Since 13 November 2023 (Post 124), I have examined various gospel stories to show how Christ engaged in key concepts: conflict prevention, resolution, management, transformation, and peacebuilding. These posts were descriptive of Jesus’s words and actions, showing his brilliance in dealing with conflict-related issues. They were didactic but not comparative, as they did not seek to analyse national and international conflicts.
There were also a few other instances not directly based on incidents in the four gospels. For instance, last week’s post showed that the Church has continued Christ’s approach through establishing canonical institutions and ecclesiastical offices. Today’s post is the conclusion of this series (another episode could be later discussed if need be), and it focuses on Jesus’ statement about global peace.
One of the most sought-after things in life is peace, and it seems that peace continues to be difficult to achieve. Perhaps total peace is difficult to achieve because peace can be positive or negative. Negative peace refers to a situation wherein war and violence are absent. In contrast, positive peace entails the absence of war and violence and the presence of positive components such as sustainable investments in economic development and institutions and societal attitudes that lead to peaceful growth and change.
This introduces Jesus’ statement about peace. He told his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27). What does Jesus mean by peace different from the world’s? One understands the dynamics of peace and conflict in human relationships by looking at the causes of conflict described in the various stories examined. There are conflicts where parties are objectively innocent, doing their bidding, without knowing that their innocent action offends others. Third-party interferences, that is, a third party assuming a conflict they are not directly involved in, is another common experience.
Apart from the peace stemming from the spiritual and material dimensions of holistic salvation, the peace that Jesus gives is the peace, which comes when one withdraws from situations when necessary, when one does not usurp another’s authority, when one accepts errors even when not guilty, and when one refrains from violently fighting for one’s rights when they are infringed.
The peace Jesus gives is different because it is not based on natural inclination and does not depend on human commendation. It is a peace manifested in his refusal to fight even when he could win a battle, a peace based on not trying to take the glory of what he did not do, a peace based on his willingness to let go of his ego and receive insults even when he was innocent, a peace based on his continuous effort to avoid conflicts.
These are against worldly principles of power such as might is right, the end justifies the means, crush the enemy and competitors once and for all, divide and rule, and keep them ignorant to prevent revolt. Hence,
‘The greatest threat to peace is ego, not because we cannot suppress our ego, but because ego is connected to our identity. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and the model for all because he suppressed his ego by giving up his divine identity to become man and by refusing to fight back when humans threatened him.’
May God continue to help us🙏🏾
K’ọdị🙋🏾♂️
