True Peace

by David Lins  |  01/09/2022  |  (Being) Catholic Matters

Here is an insider secret: there are times when I have to write these columns weeks in advance. This is one of those times. As I write this, Christmas of 2021 hasn’t even occurred yet. As you read this, Christmas is a memory and you are more than a week into the new year.

For all I know (as you read this), the Omicron variant has been replaced by the Phi Beta Kappa variant, the murder hornets we were promised have finally arrived, Bishop Olmsted has retired, parachute pants have made a comeback, and I’ve passed away. (If this is the case—I want a memorial plaque next to a storage closet or the men’s restroom.)

We do not know what tomorrow holds, but it won’t go according to our plans. There will be unexpected blessing. There will be amusing incidents. And there will be heartache. It will not go according to our scripts.

One of the options for this Sunday’s Psalm tells us “The Lord will bless his people with peace.” Do you have peace? The Lord wants you to. This world doesn’t.

The day after Kyle Rittenhouse (rightly or wrongly) was found innocent, I read an astonishing headline: “Hundreds Protest Across the United States!” I confess that I thought, “Oh no! Here comes another wave of civil unrest!” Then, I stopped to think about the headline a bit more. Our church fits roughly 900. So at most, our church filled to capacity— spread across the whole of our nation—was the total number of people who took to the streets. And it was phrased in a way that momentarily raised my heartrate!

Again, the news doesn’t want to give you peace. Peace doesn’t sell. (When is the last time you turned on the world news and there was a splashy story on Switzerland?)

As for us faithful? We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we know Who holds tomorrow.

We might die tomorrow. Worst of all, someone we love might die tomorrow. And that will be tragic for us. But the pain we feel will be a symptom of the tremendous blessing we were given but for a time. And if they lived their lives in Christ Jesus, it certainly won’t be a tragedy for them. The Lord has finally given them true peace.

Comments, concerns, questions? Email David at dlins@oloj.org