Peace to You

Christ Appearing to His Disciples, Rembrandt, 1656. Etching and drypoint, 16.4 x 20.8 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York. Public Domain.

“Peace Over You” from the album Still God, Still Good. Composed by Dustin Smith and James Galbraith. Performed by Here Be Lions.

Poetry:

“Making Peace”
by Denise Levertov

A voice from the dark called out,
‘The poets must give us
imagination of peace, to oust the intense, familiar
imagination of disaster. Peace, not only
the absence of war.’
But peace, like a poem,
is not there ahead of itself,
can’t be imagined before it is made,
can’t be known except
in the words of its making,
grammar of justice,
syntax of mutual aid.
A feeling towards it,
dimly sensing a rhythm, is all we have
until we begin to utter its metaphors,
learning them as we speak.
A line of peace might appear
if we restructured the sentence our lives are making,
revoked its reaffirmation of profit and power,
questioned our needs, allowed
long pauses . . .
A cadence of peace might balance its weight
on that different fulcrum; peace, a presence,
an energy field more intense than war,
might pulse then,
stanza by stanza into the world,
each act of living
one of its words, each word
a vibration of light—facets
of the forming crystal.

PEACE TO YOU

Today’s passage is Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance to his disciples, in which he issues a greeting of peace (twice) and bestows the Holy Spirit. These words are gifts to the disciples present in the room, and they are gifts to us over 2000 years later. This passage does not exist on its own but exists within the context of John’s Gospel. The words of Jesus highlighted here––the greeting of peace and the bestowing of the Holy Spirit - have been consistently present in Jesus’ teaching prior to his post-resurrection arrival in the locked room.

Jesus tells his disciples in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you” and goes on to note that his peace is different than the world’s peace. His peace, Jesus instructs, is so that our hearts aren’t troubled or afraid. Several chapters later, Jesus tells his disciples “When the Spirit of truth comes; he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears...he will glorify me because he will take from what is mine & declare it to you.” (16: 13,14)

Jesus’ post-resurrection proclamations of peace and of the arrival of the Holy Spirit are consistent with his teaching and with his nature. Prior to his death, Jesus prayed to the Lord that current and future believers would be unified in each other and in the Trinity so that the world would know the truth. (John 17:20) When Jesus appears to the disciples in the locked room with a greeting of peace and an issuing of the Spirit, these words are also meant for our edification as believers today. (Romans 15:4) There is much more in this passage beyond what has been highlighted in this devotion. You are encouraged to contemplate and pray over the work of the Spirit in our lives and meditate on the nature of Jesus’ peace.

The creative arts are often prisms by which we can see different reflections of the truth, and there are wonderful expressions of truth in today’s selections. The author of the book of Hebrews writes that “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature...” (1:3). Radiance brings to mind light and wonder, and Rembrandt’sChrist Appearing to His Disciples provides a physical depiction of Jesus’ radiance. “Peace Over You” by Here be Lions contextualizes Jesus’ promises of peace into our daily lives, reminding us that “You don't have to fear the future, this is our confidence / that the God who holds forever is not finished with you yet.” Denise Levertov’s “Making Peace” forces us to consider the “cadence of peace,” and as Christians, we must conclude that Jesus’ peace supersedes all.

Prayer:
Father God, we thank you for Jesus’ consistency in word, thought, and action. We rejoice because you sent Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. We praise you for the peace that surpasses understanding and pray that the Holy Spirit would work in us for your glory.
Amen.

Stacie Schmidt
Law Librarian