Devotion for May 16, 2022

John 14:23-29

Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.

 Peace. “My peace I give to you.” In a world fractured by wars, peace is hard to imagine. In congregations fractured by conflict, peace is hard to imagine. In young people whose mental well-being is scarred by a pandemic, peace is hard to imagine. And yet, here Jesus says he is leaving his peace with us, giving it to us even.

For some, claiming that peace is enough to settle their spirit or find a calmness of soul. For others, claiming it starts a process where the light is at the far end of the tunnel. For still others, claiming the peace Jesus has given us seems all but impossible. Wherever you are on that spectrum, maybe you can bring peace to someone else’s life or you can find peace for a moment through the words of Jesus, that actions of his followers or the Holy Spirit who is a comforter. Regardless, it is all the more important that the followers of Christ remember to mark his words to love as he taught us. Pax.

This week’s devotion is brought to you by Campbell University’s Center for Church & Community.