Homily for Second Sunday of Easter - April 24, 2022

 

Homily for Easter 2

April 24, 2022

In His Will Is Our Peace

 

            Our world needs peace, doesn’t it? We’ve got war in Ukraine, violence in the Holy Land, division in our own country and on our own streets. Where is this peace that Jesus promised us?

            Pope Francis recently reminded people that “war begins in the heart before it ends up in the world.” If we wish to have a world at peace, it must begin with each individual soul at peace. But are you at peace? If I asked most people, I’d bet they’d say no. They might talk about conflict with their spouse or mother-in-law, troubles at work, health problems that keep us up at night worrying…where is this peace that Jesus comes to offer?

            Many of us would define peace as “having no troubles or conflict”. But is that what the Gospel shows us? The disciples are in a locked room, terrified and confused. Their best friend, the one they thought was the Messiah, had been brutally crucified three days ago, and they were afraid the authorities would want to kill them next. But then they found out the tomb was empty – what happened? Was the Body stolen? What was going on? They had all sorts of inner turmoil and external threats…and then Jesus shows up, and they rejoice. Nothing externally had changed, but now Jesus was present. So peace isn’t the absence of conflict…it is the presence of Jesus. When Christ comes, the problems become manageable because they encounter the One Who has conquered everything, even death itself.

            So if peace is the presence of Jesus even in the midst of our chaotic lives, how do we obtain that peace? Three insights.

            First, live in peace with God. Notice that Jesus’ very first gift when He returns is the forgiveness of sins – getting reconciled to God is the first step to inner peace. Just last week a mother sent me the picture of her son right after his first Confession, and he was absolutely beaming – a soul cleansed of sin is a soul at peace. Live as men and women of integrity – no double-lives, no hidden sins, but everything (even our struggles) brought before the Lord’s mercy in prayer and in Confession – and there will be great peace.

            Second, surrender to the will of God. The great Italian poet Dante, who wrote the Divine Comedy, had a beautiful line in his famous work: “In His will is our peace.” A lot of times our lack of peace comes because we don’t want to accept life’s challenges as part of God’s plan.

            I have told the story of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Franciscan priest who sacrificed his life in Auschwitz to save another man’s life. When he and his Franciscan brothers were arrested and put into a train headed for the death camp, he famously said with a smile, “Courage, my sons. Don’t you see that we are leaving on a mission? They pay our fare in the bargain. What a piece of good luck! The thing to do now is to pray well in order to win as many souls as possible.” How could he be of good cheer when he was headed to his death? Because his life was so completely surrendered to the will of God that he could be at peace with whatever happened.

            We lack peace when we insist upon our own plan. We plan a day at the beach, but it rains – so we get angry and frustrated. We have an appointment to keep, but we run into a traffic jam, and our tempers flare. We want our kids to be quiet, but they keep jumping all around, so we lose patience. But what if we saw these inconveniences, setbacks, sufferings as part of God’s will and surrender to it instead, asking “Where is God in this? Where is He leading me? What is He trying to teach me?”

             There is a beautiful, powerful story told by Fr. Karl Goldmann, an Army chaplain during World War II who was imprisoned along with his brigade in a Prisoner-of-War camp. One of his fellow soldiers was a man who really wrestled with the faith – he would meet with Fr. Goldmann after hours and question him endlessly, searching for the truth. One day, the sad news came to the camp that this soldier’s hometown had been bombed heavily and his whole family, wife and kids, were found dead in the rubble. The soldier, upon hearing the news, went back to his barracks…but a few hours later, no one could find him. Everyone feared that he had killed himself in despair and sorrow. Fr. Goldmann joined in the search for the soldier – and much to his surprise, he found the man in the tent that had been serving as their makeshift chapel. He had flung himself on the altar and was gripping the crucifix as if his life depended on it. Fr. Goldmann compassionately approached the man and asked him if he could pray with him. The soldier responded, “Yes, Father. I need you to help me pray those words from the Our Father: Thy Will Be Done.” Together, they recited the Our Father for hours together, until the man could say those words with complete serenity of heart: “Thy Will Be Done.” He walked out of the chapel-tent with a sorrowful but peaceful heart – having surrendered everything to God.

            Finally, a third way to find peace is to extend mercy and compassion to others. Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, the day on which our Church honors Christ’s abundant mercy poured out for us on the Cross, as we see in the image behind us. Divine Mercy has three parts, as easy as A-B-C. A – Ask for God’s mercy. B – be merciful to others. C – completely trust in God’s mercy. That “B” part is essential. St. Paul writes in Romans 12, “As far as possible, live in peace with all men.” And one of Jesus’ Beatitudes is “Blessed are the Peacemakers”.

            There’s a wonderful story of St. Francis, who was so on-fire with love for Christ that he traveled to Egypt with a desire to convert the Muslim sultan there, who was in the middle of fighting the Crusades. As he approached the palace, the Islamic guards thought he was a crusader, so they beat him to a pulp and sent him away. The next day he came back, showing them that he had no weapon. But, suspicious, they beat him up again. A third time Francis came back, and was beaten again. Undaunted, he went a fourth time – and this time the guards were so curious about the fact that the holy man had forgiven their unjust beatings that they asked him what business he wanted with the Sultan. St. Francis simply told them that he wished to convey a message of peace. Surprised, the guards let him in, and the Sultan received him with kindness. Francis preached to him about Jesus, and although the Sultan didn’t convert, he was so impressed with the man’s peacefulness and evident love that he sent him away with many gifts and gave him safe passage back to Italy. The power of living at peace with all!

            Do you want peace? It is one of the gifts that Jesus gives His Apostles on this day. Interior peace means living our life reconciled to God in Confession, with no hidden sins; peace means accepting all things as part of God’s loving will; peace means seeking to love our neighbor, even our enemies. Once we have peace within our souls, we will have peace in our troubled world – not merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.