A Thought For The Week Of November 4

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you." (John 14:27a) As Remembrance Day approaches here in Canada (and this coming Sunday is Remembrance Sunday or Peace Sunday as some call it) I - as I often do - find myself thinking about some of the words Jesus offered about peace. Did Jesus ever envisage a world without war? I don't think so. "You will hear of wars and rumours of wars," he said after all. I don't think Jesus approved of war. He seemed uninterested, for example, in taking on the Romans, and - to some extent at least - he even seemed to preach co-operation with them. So I wonder what Jesus really meant when he spoke of peace - or when Scripture declares him to be the Prince of Peace. I think the reference is not to the state of the world but is rather to a state of mind. Perhaps to Jesus, "peace" didn't mean the absence of war. Perhaps it meant contentment. Think of the difference it could make to the world if we could learn to be content. We wouldn't be selfishly grasping after what others have, and we might even be more willing to share what we have with others. That would be a radical change in the mindset of how the world operates - and, if put into practice, it might even lead to the absence of (or at least the reduction of) war in the world - because if we're content to the point at which we're willing to share, then what would be the point of fighting? It seems to me that's the kind of "peace" Jesus is offering. Not just putting an end to war and violence, but changing our minds and our hearts so that war and violence become increasingly unthinkable. Have a great week!"