Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Ps. 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Rev. 21:10-14, 22-23; Jn. 14:23-29
Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you” says the Lord. It begs the question, “are we at peace?” What separates us from the peace the Lord has left us with? For one, Jesus says it is not the peace that the world gives. In the world “peace” is represented by the absence of war yet the world has a history of always being at war. In the world “peace” is a truce whereby people agree to avoid conflict but Jesus does not promise us we will be free from conflict in our lives. The peace of the Lord is not the absence of conflict but the security of God’s love in facing our conflicts. If God is with us who can be against us. Even in death we are at peace because we welcome him and enter into his peace of eternal life.
The “peace, I leave you” comes by way of keeping his word, living his commandments. In the first reading there are “some without mandate” meaning taking it upon themselves to give orders who are causing conflict among the gentiles. They want to impose the old law of circumcision upon the gentiles as a condition of being “saved”. Jesus knew that this would happen unless he left an authority in the world to resolve disagreements and power struggles. This is why he gave Peter the keys to the kingdom and today those keys have been handed over to Pope Leo XIV. The ring he received in his inauguration has the image of Peter and the net on its face. It is the continuity of authority to guide the church that Jesus entrusted to his disciples.
As much as the word of God comes to us through scripture it is impossible to anticipate every possibility the apostles would face. Authority to “bind and loose” was needed going forward after the ascension of the Lord. This authority however would not be guided by human reason alone but by the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell within the soul of a person to bring the peace of Christ in leading their actions. They would not be left alone but God is with them and he is with us to bring us peace as we confront our everyday decisions when we trust in God and listen for his voice to reveal to us right judgment.
Sadly, today we see how the church has become divided as scripture is taken as the only authority to be interpreted by each person as their personal revelation. There are some who say the Lord spoke to them and now they have authority in guiding others. We now have endless “Christian” denominations guided by either a council of elders or a sole individual inspired by scripture. This is not the structure Jesus gave his disciples for the Spirit to create divided pockets of followers or for the truth to become relative. Jesus prayer to the Father was for unity, that they may all be one as the Father is one with the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Pope Leo XIV motto is “In Illo uno unam” translated “In the One, one” meaning that in the one Godhead we be one with him. In order for there to be true and lasting peace there can only be one God in the Trinity, one Church with God’s authority, and one true interpretation to scripture. The world seeks peace by the illusion that the greater the diversity and freedom to do as we will the more a soul will find peace. This experiment is failing humanity as the greater the freedom to determine truth as a personal choice the more distress, anxiety, and fear enters a soul as it faces the reality that truth must be a shared reality, a universal truth or it is a false truth.
We see in the first reading how easily division can happen in a society or in a church unless there is a unified authority to address various opinions, ideology, or rules. The early church understood the importance of being unified and turned to the apostles and elders to settle the matter of circumcision. This is what we refer to as the magisterium of the church headed now by Pope Leo XIV. It is both the man and something greater at work within the man and that is the Holy Spirit.
Pope Leo XIV’s call to his brother Cardinals is to walk with him on this journey in humility and obedience seeking the will of God in all matters. In the same way each cell within the body of Christ, that is each local church is called to walk together seeking the will of God, open to the Holy Spirit, and obedient to a greater authority remembering that it is the authority who must also answer for how they guided their flock. This begins with the authority within the home, the domestic church as the first teachers of faith by word and example. Proper authority is entrusted to act in the person of Jesus whether as parents, pastor, bishop, cardinal or Pope.
What is “truth” asked Pontius Pilate as he stood face to face with truth in the person of Jesus. Many are asking these days “what is truth?” Truth comes with authority but we don’t want to surrender to authority, not even a supreme authority who is a God of all creation so many remain wandering in the desert of life seeking to become their own truth and going nowhere. Truth is Jesus. He is the way, the good shepherd who brings us his peace and the truth of salvation. The truth is love, Godly love and obedience to this love is by way of relationship that our hearts be one in love and all peace will follow. May the love of God be with you and let us live his peace.
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