By Rev. Robert Bailey, LCDR

Retired U.S. Navy Chaplain

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Dear friends in Christ,

I’ve seen a number of versions of the story but have not been able to find the origin. A contest was held to determine the best artist’s depiction of perfect peace. The competition came down to two paintings.

One showed a harbor as the rising sun was seen through just a hint of fog. The water was mirror calm, perfectly reflecting the trees along the shore and an anchored sailboat framed by the sun’s muted glow. In many respects, it was a calming picture of serenity.

The other painting was dramatically different. The waters of a mighty river thundered over a tall waterfall, crashing down on the craggy rocks and boulders below. The trees to the side of the falls had grown misshapen due to the force of the breezes from the falling waters. In the fork of one branch that jutted out was a bird’s nest. In it was a little chick, protected and calmly being fed by its mother. Surrounded by its mother’s body and wings, the chick was safe and secure, totally unconcerned about the raging waters just feet away. That was the painting that received the prize.

Perhaps the second painting depicts the kind of peace that Jesus conveyed to his disciples. Together, they were in the upper room. Within hours, he would be assaulted and arrested, and they would flee. By the next night, his crucified body would rest in a tomb, and the disciples would fear for their lives.

It certainly was not a picture of serenity but of raging waters! Yet knowing all that would soon occur, Jesus spoke of peace that he would give. His words were for them and for all others who would follow as his disciples.

Likewise, his peace is not as the world either expects or gives.

We know the expectation. Who hasn’t thought or said, after a day when things have not gone particularly well at work or in our family relationships, “Just leave me alone and let me have some peace?”

On a grander scale, where is serenity when our lives are confronted by unwelcome health concerns, conflicts in the lives and relationships of our loved ones, disappointments in our church relationships or challenges of a culture whose values increasingly show its rejection and resentment of our Christian faith and teachings?

If we look for peace from the world around us, or even from within ourselves, we are looking in the wrong places and will only find disappointment. That is why Jesus’ words are so important. “My peace I give to you,” he says.

As God’s people who live in a fallen world, there will be raging waters of all kinds. But in the midst of whatever troubles we or the church may experience, we also have the assurance that our savior, who has loved us so much that he has died for our sins and risen again, is also our living and ever-present savior who walks with us, knows our needs, hears our prayers and cares for us, strengthens us and, even in the most troubling circumstances, gives us peace. His peace comes in his assurance that we are his people in the shelter of his loving care both now and forever. Dear friends, that peace will not disappoint.