Jesus said, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give to you.’ (John 14:25)

During Jesus time, the Roman Empire assumed the world’s dominance of power and were enjoying an unprecedented period of peace that was affectionately termed ‘Pax Romana’, or Roman Peace. ‘Pax Romana’ was approximately 206 years where the Romans were not at war with any other nation. More accurately, there were no nations willing to oppose the might of the Roman Empire because they had been beaten down and had lost their ability to resist attacks from Rome. In other words, the Roman citizens experienced peace on the backs of the nations they had destroyed and plundered.

To accentuate this period of Roman peace, the likes of Emperors’ Augustus and Nero provided free food and entertainment to the people, which included gladiators fighting to their death in the Colosseum, and Christians being fed to lions and other wild animals. It would appear from this model of peace that it may only be achieved at the expense of others, or that peace is relative only to those who are experiencing it.

Historians have suggested that since 3600 BC, the world has experienced a mere 286 years of peace, which means the entire world has been at peace for less than 8% of the total time that is recorded in history of mankind! During this same period of time, there have been an estimated 14,351 wars, large and small, in which some 3.64 billion people have tragically lost their lives and where approximately 8000 peace treaties have been both made and broken. It’s also worth noting that the definition of ‘World Peace’ corresponds to ‘nations’ of people not being at war’. Thus, is ‘Pax Universalis’ (Universal Peace) really attainable?

There are a host of theories and ideologies as to how to attain ‘world peace’, including: globalisation, Cobdenism, capitalism, democracy, peace through strength and, of course, the quest for peace that is expressed throughout all major world religions. In the Bible passage above, Jesus stated the peace he gives to us (Pax Dei) is ‘…not as the world gives…’, which could be expressed as peace sought from a completely different paradigm to the one we’re accustomed to.

One of the familiar stories in the Bible is the one in Mark chapter four, where Jesus was asleep in a boat when a furious squall came up, with the wind and waves threatening to destroy the vessel his disciples were in. Despite the terror of the turbulence and trouble that surrounded them, Jesus seemed to understand a peace that had more to do with trusting in the one who has power over the wind and the waves, more than the immediate problem.

The peace that Jesus gave to his terrified disciples in the boat was not the absence of trouble, but rather the confidence that God has it under control. Perhaps the secret to the peace that we value so highly is not found in the absence of trouble and difficult times, but rather in the midst of such times.

A reminder: the ‘Newington and Community Carols Service’ will be held in the Newington Chapel on Saturday, 17 December, start at 5:00pm with Christmas nibbles, before the carols commence at 5:30pm. Please come and enjoy this festive time together, along with your family and friends.

Rev Geordie Barham
College Chaplain