History is full of great farewell addresses; from George Washington’s printed farewell address announcing he would not seek a third term to Lou Gehrig’s “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth” speech, to name but a few. Farewell speeches often crystalize the moment and put a focus on the here and now as well as a glimpse into the future. But the greatest farewell address of all time was given almost two millennia ago by Jesus. In his farewell address at the Last Supper before his upcoming betrayal by Judas, Jesus provides us with two of the most comforting thoughts about the here and now and about our future that are found in the Bible.
The first is in his phrase, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you,” is rich with meaning. To me, the peace that Christ left his disciples was not peace of mind, peace and quiet, to rest in peace or keeps the peace. No, it was much deeper. For the peace Jesus gave his disciples and likewise to each of us was the peace that passes all understanding. A peace that allows us to conquer all of our fears worries and anguish because we know that God’s love is with us always. Peace, knowing that the hand of God is constantly on our shoulder; helping us, guiding us and supporting us whenever we feel the need to call upon him. So, in times of stress, tension and turmoil remember the great inheritance Christ left us through these powerful words, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Equally as powerful are the words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, I am going away, and I will come back to you.” This was Jesus’s promise made during the Last Supper to reassure his disciples, to give them a glimpse of his future and theirs, that even though he was about to be crucified he would not be forsaking them, and he would return. Today, these words resonate with me at funerals for they remind and assure me that I should not be troubled by the death of my friend or a loved one but rather rejoice in knowing that they are the beneficiary of this great promise made in the Upper Room for they are now with Christ and are sharing in the promise of eternal glory.
So, as we find time in this hectic world to gather our thoughts and reflect on our day take great comfort in these words for they are God’s assurance that we are enveloped in his constant love and peace and that He will be there for us in the end.
Steve Scholer
I came to Creighton to attend law school in 1976 and following 5 years of private practice I started what I thought would be a 4 year job to help Fr. James Hoff, S.J. raise funds for the Campaign for Creighton. Little did I know that the many wonderful people I would soon meet, both here on campus and across the entire country, over the next few years would lead me to stay and continue to support the mission of this University. My wife is a Creighton graduate and our son, Frank, is a Xavier undergraduate and Creighton law graduate. Our daughter, Paige, has both her undergraduate and master’s degree from Creighton.
I do not participate in social media websites so posting my personal interpretation about what the readings mean to me is a novel experience for me. However, being required to put pen to paper forced me to become more reflective about what God is really trying to say to me and this has helped me in my daily prayer life - to slow down and let the Word of God dwell within me instead of racing through the daily devotions.
