The Spirit of Peace

The Spirit of Peace

We receive the Holy Spirit at baptism. It is a moment of truth when we testify to the truth of Christ and it’s the start of our relationship with Jesus. The Holy Spirit helps to guide us through life, especially when we are faced with making difficult choices. It is in these choices where the Spirit shines through.

Pentecost Sunday

We celebrate the wondrous gift of God, “the Spirit of truth” on Pentecost Sunday, May 20. There are two gospel readings to choose from, both of which are found in the Gospel of John (John 20:19-23 or John 15:26-27; 16:12-15). The first reading of choice is the Easter night appearance of the risen Christ. He appears to his ten disciples before showing himself to Thomas. Jesus appears even though they are hiding behind “locked doors”. He greets them with “peace”.

Jesus in my life

I did a quick survey and asked some of my colleagues the following question, “What does Jesus bring to your life?” I expected the usual answers of light, warmth, love, clarity and freedom, but the one answer I did not expect was “peace.” Jesus brings many things to our lives, but perhaps the most important is peace. Peace is a state of tranquility, a freedom of the mind, free from annoyance, distraction and anxiety. When we have peace in our lives the Holy Spirit has a place to grow and mature. But how do we find this kind of peace?

Homework

How can we bring peace into our lives? I don’t know if there is any right way but a sure place to start is by trying to remove the things that keep us from having peace. This means recognizing where conflict and restlessness are and it means doing a lot of inner work. That’s hard to do! It means we need to let go of some of the baggage we’ve been carrying around, which usually includes a lot of forgiving. Forgiving is not limited to forgiving others, it means forgiving yourself for past mistakes. In forgiving, we let go of the inner conflict which opens unlocked doors welcoming the kind of peace Jesus brings us: light, warmth, love, clarity and most of all, freedom.