You're Kidding, Right Jesus?

I was struck by a funny thought on Sunday night. I logged it away as a blog idea and quickly forgot about it, but was reminded of it again today when I read this morning's lectionary gospel reading, which includes this verse:

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

OK, so on the face of it, there's nothing particularly hilarious about this verse. It often comes to mind when I'm harried, troubled and/or tired. I desire peace. So.... what's so funny?

The thing I found so funny that night is the irony of the setting. The last verse of that same chapter has Jesus saying, "Come now; let us leave." Where is Jesus going? To the garden of Gethsemane. To do what? To be arrested, tried, beaten, whipped, mistreated, and then brutally executed. Jesus knows exactly where he's heading. And yet he instructs his disciples to not be afraid.

And he offers them his peace.

So Jesus is heading out to meet his death. But it's not like he was coming from Lake Placid, either! During his three years of ministry Jesus was relentlessly ridiculed, maligned, slandered, mistreated and hated by an awful lot of powerful people. He had to stay on the move just to avoid getting killed!

And yet Jesus tells us not to be afraid. And he offers us his peace.

OK, most of us are not at risk of being murdered, but we all know what it's like to be under pressure from family, friends, and sometimes strangers. Are we stressed by the pressures of ordinary life? Jesus knows about that too.

Jesus faced all we faced and more. His family thought he was insane. His friends just wanted to ride on his coat-tails to power. Crowds just wanted him to give them free meals. Sick people wanted him to heal them. He was a wanted man in every sense of the word — harried and pursued relentlessly. More so even than Hollywood actors and actresses.

And yet he offers us his peace.

Thus my surreal moment of hilarity. Jesus? Give me his peace? Offered peace like that, I might just prefer the alternatives! But Jesus was clear about it. So was the Apostle Paul. And Peter. And the author of Hebrews. If we opt for life with Jesus Christ, we'll indeed get his peace — and we'll also share in his sufferings. It's a package deal. I can't ask for his peace and decline his sufferings.

No wonder Jesus said his peace was not of the sort the world had to offer! And no wonder so few of us know the peace of Christ. We don't know the peace of Christ precisely because we're worried we might have to face the sufferings of Christ. But his peace is exactly revealed and made real when we willingly endure trials of all kinds.

But I preach to myself here as much as to anyone else. I frequently feel I lack the peace of Christ. Why? Why do we so often feel that we don't have peace when our lives are a whirlwind? I think it's because we mistake the peace Jesus offers with outer serenity.

Jesus never promised me outward serenity, but I guess I'm still in thrall to the notion that the good life includes (is defined by?) quiet afternoons in the sunshine with a good book. A brief review of the New Testament gospels and epistles reveals that neither Jesus nor Paul had any such life. Why do I want what they didn't seem to seek or have?

Do I want the peace Jesus offers? I think I do. But with Jesus as guide, I guess I need to let go of some notions about what it looks like to have it.

** Upon reflection (that is, after all, the title of my blog!) I think this blog deserves a bit of revision... but instead of fixing this one, I'll just throw up a few amendments in a new blog...)