Surrounded and Unafraid!

Gospel: John 14:23-29

²³Jesus answered [Judas (not Iscariot),] “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
 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.”

 

^27”Peace 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.”

 

 

Could any words of Jesus be more appropriate today than these? Our peace is shaken as we hear more about those killed and the survivors in Buffalo. On the heels of racism against black people, we hear of another incident in California, this time against Asian people, at a church no less! We certainly expect safety as we’re shopping and as we’re going to church.

 

Jesus doesn’t promise us that life will be easy, without pain, without danger, but he does promise his presence, his peace. Jesus calls us to trust in him, to be unafraid, with untroubled hearts. 

 

Jesus promised his disciples the Holy Spirit, who would be with them in his absence. The Spirit would teach and remind the disciples of all Jesus’ teaching. The icing on the cake, though, is his peace for those disciples who would soon keenly feel their Lord’s absence. 

 

How about us? In difficult, unsettled times like ours, how can we lean in to God? How can we receive this promised peace, even when we certainly don’t feel it now? I suggest spending even one to two minutes a day in quiet. Be still in God’s presence and tell God just how you feel. Then listen for God’s voice. Hear the words of the psalmist:

 

‘“Be still, and know that I am God!
    I am exalted among the nations;
    I am exalted in the earth.’”
¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psalm 46:10-11).

 

I’d love to hear from you regarding how you have/have not experienced God’s presence as you’ve taken these steps. Let me know.

 

As Paul wrote to the Romans, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). 

 

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