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Tuesday 5th Easter
St. Luke’s Institute
May 5, 2015
SHALOM ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø For the word “peace,” Jesus would
have used the word shalom, which has
many meanings
Ø Its meanings include an inner
harmony of head & heart, wholeness, and well-being
Ø Thus peace is more than simply an
end of conflict
Ø Its this “shalom” Jesus gives us
in the very face of his impending suffering and death
SHALOM &
SUFFERING ++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø
He
tells us, “It is necessary for us to
undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God”
Ø
And
he adds, “Pease I leave with you; my
peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you”
Ø
The
shalom Jesus promises his followers flows from their trust in him
Ø
It’s
the kind of peace the apostles could experience within themselves even while
suffering the belligerent attention of persecutors
Ø
The
shalom that comes from Christ, is to a great degree independent of outward
circumstances
Ø
It
is a deep assurance within us of God’s love and presence
Ø
On
the contrary In the world around us, it usually takes at least two to make
peace
A CHANGE OF FOCUS
REQUIRED ++++++++++++++++
Ø The paschal gift of peace then gives
us the inner strength to go forward to whatever our mission is
Ø Suffering, even very intense
suffering, isn’t the focus; it is the means of bringing forth new life
Ø If we are able to accept the
suffering with a sense of trust, focused on the goal and on the new life we are
helping to bring forth…
Ø We will experience that shalom that
Jesus talks about: peace in the face of pain
CONCLUSION
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø Extending a sign of peace, as we
do each morning here at Eucharist to those around us, is meant not only to be a
sign of our pledge to work for peace among each other…
Ø But to give our shalom within us
to that neighbor
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
