The Peace of God’s Kingdom
Jesus commissions his disciples to preach. Two parts of what they are to say seem intrinsically connected, “peace” and “the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
Jesus today is sending us to continue his mission. We must do the same.
In order to preach and witness to others that “the Kingdom of God is at hand,” we must people of peace.
May our thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions preach God’s peace.
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Freedom
Galatians 5: 1,13-18; Luke 9: 51-62
“For freedom Christ set us free.” Paul would then explain to the people of Galatia that as children of God through baptism, they are free from the law of Moses and practices of Judaism.
Paul further exhorts them to “use this freedom [to] serve one another through love.”
That is the way Jesus loves.
We learn from today’s Gospel, when it was time for Jesus to be “taken up, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.” There, he freely offered his life on the cross out of loving obedience to the Father and out of love for us.
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We Come up Short
At the beginning of Luke Chapter 9, Jesus “summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”
The verse that immediate precedes today’s Gospel tells us that “when the apostles returned, they explained to [Jesus] what they had done.” (v. 10)
Still, there was now a great crowd of over five thousand people, who had come to listen to Jesus and to receive his healing. What the Twelve had done was not enough. And just to feed the bodies of these thousands of people, the Twelve realized, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have.”
Jesus then “took” what the Twelve had, “and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.”
“They all ate and were satisfied.” And there was still more.
Jesus still does this for us. Of course, now it is His Body and Blood.
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Everything
God has created us. Consequently, we belong to God.
Here, Jesus tells us, “Everything the Father has is mine.” At another time, Jesus said, “I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father” (John 15:15b).
Now, the Holy Spirit will continue to tell us what Jesus has told us from the Father.
Thus, we are drawn into relationship with God. In this way, belonging to God means friendship with God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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Commandments
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Do we sometimes think of Jesus’ commandments as burdensome?
Meanwhile, in Jesus’ words, keeping his commandments is our response to his love for us. And we know, God loves us first, never the other way around. Moreover, the commandments are God’s gifts to help us to live as God’s children and to love as God loves.
These words of Jesus hopefully will change our perspective regarding God’s commandments.
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These Things
“You are witnesses of these things?”
What are the things that Jesus is referring to?
Earlier, Jesus summarized his life, as given in Scriptures, “It is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins.”
Therefore,
Jesus commissions the disciples to witness to God’s love in giving humanity God’s
only Son, who died but rose “for the forgiveness of sins.”
Jesus had also revealed God’s great love in his compassion to sinners, outcasts of society, in his teaching of God’s mercy.
Consequently, the disciples are witnesses of God’s love and forgiveness when they live God’s compassion and mercy that they have seen in the life, action, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Peace of God Who Dwells with Us
Jesus assures us that when we keep his words, “my Father and I will come and dwell” with us.
Only then do we have peace.
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