The Peace of Christ

Restlessness is something which settles over us causing us to feel like we are walking on uneven ground.  At first it is unidentifiable.  It is not something which can be explained.  It is as if something is floating over us, or even within us.  It is experienced as if our heart is missing a beat or two.   Restlessness often causes us to sense that something is not right though we may not be able to put our finger on it right away.  Restlessness takes away our peace,  Sometimes it slips upon us so quietly that we are unaware of its presence in the beginning.  It is only as it continues, quietly persistent, that we sense its disconcerting power.   

In days when life is turned upside down and we are seeking to make sense of the new world into which we are being thrust, restlessness is likely to become a companion.  There is an uneasiness about it that shatters our sense of well being.  In such moment I am often reminded of a Word Jesus left with us.  In that wonderful and powerful 14th chapter of John where Jesus speaks of so many things which touch our hearts and souls, we hear Him saying, "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."  (John 14:27)     

Today as I was revisiting in my mind the storm which has caused such widespread suffering, I spoke with a farmer and heard the anguish in his voice as he talked not just about the financial loss ahead, but the way his heart was broken over a crop not to be harvested.  In those moments I thought about the ritual observed Sunday after Sunday as we look at one another, offer our hand or a hug, and say to another, "The peace of Christ be with you."  Instead of mumbling a few words of meaningless gibberish born out of my sense of inadequacy, I wish I had simply ended our phone call by saying, "The peace of Christ be with you," for such is what he needed and I as well.