When Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples, he said to them:
The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers 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.
Jesus said in today’s Gospel that their first words on entering a house were to be “Peace on this house.” They were to be ambassadors of peace and goodwill.
Peace is the highest value for all people in the world. Everybody is talking about peace: politicians, writers, and heads of different organizations. Many times priests in their churches preach about peace during homilies. The word Peace is on the mouth of all people, who want well to our world, our families and communities. Peace implies openness, friendship, tolerance, goodwill, hospitality. It disposes us to reach out to others. It helps to break down barriers between one another. Without peace nothing is possible.
Shortly before Communion the priest says to us, “The peace of the Lord be with you always.” What a wonderful gift is being offered to us – the peace of Christ, a peace which the world cannot give. Then he invites us to “offer each other a sign of peace.” Next we share Christ peace to others by shaking hands.
We come to Mass to receive a blessing from the Lord. If we took nothing else away with us but peace, our time would be still well spent. We must be prepared to give back something of what we have received.
The end of the Mass is not like the end of a football game or movie where we simply get up and leave. At the end of Mass we are sent out. Th priest is sending us with Jesus’ peace. We would l hear: Go in the peace of Christ…. Go and give the peace of Christ to others, to your family, wife, children, maybe to your neighbors, people at your workplace. We are then sent out as ambassadors of that peace to others.
If we wish to be effective messengers of peace three things are necessary: First, we have to have peace within ourselves; Secondly, we have to be willing to share that peace with others; and thirdly, the other person has to be willing to receive it from us.
The harvest is great. There are many opportunities for sharing peace and for making peace. We may not always succeed, because it takes at least two to make peace. We have to accept that our peace will not always be accepted. It may come back to us like the echo of our own voice. But at least we ought to try. In a world torn apart by competition, anger and hatred, we have a challenging vocation – to be living signs of love that can bridge divisions and heal wounds.
Let us pray:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.