April 21

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.—John 14:27.

Peace, saith he, I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. This is what we read in the prophet, Peace upon peace: peace he leaves us at his going, his peace he will give us in the end at his coming. Peace he leaves us in this world; he will give us peace in the world to come. Peace he leaves us, in which, by abiding therein, we overcome the enemy; his peace he will give us when we shall reign without an enemy. Peace he leaves us, that even here we may love one another; his peace he will give, where it shall never be possible for us to disagree. Peace he leaves with us, that we may not concerning our hidden things judge one another, while we are in this world; his peace he will give us, when he shall make manifest the thoughts of the heart, and then shall every man have praise of God. Yet in him and from him have we our peace, whether that which he leaves us at his going to the Father, or that which he will give us at his bringing us to the Father. Now what does he leave us at his ascending from us, but himself, while he quitteth us not? For he is our Peace who hath made both one. Himself then is our peace, both when we believe that he is, and when we see him as he is. For if so long as we are in this corruptible body that weigheth down the soul, while we walk by faith and not by sight, he forsaketh not his that be far away from him in a strange land; how much more when we shall come to the sight, shall he fill us from himself!

But what meaneth it, that, where he saith, Peace I leave with you, he hath not added, my; but where he saith, I give unto you, there he hath said, my peace? Is the word my to be understood also where it is not said, because that which is once said can be referred to both? Or perchance is there something here also latent, to be asked, and sought, and to be opened to them that knock? For what if by his peace he would have us understand the peace which is such as himself hath, while this present peace which he leaves us in this world is rather to be called ours than his? For he hath nothing warring in himself, who hath no sin at all: whereas the peace we now have is such that therein we must still say, Forgive us our debts. We have therefore some peace, since we delight in the law of God after the inner man: but it is not full, because we see another law in our members, warring against the law of our mind. Also, one with another we have peace, because we mutually trust that we love one another; but neither is this full, because we do not see the thoughts of the heart, one of another: and we surmise some things concerning ourselves which are not in us, either thinking too well one of another, or too ill. Therefore this, although it was left us by him, is our peace: for were it not from him we should not have even such; but not such as that which he himself hath. If we keep it unto the end such as we have received it, such as he hath we shall have, where nothing from ourselves shall war against us, and nothing shall be hidden in our hearts among ourselves. Nor am I ignorant that these words of the Lord can also be taken, that it should seem to be a repetition of the same sentence; Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; that having said Peace, this he should be understood to have repeated in saying, My peace: and having said, I leave with you, to have repeated this in saying, I give unto you. Let each take it as he will: me, however, it delights, and methinks you also, my beloved brethren, so to hold this peace, wherein being of one heart, we conquer the adversary, as yet to long for that peace wherein we shall have no adversary.

But whereas the Lord goes on to say, Not as the world giveth, give I unto you; what else is it, but, not as men give who love the world, so give I unto you? Who give peace one to another, only that without molestation of strifes and wars, they may enjoy, not God, but their friend the world: and when they give peace to the righteous, that can not be a true peace where is not a true concord; because their hearts are disunited. Let us then my beloved, to whom Christ leaves peace, and gives his peace, not as the world, but as he by whom the world was made, that we may be of one heart: let us unite our hearts one to another, and lift up our one heart on high, that it be not corrupted on earth.