‘Peace be with you’, says Jesus to his friends. ‘Peace be with you’, I say at all our Eucharist services in church. ‘Peace be with you’, we all then say to one another.
In the wider context of our world, however, our words are in danger of seeming rather trivial, an almost meaningless exchange. As we see scenes of devastation and unspeakable suffering caused by widespread conflict, we NEED ‘Peace be with you’, to mean something more than ‘Have a nice day!’
Guli Francis Deqhani, the Iranian-born Bishop of Chelmsford, experienced an assassination attempt on her parents, and the murder of her 24 year old brother. She fled Iran, age 14, to become a refugee in Britain. Having suffered so much as a result of violence, Deqhani has explored the theme of peace and its meaning to people in the Middle East. She wrote: ‘Peace is not just the absence of war. When Middle Easterners greet one another with shalom or salaam, they are saying so much more…..Peace is about healthy and enduring relationships, of living harmoniously with one another and the whole of creation. This kind of peace is not so much about removing difficulties or challenges, but about how these are navigated, with gentleness, calmness and hope.’
Our Gospels explore this ‘navigation’ towards peace. At the Last Supper, Jesus says to his friends; ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid.’ After the resurrection, Jesus again says, ‘Peace be with you.’ Jesus was fully aware that peace is not easily come by. There is no glibness here. He suffers the worst that violence brings and yet offers peace at every stage. The peace that the world cannot offer is the peace which recognises that, in spite of all the hurt and harm the world inflicts, God’s compassion and care remain firm. God’s love is embodied there in Jesus standing once more amongst his friends.
Jesus has navigated his way, and shows us a way, through the storm; ‘True peace, says Deqhani, is about reconciliation – the restoring of that which is harmed, damaged, or broken.’
So, when we share the sign of peace in church we are sharing in that hope of reconciliation, affirming that while fear and conflict are all too real, there are ways for us to mend, restore, and rebuild.
‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you’, says Jesus. Violence must not have the last word, and we have work to do – easing fears and offering companionship, building community and restoring relationships – peace bearers, peace makers, peace navigators.
Revd Kate McFarlane