Your peace will rest on him

Is 66,10-14c; Ps 65; Gal 6,14-18; Lk 10,1-12.17-20
7 JULY

Christ Jesus, his body and the Christian are peace and the sacrament of peace. If Christ is excluded, Peace is excluded. If the Church is excluded, peace is excluded. If the Christian is excluded, peace is excluded. The Father constituted Christ Jesus his peace. Christ Jesus constituted his Church his peace. The Church constitutes her every son her peace. The Church draws peace from Christ, the Christian from the Church.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counsellor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, From David’s throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains By judgment and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this! (Is 9,1-6).

But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. (Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, And the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel.) He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord, his God; And they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace (Mi 5,1-4). Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just saviour is he, Meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass. He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; The warrior’s bow shall be banished, and he shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth (Zec 9,9-10).

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go (Jn 14,27-31).

Christ brings peace to our earth by reconciling humanity with his Father, in the Holy Spirit. The Church has been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation with the proclamation of the Gospel and with the celebration of the sacraments. Every Christian who lives as a reconciled person with God, in Christ, by the work of the Holy Spirit becomes an instrument of reconciliation towards every man. Who does not want Christ, does not want the Church, does not want the Christian, he does not want reconciliation. The Christian recovers his peace and goes elsewhere.

After this the Lord appointed seventy (-two) others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the labourers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out labourers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the labourer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town. The seventy (-two) returned rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

It is a great mistake to think that peace can exist without the reception of Jesus.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints, ensure that the Christian feels the mission of peace in Christ.