“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.”
I would like to meditate on the peace Jesus wants to give us — but I’d like to do so through the lens of an incredibly ancient prayer — one that we pray just about every single Sunday. That prayer is the Gloria. Just a few short minutes ago, we all sang together: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of goodwill.”
This holy prayer, first proclaimed by the host of angels on the night Jesus was born, gives us a crucial insight into the kind of peace Jesus wants to give each one of us today and every day. And it all hinges upon that first word:
GLORY.
What exactly is glory? We hear about God’s “glory” all the time at Church and in the Bible — but what does it actually mean?
In the Old Testament, the presence of God’s glory is very often related to the place where God meets humanity in worship: On Mount Sinai, within the Tabernacle, in the Jerusalem Temple. We hear stories of God’s glory descending upon these places of encounter, places of intimate worship. The people who see God’s glory are overwhelmed with awe — They’re filled with a deep, reverent love. God’s glory leads to a profound heart-to-heart intimacy with our heavenly Father.
From this perspective, when we as a Church sing “GLORY to God in the highest!” we are praising God for the dizzying, majestic encounter we are about to have with Him — both in the Scriptures we hear and in the Holy Eucharist we receive from this altar.
“GLORY to God in the highest, and on earth PEACE to people of goodwill.”
In that one amazing phrase, the angels connect both Glory and Peace. Why?
Because, my brothers and sisters:
Real, lasting Peace is only possible if we give ALL the glory to God.
God created us for this very purpose: To give Him glory. It’s what human beings were designed to do. To worship God. To put Him first in every single aspect of our lives. To totally abandon ourselves into His loving embrace.
When we choose to worship something less than God, it’s no wonder we find no peace.
Try giving glory to money — It all gets spent.
Try giving glory to youth and health — Eventually… we all die.
Try giving glory to popularity — Somebody else definitely has more than you.
Try giving glory to pleasure — It gets old and boring fast!
But when we give glory to God, a truly wonderful thing happens!
He gives us peace. “My peace I give to you,” Jesus says.
So how do we give glory to God?
Well, the fact of the matter is this: by our own efforts, we can’t. There’s no such thing as do-it-yourself worship. We can only worship God THROUGH Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Way. Jesus is the Gate. Jesus is the one mediator between God and humanity! Apart from Him and His grace, we can do NOTHING.
If we want to give God perfect glory, it has to be through the Lord Jesus. This is the whole reason the Word became flesh: to open up the Way to True Worship, true union with the Father!
Just think: Where does Jesus give PERFECT GLORY to God for our sake?
On the Cross.
Nailed to the tree, Jesus Christ offers up the perfect sacrifice of praise to God. He offers Himself entirely to the Father — and here’s the key — He offers us together with Him. He gathers up the WHOLE OF SINFUL HUMANITY in His Body and glorifies God for our sake.
All true worship, therefore, is really a participation in the worship Jesus offered on the Cross.
And that’s EXACTLY what we believe happens at each and every Mass!
When we gather as a Church to offer the Eucharist, it is Jesus Christ who stands at the Altar, giving GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST.
That’s what’s going on when at the end of the Eucharistic prayer, the priest prays those beautiful words: “THROUGH HIM, WITH HIM, IN HIM, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all GLORY and honor is YOURS, almighty Father, for ever and ever.” We’re lifting up the one holy and living sacrifice of Jesus’ own Body and Blood! We’re giving God all the glory.
That’s the Mass in a nutshell! We come together, glorify God in the highest, receive His PEACE in the breaking of the Bread, and then as the liturgy comes to a close, the deacon says to us: GO IN PEACE! In other words: “Go in Christ! Go live from that precious peace that He won for you — the peace that the world cannot give. Serve others from that peace. Sacrifice from that peace. Die for that peace.”
It’s a strange truth — that something so painful and ugly as the Cross can be the source of eternal peace! And yet, this is our faith. Christianity does not promise us an easy peace — a bland and boring absence of problems. No — the peace that Jesus offers us is a peace surrounded with thorns. It is a peace that has experienced hatred and rejection, and yet lives! It is a Risen and Glorified peace. And I don’t know about you, but I find so much comfort in this. At the Mass, I can empty out my anxieties, fears, and sins together with the Lord on this altar. What peace! The victory is won. God is in control.
As you come forward to receive Jesus Christ in the Eucharist in just a few short minutes, consider this incredible truth: The Eucharist IS peace! A peace that the world cannot give!
Therefore, receive God’s peace from this altar! Let it fill you with a deep and abiding sense of security! In the world, you’ll have troubles… but take courage! Jesus has overcome the world. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid — It is the Lord! He made peace by the Blood of His Cross, and now you have the PRIVILEGE to receive this same Precious Blood, which is our peace.
So let the Church sing with all Her heart: “GLORY to God in the highest! And on earth, peace to people of goodwill!”
