In the 14th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, Jesus says this to his disciples:
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
No normal person enjoys conflict. But in this world, conflict between individuals, between businesses and organizations, and between nations, is very common.
The world, according to worldly wisdom, does offer some methods for resolving outward conflict and for achieving outward peace. Conflict resolution counseling at an interpersonal level, legal arbitration at a corporate level, and diplomacy at an international level, are often employed.
And sometimes those methods do work to reduce conflict, and to bring about a certain degree of peace.
No normal person enjoys the emotional distress of an unsettled mind or of a troubled conscience. But this kind of distress, and these kinds of upheavals, are also very common.
The world, according to worldly wisdom, does offer some methods for dealing with these personal problems, and for helping people to achieve at least some inner peace. Professional therapy, or self-help “positive thinking” techniques, are often employed to address these things.
And sometimes those methods do work to reduce the distress, and to bring about a certain level of peace of mind.
Jesus acknowledges that the world can, and sometimes does, give some measure of this kind of peace, in these ways. But Jesus also tells us that the kind of peace he establishes between God and man, and within man, are very different from this, and are much more important than this.
Dorothy would certainly want to be at peace with other people. If there was ever a circumstance where she owed someone an apology, she offered it. And if an apology was ever owed to her, and was offered, she accepted it.
We should all be that way, to the extent that we can contribute toward the restoration or preservation of harmony and peace between ourselves and other people. St. Paul writes in his Epistle to the Romans:
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Christians in particular are exhorted by St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Colossians:
“Put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
With God’s help, Dorothy tried to live by these apostolic teachings.
Like all of us, Dorothy also wanted a conscience that was at peace. She did not want to be haunted by mistakes of the past – whether distant or recent – even as none of us wants to be burdened by guilt for the mistakes that we all have made.
But in our own mental strength, we cannot easily make ourselves forget the things we regret and wish we had done differently.
What was so precious to Dorothy, therefore, was the great comfort that she found, as a Christian, in the knowledge that God was at peace with her, and that she was at peace with him, through the redemption and reconciliation won by Christ for her and for all people on the cross.
And Dorothy greatly valued the gift of inner peace that Jesus had also bestowed upon her through his gospel, and that he continued to renew and strengthen within her whenever she heard and believed the Biblical message of forgiveness in Christ, and acceptance by Christ.
Human sin, going back to the Garden of Eden, alienated humanity from its creator, and caused Adam’s descendants, in their fallen condition, to be hostile to God and his ways. And since Eden, within humanity’s old sinful nature there are impulses and inclinations that would prompt us to be disturbers of the peace, and to turn on each other.
We blame. We accuse. We ignore the needs of others and assert our will over others. What a mess!
But God didn’t give up on the human race. And God doesn’t give up on us now. God has always wanted to re-establish peace with the people he had made in his image, and to set them at peace within themselves. And so he sent his Son into the world, and into human flesh, to turn all of this around.
Jesus – God’s Son – took all human sin upon himself and carried it to the cross, where he died for us. And as the risen Christ, he offers to a lost humanity the forgiveness from God, and the justification before God, that he achieved for us through dying in our place.
All of this is received by faith. When God in his gospel tells you that in Jesus he no longer counts your sins against you, you can believe him.
When God tells you that in Jesus he now sees you as if you were as righteous as Jesus is, you can believe him. And when God tells you that in Jesus he is now at peace with you, you can believe him then, too, and in that faith you are at peace with him.
That’s how peace with God comes about. In forgiveness, God washes away our sins with the blood of Christ. In justification, God clothes us with a garment of righteousness from Christ.
This is what Dorothy believed as a Christian. And she really did believe it.
Whenever I would visit her, and after a little chit-chat would ask if she would like to receive the Lord’s Supper, she would say “Yes” before I even got the question completely out of my mouth!
Her eagerness to be renewed in her faith through that sacrament, and to be renewed in her peace with God by receiving the body and blood of God’s Son – given and shed for her – was palpable.
As the messenger and servant of God who delivered these great blessings to her, I’ve never felt more appreciated.
She was always glad when I came, because she knew why I was there. Whenever she saw me coming in, a huge smile filled her face.
The little ritual that we used began with a confession of sins, and an absolution, or a declaration of God’s pardon. This soothed and comforted her, as it soothes and comforts all who know their need for this spiritual cleansing.
What followed would be a reading from Scripture and a brief unfolding of the meaning of what had been read. She always listened with rapt and devout attention.
And then, after the Lord’s Prayer, the sacramental Words of Jesus were spoken over bread and wine, so that they would be for her the true body and blood of Jesus.
Usually the words of a well-known canticle were then recited, calling upon Jesus as the Lamb of God to have mercy upon us and to grant us his peace. And when his body and blood were then received by Dorothy, this peace – once again – was indeed granted and received, and rested deep down in her heart.
This divine peace lived in Dorothy. And Dorothy lived out this divine peace: as she was able to enjoy the friendship of the many people whom God had brought into her life, and as she was able to bring joy into their lives.
This contagious optimism was birthed from her own inner peace, and from her contentment in knowing how she stood with God because of her Savior Jesus. And it didn’t wane even in the last years of her life.
At the Elim facility, where she lived for the past couple years, not only was she not in conflict with people, but she was always looking for ways to befriend people. And visits from beloved family members and from beloved old friends were always greatly cherished.
She lived in the peace that Christ gave. And then, at the end of her pilgrimage on earth, she died in the peace that Christ gave. The song of Simeon became her song:
“Lord, now You let Your servant depart in peace according to Your word. For my eyes have seen Your salvation…”
This peace is offered to you, during this time of mourning and sadness, and at all other times as well.
If we follow the example of Dorothy, and in humility believe God when he tells us that he forgives us and justifies us in Jesus Christ, then we can also claim as our own these words from the Epistle to the Romans:
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand…”
Dorothy, by her faith in Jesus, had that peace, and that access to God and to God’s grace. In death, she had and has access into the presence of Christ, with whom she rests peacefully even now, awaiting the final resurrection.
Again, Jesus says:
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Amen.