The Gospel of Luke, chapter 10:5-6

When peace reigns, life flourishes. Neighbor turns to neighbor; doors begin to open; people gather in homes and in open spaces to talk freely and to share their experiences.

We tend to confuse peace with passivity. Possibly, because violence, it’s opposite, which solves nothing, is so aggressive. But peace must be active, too. Today’s gospel story (Luke 10:5-6) records the success of Jesus’ disciples. They were out carrying the gift of peace everywhere and they depended on the peaceful intent of those with whom they spoke. The disciples are overflowing with enthusiasm in today’s gospel; they seem to outdo one another, telling success stories about the fruits of peace wherever they went. They were armed with the sword of the spirit, and they used all of the spiritual means at their disposal, all the qualities of the gospel to achieve peace.

Peace must be waged with as much vigor as war. St. Paul ends his letter to the people in Galatia talking about peace. He had won peace at a high price. His small community of Christians was being swayed and confused by instigators who preached another gospel of factionalism. The settlement of difficulties and issues took blood, sweat and tears, and St. Paul bore the scars of the battle. The peace of Christ must be forged in the crucible of struggle; that is the lesson the followers of Christ discovered as ambassadors of his peace in as sinful world.

When you clasp the hand of a friend or visitor during the sign of peace at Mass, let it be a reminder that our task as Christians is to effectively bring peace into our world. We must wage peace the way others wage war. We must be prepared to extract the stings of whatever snakes and scorpions are within us or about us. We must work at Peace.

Blessed are the peacemakers for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Peace!

Fr. Hugh Duffy