Go Forth in Peace and Love

6 Easter, Yr. C, rcl
May 13, 2007
Last service of Semester

I can’t believe a school year has come and gone. It seems like it was just Christmas Break, or maybe that’s because it snowed over Spring Break…at any rate, we have been together now for 8 months. Classes have come and gone. Tests have come and gone and some are still to be taken. What sticks in my mind our the times that we have spent together, the times when I have felt God in our presence – the welcoming and nerves at the beginning of the year, the retreat at Camp Webb, the CROP Walk, the singing and fun of the Christmas party, the diet soda and mentos explosion at the Christmas party, the quiet study times around the house, the snow, the sun, the Easter celebration and dinner, the wonderful dinners and lunches that we had together, the discussion, education and formation that we had together, and our singing together. I could go on and on.

It has been a formative year for all of us in one way or another. We are different now than we were at the beginning of the school year and our growth individually and as a community is significant. It is that time of year in which we start saying goodbyes, that time of transition, that time in which we all will go through yet another change. Some of us are graduating, some of us will be traveling in the fall and spring next year, some of us will be here over the summer, but doing different things than we are now, and all of us will work and play wherever we are this summer. Things will be different when we gather again which may bring both joy and sadness to your hearts.

As Jesus is talking with the disciples today, he is giving one of his farewell discourses, one of his talks in which he tells them that he is leaving, but that he will always be with them. Jesus knows that his last words are important, that last words lead those who are left behind. We see it all through the Hebrew Scriptures and we see it over and over again in our lives. The last thing that you say to someone sticks with them. A first impression sticks, but a last impression stays with us even longer. I still remember the last words my grandmother spoke to me before her death. I remember the last time I spoke with my dear friends and what we said to each other. Last words are important because they are what we cling to and remember when we think back on our lives.

Jesus’ last words are as true for us as they were for the disciples. Jesus said to them, "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.” Jesus is telling them to love him by keeping his word and by living his teachings. How will we do this? How are we able to love as Christ taught us? Who will help us with such an overwhelming task? We are to do it with the help of the Holy Spirit, our advocate, who is our guide and who teaches us and reminds us of God’s will in our lives. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence in the world now, and the Holy Spirit dwells within each and every one of us so that we might know God’s word, live Jesus’ teachings and know who God is each moment of our lives.

In these times of transition – the one that the disciples were going through and the one we are going through – it is important to remember that God is with us. Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” There is no doubt that looking into your future may cause you some panic, some fear, some uncertainty. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t feel that, nor is Jesus. Jesus is telling his disciples that they should not let those things rule their hearts – that they should not operate out of fear or out of what is troubling them, but to rather move through their lives in love, in peace.

He says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.” Peace is a state of harmony, the absence of hostility. Jesus is leaving them with a word of peace, bidding them harmony, telling them to seek that harmony in the world. On this same note, Mahtma Ghandi teaches us that peace requires not only the absence of violence but also the presence of justice. Martin Luther King Jr. teaches that true peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice. Our place, as people of God is to bring this peace with us wherever we go, to bring justice, to work for peace and harmony and a place where all can feel and know the love of God.

Peace and love are something that go hand in hand with one another. Love guides us to peace and justice for all. Our baptismal covenant directs us to work for love, peace and justice for every human being. We can’t have peace without love and we can’t have true love with out peace. So Jesus also could have said, Love I leave with you, my love I give you.

Finding peace and love in our lives also means finding God’s presence in our lives. When we find God, we find our true selves and then we are able to go into the world, doing our part to help others find the same peace and love that God gives freely to all. We find peace and love best when we are in community, when we can be together with other people and find God in each other and through each other.

I just met with some alumni this weekend for lunch and they were telling me that no matter where they go and what they do, St. Francis House will always be a part of their lives. It was a place of formation and growth, a place in which they bonded with friends and found God in their lives. My hope is that is what St. Francis House has been and will be for you. A place to come to be with others, to seek God’s presence, to discover where the Holy Spirit is moving in your life, to find where Jesus is speaking to you, and to do all of that in the context of a caring, loving, engaging and meaningful community. It is a place to find love, a place to find peace, a place to find God in and through each other.

The last hymn that we will sing today says it beautifully.

“Together met, together bound, we’ll go our different ways, and as God’s people in the world we’ll live and speak his praise.”

I send us off with this blessing.

Go forth now,

in the Faith which overcomes the world,

in the hope which will not disappoint you,

in the Love which never fails.

You are ambassadors of Christ,

and He is with you always.

Grace, mercy and peace,

from Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

bless, preserve and protect you all this day

and for ever.

Written by Ian Cowie

What does love mean?

“What does love mean?” This question was posed to a group of children between the ages of 4 and 8. Here are some of their answers:

Rebecca, 8: “When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis, too. That’s love.”

Chrissy, 6: “Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.”

Nikka, 6: “If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.”

Tommy, 6: “Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.”

Elaine, 5: “Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.”

Lauren, 4: “I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.”

—Original source unknown.