Word of the Week

Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Peace: Eirene (Gk): meaning “peace” or “harmony”, behind it stands a Hebrew term shalom, which means “family accord; well being.”

Peace is a goal of the Christian life as indicated by Jesus Christ who said: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be children of God” (Mt.5:9) (glossary, 892). Peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal.5:22-23) in which the Holy Spirit makes manifest the Kingdom of heaven here on earth (CCC 1832).  In addition, The Fifth precept of the Church, “You shall help provide for the needs of the Church” (CCC 2043), calls the Christian faithful to preserve and work for peace, which is “the work of justice and effect of charity” (CCC 2304).  A life lived in peace is a participation in the life of Christ who is the “Prince of Peace” (Is.9:5) (CCC 2305).

The aforementioned Greek, eirene, is used 92 times in the NT and often carries with it the OT understanding of family order, which speaks of being in covenant relationship with God. This old covenant sense of peace can be found over 250 times in the Old Testament. Furthermore, the OT understanding of peace was also tied to “the expectation that the Messiah, the Prince of Peace (Is.9.6), would come to establish a worldwide covenant of peace with Israel and all the nations (Ezek.34:23; Zech.9.9)” (Hahn and Minch, 33).  Essentially, the biblical understanding of peace has more to do with spiritual welfare than the mere delaying or ceasing of warfare. Genuine peace stems from reconciliation with God (Lk.2:14, Rom.5:1, 2 Cor5:18-20) and is the great blessing that our Lord and Savior has to offer mankind (Jn.14:27) (Hahn and Minch, 33). Consider when Christ blessed the people with those familiar words “Peace be with you” (Jn.20:19, 21, 26) or “go in peace” (Mk.5:34, Lk.7:50, 8:48). If it is the greeting and/or blessing from the lips of our Lord and Savior, then it must be what we live in if we are going to know our Lord and Savior.
 
The peaceful heart is the contemplative heart. Peace leads to an inward movement of the heart that branches out to establish accord between all peoples. The fruit of peace is wisdom that enables the person to assess all things in light of God. Unless peace is rooted in Christ, secularism will devour the false sense of peace and it will dissolve. For this reason, we are called to be heralds of the Gospel and live in ‘well being.’ Peace is more than just the absence of something as much as it is the ownership of faith in someone. Authentic peace is revealed in conflict. The trials we so often face in life calls for an inward peace that belongs to Christ. In Christ, we can then confront that stormy circumstance with the calming words of Christ, “Peace! Be still” (Mk.4:39).

“Peace is the tranquility of order”

--St. Augustine

Primary Texts Consulted

•  Catholic Bible. Suggested trans. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition.
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, 1997.
•  Hahn, Scott and Minch , Curtis. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, Colossians, Philemon.  RSV, 2nd ed. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2001.

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