We have all come to a fork in the road in our lives, and we took it. Whether we took the right fork is not always clear, but we made a choice. Jesus presents his disciples with a fork in the road that reveals the decisive character of his mission. On the one hand, he says to the disciples, “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division” (Lk 12:51). Yet, at the last supper, he says to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled” (Jn 14:27). So, which is it? Does Jesus bring peace or does he bring division?
As contradictory as it sounds, he brings both. The purpose of his mission in one sense is to expose the illusions and false values of the world. Jesus uses fire to symbolize the emotional urgency he feels in accomplishing this goal, even at the cost of his own life. Jesus shares this yearning with his disciples when he says that he came to set the earth on fire and longs for the day when that will be a reality. His sense of urgency indicates the powerful transformation his message will have through the Spirit.
Jesus’ coming into the world is therefore a spiritually decisive moment. Jesus comes with a message that will divide those who choose to follow him from those who don’t. One either accepts his message or one rejects it. There is no in between. As he puts it, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Mt 12:30). Even in our own day, we cannot stand on the sidelines, waiting for the right moment. Withholding a decision to follow Jesus is in effect a decision not to follow him. So much for the division brought about by his coming into the world.
Jesus also comes as the Prince of Peace with a message that seeks peace and unity guided by the eyes of love (Is 9:5). This is why Jesus often uses the greeting “Peace be with you” throughout his earthly mission. His greeting shows that bringing peace is his primary intention, but a different kind of peace than the peace offered by the world. Jesus brings peace of heart. Do not let your hearts be troubled, he says. But, how does that happen? What brings about unity and peace of heart? How do we realize the peace that Jesus guarantees (see Jn 14:27)?
In a word, trust—trust in God and following his Word rather than our own devices. Placing our trust in God underscores our vulnerability, for sure, but trust in God is the only road to unity and peace of heart. St. Paul relies on this premise in his letter to the Philippians when he says, “Only the peace of God can guard our hearts and sustain us in times of trouble” (Phil 4:7; Col 3:15).
Although achieving peace today can be a difficult challenge, many of St. Paul’s letters offer sound advice in that regard. In his letter to the Ephesians, for example, Paul urges us to live in a manner worthy of the calling that we have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace (Eph 4:1-6). This advice suggests that peace and unity are fundamentally a matter of choice. We can choose to live in unity and peace with our neighbor, or not.
To realize that goal, Paul urges us not to grieve the Spirit of God. He makes it plain that we can do this by removing all bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, reviling, and all malice from our thinking about things and in our manner of relating to others. In place of these, Paul advises us to be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven us (Eph 4:30-32). This is the heart of Christian living that comes from a choice to be friends with God and with each other.
True friendship born of love for God and neighbor promotes peace of heart and unity on a spiritual level. On this level, Jesus offers his friends peace and unity. Living out this friendship with integrity yields the lasting peace of heart that Jesus longs to share with us. Sounds simple, but trust in God who works all things for our good is the sure road that leads to peace of heart and unity among us (Rm 8:28). The choice to follow that road or not is ours.
Jesus calls attention to the reality of choice in his Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Mt 5:9). For most of us, bringing peace to countries at war is beyond our reach. Choosing peace over conflict and discord in ordinary living, however, is not. We do it all the time in our families, our friendships, our jobs, and our communities. We choose to live in peace with our families, our friends, our colleagues, our neighbors.
We have come to understand that there is no need to return insult for insult. We know how to resist evil by not seeking revenge or harming others (1Pt 3:9). In the words of Isaiah, we often must heal the wounds that destroy and relieve the hurt that divides (Is 1:16-17). When we allow peace to rule our hearts in this way, we serve the God of Peace.
Living in peace with others is our call as human beings and children of God (Col 3:15). We carry out this call by living in a manner consistent with the values of Christ. This is the essence of a good moral life, to live with integrity as Christ lived in the world. To live with the heart and mind of Christ is a decision to live by his principles, to work for peace, to show mercy, to seek justice, and to do good to and for others. This is the path of love that we follow in imitation of Jesus. On the path of love, we can be sure that the peace and unity offered by God will be ours for the asking (Heb 12:14).
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