-product of having Christ in your soul is that you will have more friends. You’ll have more people who want to be around you and not because of the things you bake or cook although I appreciate that as your pastor. People will like being around you. They may not be able to define it, but there is something about you that they like being around. They feel wonderful while they are with you and as they leave. You will bring Christ to them. Look at Saint Teresa of Calcutta and Saint John Paul II. People wanted to be around them – not to ask questions or ask for favors – but just to be with them. Why? Because of He who was inside their souls. And He who was inside them can also be inside us. This is the peace our Lord has come to offer us. Whether we take it or not is up to us.
How will you apply this message to your life? ________________________________________
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