Christian Peace

The Word of God is truly alive. Every time we hear the Gospel read to us, there will always be new discoveries, new understandings.

In the reading of Luke 10:1-9 today, for the first time, we hear of Jesus' appointing other seventy disciples to go out, two by two, to preach the gospel before he himself visited those town (Luke 10:1). These 70 disciples were not found in the other three gospels. Naturally, one may wonder where these 70 disciples came from? This tradition is peculiar to the Lukan community, like other famous parables such as the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) and the Prodigal Son (Luke 15). We cannot deny their authenticity. We can only speculate their origins.
These 70 disciples appeared after the miracle of 5 loaves and 2 fish in Luke 9. In my previous blog, I questioned how 12 apostles were able to control a crowd of 5000 people. Perhaps these 70 disciples could relief a little bit of the tension. I speculate that when the 12 apostles tried to arrange the people to sit down in groups of 50 (Luke 9:14), some people volunteered to help out. These volunteers, say one per group, might be the origin of these subsequent 70 disciples. The miracle provided an opportunity for their leadership to stand out. Among them, some left and some continued to follow Jesus. 70 may also be a symbolic number. In the case of Moses who was overburdened with settling disputes among the Israelites in the wilderness, God told Moses to gather seventy elders to share his workload (Numbers 11). Similarly, in the case of Jesus, the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few (Luke 10:2). God sent these 70 disciples to share the workload of evangelization. My conclusion is that there must be a situation in order to draw out the potentials of people. The miracle of 5 loaves and 2 fish is a miracle of cooperation between God and men. God gives us not only what is wanting, but also an opportunity for us to cooperate with Him to channel His grace where it is needed.

How should we understand the 'peace' Jesus mentioned in Luke 10:6?
Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace εἰρήνη be to this house!' 
And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. (Luke 10:5-6)
We usually understand "peace" in terms of an absence of conflict. Here, a relation is involved. The relation between people can be full of conflicts or full of peace. But in this particular verse, peace sounds like an object which can travel across space: "rest upon this house/him ... return to you". It doesn't seem to mean a relation. Alone, a person can be in peace with himself. He has no regret, no worries and no fear (John 14:27). It is not relational. Of course, on a deeper, more transcendental level, it can be relational with God. When we are able to stand blameless before God, we have no regret, no worries and no fear. In Paul's jargon, we are justified and according to Paul, our faith in Jesus justifies us before God. Why should I bring in Paul? It is because Luke was a disciple of Paul.
So, how shall we understand this verse?
First of all, the disciple himself must be at peace with God. Otherwise, how can he bring the peace of God to other people. The disciple must have already reconciled with God before he can be God's ambassador of reconciliation.
Second, his gospel message is "Peace be to this house". He brings the good news of reconciliation to people. Here, we see that peace is not an object, or rather say, not a finite object. No matter how much you "give away" your peace, you do not have "less" peace. You lose nothing, but increase more peace.
Thirdly, if there is somebody who is "a son of peace", somebody who desires the reconciliation with God, the peace you bring, your peace, will rest on him. This "son of peace" is reconciled with God.
Lastly, if he rejects this opportunity of reconciliation, he has to wait for some other opportunities. I am sure if you fail to be a channel of reconciliation, God will find some other channels. If the peace you bring goes out in vain, you lose nothing. You are still in peace with God. So, it appears that the peace returns to you. Indeed, it has always been in you.
In conclusion, if I am not in peace with God, I cannot bring His peace to other people. If I am in peace with God, this peace will not diminish.

Lord of Peace, may You peace covers the whole Creation. May Your Kingdom of Love and Peace come. Amen.