As Jesus continues to prepare his followers for the time when He will no longer be visible, He imparts to us a great gift, His peace. All too often in our world peace is little more than a ceasefire or even a type of “Cold War.” But the peace that comes directly from Christ is the only true and everlasting peace.
The Church must be a sanctuary of peace from the rest of the world. To do this she must overcome her own internal problems and divisions. This is accomplished with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. To reconcile Jew and Gentile within the faith the Holy Spirit guided the early Church to a solution that required each side to make a sacrifice. The Gentiles were not required to observe some of the Jewish practices such as circumcision however they were obliged to make several concessions to the Jews particularly in the areas of marriage and dietary laws. We should not underestimate the degree of sacrifice this called for from both sides.
Neither side is completely right or completely wrong. Within the Peace of Christ each side is called upon to listen to each other and consider the other point of view.
If we approach our divisions in this manner then we will truly experience the peace reflected by the Holy City envisioned by John. Old and new hold together. The gates of the twelve tribes of Israel are connected by stone walls that bear the names of the twelve apostles.
Pax Vobiscum
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