At the Last Supper, the night before He died, Jesus made His own last will and testament to His disciples. The great bequest that Jesus makes, His parting gift, is the gift of peace. It is the power of the Holy Spirit, which after His death and resurrection, Jesus will send from the Father to all who love Him and who keep His word.
The need for that Holy Spirit became evident very quickly in the life of the early Church. Some Jewish converts wanted the sign of their tradition, circumstances, to be demanded of the Gentile converts. All sides of the argument were presented and argued for. Judgment was made, wise judgment, but not at the expense of any side. All points were given due consideration and value. It was not about winners and losers, but about finding the right way forward.
“Peace be with you†is the Easter greeting of the risen Lord. That greeting is not merely a wish. It is a gift imparted to us. It is a responsibility. It is our vocation.
Happy Mother’s Day!
M – O – T – H – E – R
“M” is for the million things she gave me,
“O” means only that she’s growing old,
“T” is for the tears she shed to save me,
“H” is for her heart of purest gold;
“E” is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
“R” means right, and right she’ll always be,Put them all together, they spell
“MOTHER,”
A word that means the world to me.–Howard Johnson (c. 1915)