Peace Is More Than the Absence of Conflict
Deepening Our Understanding of Peace
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives.
-John 14:27
For many, peace is often thought of as the absence of conflict. While there may be partial truth to this, it is a limited perspective. For example, when a pianist performs a beautiful piece of music, we wouldn’t say that what makes it beautiful is the absence of wrong or poorly played notes. We would know that what makes the performance beautiful is the presence of timing, phrasing, and the seemingly effortless playing of complex notes and chords.
The peace that Jesus offers to us and calls us to live into is not just the absence of conflict, but is the active and abundant presence of love, justice, reconciliation, and compassion. As a pastoral psychotherapist, I often work with couples who report that they feel distant and estranged from each other, while at the same time indicating that they never fight or disagree. They clearly are not satisfied with a peace that is really only a lack of conflict. They are seeking a deeper peace, one that is characterized by connection, love, and a willingness to be vulnerable with one another.
Jesus speaks of a deeper understanding of peace when he calls us not just to love people who love us, but also to love our enemies. It is important to note that he is not calling us only to have no conflict with our enemies, which we could do simply by distancing ourselves from them. Instead, he is calling us to actively practice and create a more profound, more authentic love and peace with the people in our lives we find the most challenging. As Laurie Brock wrote in Sunday’s reflection, “The peace of God is not the peace of humans.”
Making it Personal: What do you think of the idea that peace is more than the absence of conflict? What is your response to John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives”? Do you ever feel challenged or uncomfortable with this deeper understanding of peace to which Christ calls us?