Peace: “Peace, peace, to the far and near, says the Lord; and I will heal them.” Says Isaiah. And in that well-known passage from the Letter to the Ephesians we hear that description of Jesus: “He is our peace.”

This week has been anything but a peaceful week in our world. The current worrying escalation of conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah in Lebanon; the continuing carnage in Iraq; as well as other less publicized regional conflicts remind us of how elusive peace is. In our world no sooner do we seem to solve one issue, or at least get the parties to the negotiating table, than another conflict breaks out. I find the current conflict in Lebanon especially worrying since it shatters an already very fragile region.

So the words of peace in the lessons are music to our ears as is the giving of the Peace at the heart of the mass as well as the final blessing we hear Sunday by Sunday, “the Peace of God which passes all understanding.” All of us long for peace: in our hearts, in our relationships and families; in our church(be it parish, diocese or communion); in our nation and in our world. The lack of relationship, the pain of disunity, the troubled mind, conflict between peoples or communities goes against all that we long and hope for. The media images of the past week in Lebanon, Israel and Gaza tell of devastation and destruction, of broken and lost lives, of grief and sadness. That is not what we wish for as human beings. All of us long for peace and order that we may get on with our lives and live out our relationships and make the most of our opportunities. And we wish that for others.

But what is this peace of which the readings speak? It is much more than simply an absence of conflict or a silent stand-off or an avoidance of the issues or a forced truce. Rather it is that characteristic of God that is mediated to us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Listen to the writer to the Ephesians: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.” In one of the great purple passages of the New Testament Ephesians sees the Cross of Christ as the key to God’s gift of peace to us. Jesus Christ in his costly sacrifice has won that peace, that reconciliation between God and Humankind and with one another for which we all long. That is the source of our peace: Jesus himself. It is as we enter into the mystery of his Saving Passion and Death that we discover the source of true peace. That is what we are about in baptism and eucharist: we are celebrating the peace Christ won for us; we are entering into its mystery; we are committing ourselves to become agents of it to the world. When we give the peace in the mass as we will do in a few moments that is what we are celebrating. Not that it is simply good to see each other but rather that we all by baptism have and are participants in God’s peace, God’s shalom, and that that gives us hope. Jesus said “Blessed are the Peacemakers”. It is this costly task of making peace whether it be in our immediate relationships or in the communities where we worship, work or live that we are called to undertake by our baptismal commitment. With regard to the present conflict please pray fervently for peace. But most important of all be agents of peace in your words and actions however small or insignificant they may seem. Stand up for peace and unity wherever you see conflict and disunity.

The Gospel for today is also a great favorite because it encompasses three more great words that tell me about God and our response to the revelation of the Gospel of Christ. Jesus said to the Apostles “come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” When life is tough; then the going is rough; when you are frantic and under pressure at home, at work or wherever there is nothing quite like a few days away from it all maybe in the mountains or at the shore or just somewhere nice and quiet and calm like a retreat house. At this time of the year many of us have vacation time, time which is often the stuff of dreams for the rest of the year. It is important time the value of which is not to be underestimated. Jesus recognized that in his own life and in that of the disciples that we all need breaks and downtime as we say. If you read through the gospels you will note that Jesus for all his busy ministry had regular times apart. He would rise early and go to some deserted place where he would commune with his heavenly Father. And he recognized the need for the apostolic band likewise to seek times of rest and refreshment. What he was doing of course was practicing the “Sabbath principle” honoring God’s rest on the seventh day of creation. We have lost something of that Sabbath principle with all the demands and pressures of contemporary life. But we delude ourselves if we think it is healthy either physically or spiritually to do without it. Jesus says to us as he said to those apostles “Come apart and rest awhile.” It is only as we put that into practise in our own lives that we gain some perspective on our activity, that we perhaps learn to listen a little more, be more attentive to our inner life and the lives of those around us.

But we all can identify with the Gospel passage when the crowds turn up. Times of refreshment always seem too short. You can imagine the reaction of the apostles when they saw the crowds just when they were beginning to enjoy their time apart with Jesus all to themselves. But not so Jesus.

“As Jesus went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” I do not know if it is always true but it is often the case that needy people express their needs at inopportune moments. It is often when you are in the middle of three things or when you are hurrying to get away to keep an appointment or whatever that the person says “Father have you got a few moments to talk” or “Father can you help me”. At those times I often feel like the apostles “Lord it is late and we are in a deserted place; send them away.” But Jesus sees all with the divine heart of love: he had compassion for them. Whatever his own feelings or convenience or needs Jesus saw beyond them to the needs and circumstances of the crowd. He had “compassion” for them: he empathized with their sufferings and their needs. His “heart went out to them” as we say. God’s heart of love goes out to all of us, to his whole creation, because he created us in and for love. That is the love we see demonstrated in this Gospel passage; it is the love we see demonstrated on the cross; and it is the compassionate love we seek to live out day by day. It is not always easy; it can be costly especially of time and convenience; but it does have its rewards, rewards which are heavenly!

And last but not least that compassion which Jesus showed to the crowd had practical outcome. Jesus taught the crowd and he fed them. He attended to their intellectual, their spiritual and their physical needs. Ultimately Jesus showed that hospitality which flows from the heart of God. It is that hospitality that we receive as we are fed at the altar rail with the food of the Body and Blood of Christ. It is that hospitality that flows out from this altar into our ministries be they at Coffee Hour, in our feeding of the hungry and needy, in the hospitality we show to others, friend and stranger, in our daily lives.

The God whom we worship and adore is the God of Peace; He is the one in whom we find Rest; He is the fountain of Compassion; and He is offers us abundant Hospitality in and through Jesus his Christ.   Amen

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