Peace be With You!

'Peace be with you.'

These are the words of Jesus as he meets the disciples behind closed doors.  He had promised them a special peace as they had gathered to share the Passover Meal, and now he keeps his promise.

That word 'peace' has a special place in the hearts of this community.  We are the disciples of peace.  We are followers of the Prince of Peace.  Our courtyard is festooned with banners proclaiming, 'May Peace Prevail on all the Earth' in some 30 languages.  For us peace is not the absence of war, but a sense of wholeness and holiness within that allows us to navigate the difficulties of this world.

Recently, I came across a study from Duke University that speaks to this issue.  How do we discover peace for ourselves?  Here is their analysis...

They listed eight keys to emotional and mental stability. 

•  The first key is, “Get rid of suspicion and resentment.” Nursing a grudge is a major factor in unhappiness. 
•  The second is, “Don’t live in the past.” An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes and failures leads to depression. 
• The third key is, “Don’t waste time and energy fighting conditions you cannot change.” Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away from it. 
•  The fourth is, “Force yourself to stay involved with the living world.” Resist the temptation to withdraw and become reclusive during periods of emotional stress. 
• The fifth is, “Refuse to indulge in self-pity when life hands you a raw deal.” Accept the fact that nobody gets through life without some sorrow and misfortune. 
• The sixth is, “Cultivate the old-fashioned virtues love, humor, compassion and loyalty.”
• The seventh is, “Do not expect too much of yourself.” When there is too wide a gap between self-expectation and your ability to meet the goals you have set, feelings of inadequacy are inevitable. 
• And finally, number eight is “Find something bigger than yourself to believe in.” Self-centered egotistical people score lowest in any test for measuring happiness.

Easter gives us something bigger to believe in.  Easter calls us into a preferred future today.  The gospels remind us that Easter is more than the resurrection of Jesus, but it is the invitation for us to live a resurrected life as Jesus sends us out to be the instruments of his peace.

Peace,

Pal