It was Christmas 1939, England was mired in the uncertainty of war, her citizenry was terrified and her monarch, King George VI, father to the current Queen, needed to find words of solace, words of hope for his faithful subjects in England and across the Empire.
The steadfastness of George and his wife the irascible Queen Mother was legendary. Against the pleas of all their advisors, the royal family stayed in London throughout the blitz, enduring the hardships and horror of war alongside their people. Their courage remains an example to other leaders: in times of trial, lead by example, rule with dignity and courage and never ever abandon those over whom you’ve been given charge.
And so, on that Christmas night, the King offered this simple message in his annual radio broadcast:
“A new year is at hand. We cannot tell what it will bring. If it brings peace, how thankful we shall all be. If it brings us continued struggle we shall remain undaunted.”
He went on to quote from Minnie Haskins’ poem “The Gate of the Year” (1908):
"I said to the man who stands at the Gate of the Year, 'Give
me light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied, 'Step into the darkness, put
your hand into the hand of God, and that will be to you better than a light, and safer than a known
way.'" King George VI during World War II
Step into the darkness put your hand into the hand of God and that will be better than any light, safer than anything you’ve ever known.
It was the Thursday of that first Holy Week. Supper was ending and the disciples were scared, the temple authorities were plotting and Jesus was resolute.
2000 years before George VI needed to offer his people encouragement, Jesus needed to find his own words of comfort, solace, hope and promise. And so we have one of the most famous sections of John’s Gospel: Jesus’ Farewell Discourse.
We’ve read from Jesus’ final sermon for the past couple of weeks. It’s a bit jarring to go from Alleluia Christ is Risen back in to the dark days of Holy Week!
Although on the surface this may seem dissonant, I think hearing Jesus’ farewell remarks in these, the last few weeks before Pentecost, makes sense. After all, Pentecost celebrates the birth of the Church, a church over which we have by virtue of our baptism, been given charge.
Being the Church in the world today isn’t easy, the path can be dark and the way forward unknown, so Jesus as he says good-bye, offers us encouragement: Be courageous, be steadfast. The darkness will swirl about, but don’t be daunted. Step into the unknown with hand outstretched and God will grab your hand—I will grab your hand—and together we’ll tread safely and confidently into the unknown.
Jesus says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Take this peace, let it fill you and then pass it on. Allow the peace I have shown you, the peace I have given you, to surround, envelope and infuse you. And then go forward…
be the Peace of the Lord in this world. Don’t just share it, don’t just offer it….BE IT.
Jesus was no fool. He knew that once he was gone people were going to forget.
He knew once he was gone people would get scared.
people would get lost.
people would, as Minnie Haskins put in the poem George VI quoted, be afraid to step into the unknown and into the dark.
And so he leaves us with his Peace.
As I asked in my email blast on Thursday morning, Just what is Peace…is it simply the absence of war, or the absence of conflict, the absence of discord? Or is it more than that (or different than that)?
Is Peace a destination or a state of mind?
a goal or a means to an end?
Is it a constant or is it dynamic?
Yes.
Peace, like Shalom and Salaam, the Hebrew and Arabic synonyms for Peace is all these things.
Shalom and Salaam, like the Peace of which Jesus speaks, is a whole lot more---
Both words can mean
• To make amends
• To make good
• To restore
• To be or to lead the way toward Peace
More than a word, Shalom/Salaam—the Peace of today’s Gospel-- is a state of mind, a posture, an attitude. More than a word shalom and salaam is the way and the truth and the life. In other words, Shalom Salaam is the sum total of all that Jesus taught us, it is the sum total of all that Jesus calls us to be and it is the sum total of what the Kingdom of God on earth shall be. Shalom I leave with you, Salaam I give to you, says Jesus—go and be good. Go and do good. Be the light and shine the light. As Jesus bids farewell he leaves us with shalom, he leaves us with salaam he leaves us with peace flowing like a river, he leaves us with joy flowing like a river, he leaves us with hope flowing like a river, he leaves us with Love flowing like a river.
As Jesus prepares to leave the scene, we are called to embrace his mantel of Shalom; to be Salaam in this world. As Jesus departs and we become his body in the world, the words of King George spoken to a terrified nation on the brink of war, take on a new resonance:
The new way is at hand; we cannot tell what it will bring. When it brings peace, how thankful we all shall be. When it brings struggle we shall remain undaunted because as we step into the darkness of the unknown the hand of God, full of love and joy and peace will be better than any light, and safer than any known way. Shalom, Salaam.
Amen.
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