ACC ~ John 14 v27
PEACE DEFINES A CHRISTIAN
CAESARIUS OF ARLES: Peace, indeed, is serenity of mind, tranquility of soul, simplicity of heart, the bond of love, the fellowship of charity. It removes hatred, settles wars, restrains wrath, tramples on pride, loves the humble, pacifies the discordant and makes enemies agree. For it is pleasing to everyone. It does not seek what belongs to another or consider anything as its own. It teaches people to love because it does not know how to get angry, [1] or to extol itself or become inflated with pride. It is meek and humble to everyone, possessing rest and tranquility within itself. When the peace of Christ is exercised by a Christian, it is brought to perfection by Christ. If anyone loves it, he will be an heir of God, while anyone who despises it rebels against Christ. When our Lord Jesus Christ was returning to the Father, he left his peace to his followers as their inherited good, teaching them and saying, âMy peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you.â Anyone who has received this peace should keep it, and one who has destroyed it should look for it, while anyone who has lost it should seek it. For if anyone is not found with it, he will be disinherited by the Father and deprived of his inheritance. SERMON 174.1. [2]
[1] See also Ambrose On Joseph 13.78 (FC 65:233). See also Ambrosiasterâs Commentary on First Corinthians 14.33 (CSEL 81 2:160-61), where he extols the need of patience in promoting peace.
[2] FC 47:432-33*.
CHRIST BRINGS AN INNER PEACE
AMBROSE: It is the part of those who have been perfected not to be easily influenced by worldly things or to be troubled with fear or tormented with suspicion or stunned with dread or distressed with pain. Rather, as if on a shore of total safety, they ought to calm their spirit, immovable as it is in the anchorage of faith against the rising waves and tempests of the world. Christ brought this support to the spirits of Christians when he brought an inner peace to the souls of those who had proved themselves, so that our heart should not be troubled or our spirit be distressed. ⌠The fruit of peace is the absence of disturbance in the heart. In short, the life of the righteous person is calm, but the unrighteous person is filled with disquiet and disturbance. Therefore the ungodly person is struck down more by his own suspicions than most people are by the blows of others, and the stripes of the wounds in his soul are greater than those in the bodies of those who are lashed by others. JACOB AND THE HAPPY LIFE 2.6.28. [1]
[1] CSEL 32 2:48; FC 65:162-63.
A LASTING PEACE THROUGH CHRISTâS FREEDOM
APOLLINARIS OF LAODICEA: Christ stopped those who were waging war and established peace by destroying the might of those waging war. Those opposing powers have no power against those of the household of Christ who came out of captivity as soon as they learned to know the Redeemer. Therefore, they have an unshakeable peace because it is a peace of the soul that has been led to freedom and has put off fear and shed all trouble. Since these good things of the soul have been assured and cannot be taken away, the peace of the soul has been made sure. FRAGMENTS ON JOHN 106. [1]
[1] JKGK 43.
WE ARE CHILDREN OF PEACE
CYPRIAN: The person of peace ought to seek peace and follow it. The one who knows and loves the bond of charity ought to refrain his tongue from the evil of dissension. Among his divine commands and salutary teachings, the Lord, when he was now very near to his passion, added this one, saying, âPeace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.â He gave this to us as an inheritance. He promised all the gifts and rewards of which he spoke through the preservation of peace. If we are fellow heirs with Christ, let us abide in the peace of Christ. If we are children of God, we ought to be peacemakers. âBlessed,â says he, âare the peacemakers. For they shall be called the sons of God.â [1] It behooves the children of God to be peacemakers, gentle in heart, simple in speech, agreeing in affection, faithfully linked to one another in the bonds of unanimity. THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH 24. [2]
[1] Mt 5:9.
[2] ANF 5:429**.
HE IS OUR PEACE
AUGUSTINE: And yet it is in him and from him that we have peace, whether it is the peace he leaves with us when going to the Father or that which he will give us when we ourselves are brought by him to the Father. And what is it he leaves with us, when ascending from us, other than his own presence, which he never withdraws? For he himself is our peace who has made both one. [1] It is he, therefore, who becomes our peace, both when we believe that he is and when we see him as he is. [2] For ifâso long as we are in this corruptible body that burdens the soul and are walking by faith, not by sightâhe does not forsake those who are sojourning at a distance from himself, [3] how much more, when we have attained to that sight, shall he fill us with himself? TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 77.3. [4]
[1] See Eph 2:14.
[2] See 1 Jn 3:2.
[3] See 2 Cor 5:6-7.
[4] NPNF 1 7:339*; CCL 36:521.
JESUS EVEN GIVES JUDAS THE KISS OF PEACE
AUGUSTINE: This peace he left, after a fashion, in his last will and testament to his disciples, our apostles. As he was about to go to the Father, you see, he said, âMy peace I give, my peace I leave to you.â And he did not separate Judas from himself, though he would not have been making a mistake if he had wished to separate him. I mean he would never separate an innocent person instead of a guilty one, or by separating the guilty forsake the innocent. ⌠It was Judas himself who separated himself from the Lord. He was tolerated to the very end. He gave the kiss of peace, though he did not have peace in his heart. And yet he accepted the kiss of peace. That kiss did not bind him to Christ. It condemned him. SERMON 313E.3. [1]
[1] WSA 3 9:110-11; MiAg 1:437.
EXTERNAL PEACE OF THE WORLD CAN BE HARMFUL
CHRYSOSTOM: Jesus is all but saying here, âHow are you harmed by the trouble of the world, provided that you are at peace with me? For this peace is not the same as the worldâs peace. The worldâs peace is external and often more hurtful than profitable, and it is of no real advantage to those who possess it. But I give you the kind of peace that calls for peace with one another. This makes you stronger.â HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 75.3. [1]
[1] NPNF 1 14:276**.
ONE WHO HAS PEACE WILL ALSO HAVE LOVE
AMBROSIASTER: The God of peace is Christ, who said, âMy peace I give you, my peace I leave you.â ⌠But the peace of God is one thing, the peace of the world another, because even malignant and foul people have peace, but [this is] to their damnation. The peace of Christ is free from sins. For it flees faithlessness, spurns trickery and rejects evil deeds. This peace is pleasing and congenial to God, hostile to the devil. A person who has peace will also have love and the God of both to keep him safely guarded forever. COMMENTARY ON 2 CORINTHIANS 13.11.2. [1]
[1] CSEL 81 2:313-14.
WORRIED ABOUT THE WOLF
AUGUSTINE: Though he was only going for a time, their hearts would be troubled and afraid for what might happen before he returned, lest in the absence of the Shepherd the wolf might attack the flock. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 78.1. [1]
[1] NPNF 1 7:340**; CCL 36:523.
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