Even after the Resurrection there is still a lacking element in human life, that is, the Holy Spirit. The complete revelation of God will come when the Spirit too comes to live in the hearts of men. It is the Spirit that makes us understand the words of Christ in its fullest meaning. No one can understand the word of God if he or she is not inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Peace is a very precious commodity today. There are many ways of attaining worldly peace. It is a very lucrative business, billion-dollar business: like yoga centers, exercise club, meditation groups, counselling, zazen, sophisticated but expensive places where you could relax after a stressful week, etc. This is the kind of peace the world gives. However, the peace does not last so one must come back for more. That is why Jesus said that His peace is different from the peace the world gives. If you receive Jesus’ peace your hearts will not be troubled. The peace of Christ creates in the person a firm grasp of reality and it’s meaning. It becomes characteristic of a person, part of his/her personality You will have no stress.
Stress, in most cases, comes when we cannot get what we desire, or things do not happen the way we want them to happen. The Christian is not anxious that he does not see Jesus now. Jesus is in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will do what Jesus has done for us. The Holy Spirit will make us understand all the words and deeds Jesus has done.
Peace comes when we understand that Jesus has gone to the Father so that He will prepare for us wonderful blessings which we have not even thought of before and much greater than any of the desires and wishes we ever had. True peace is when you want nothing anymore except that the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit live in your heart. There will be no temple in heaven, no need for sun and moon because the glory of God will shine on all.
Jesus in this farewell, reveals the depths of his love. His leaving them in earthly form albeit glorified form of his resurrection, will be a boundless joy for those who loved Him because He and the Father will now dwell in them. The Almighty Father because of the redeeming power of his death and resurrection will now dwell in the hearts of believers. The seeing stops and the believing through the Holy Spirit begins. The eye loses its function to see; and the whole being, the whole person that is the Christian now experiences the indwelling of the Trinitarian God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It will be now the power of the Triune God which will be source of power and strength for the believers to live in the world that seems alien to the spirit that is reigning in their hearts. They do not abandon the world but do everything to bring to others the joy and peace of having God dwell in their hearts and minds. The true believer will be no longer anxious if there is a lack in his or her life for, they believe that God will provide for them like He provides for the birds of the air. The key to this oneness with God is through love of Christ, the Son of God. No one goes to the Father except through the Son. However, this is not merely a horizontal love. John warned Christians: if you say you love the Father who you cannot see and not love your neighbor who you can see, you are a liar.
How does one detect a Christian in the world today: They are those who rejoice over the different gifts God has given its members; they will be those who are out there in the battlefield fighting for justice and rights of human beings; the right to life, those who bring honesty into politics, those who struggle for freedom of religion, for freedom to express one’s opinion and not be harassed, strongly defend the dignity of all human beings. In all these the true Christian rejoices over and not criticizing or hating them for doing such worldly things. Christians know that their duty is the change the face of the earth in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our holiness comes precisely for bring about the spirit and values found of the Kingdom of God in our world. We find the world today in a crisis with problems of war, violence, injustice, oppression, and exploitation of the poor. Many leaders call themselves Christians, but we fail to see the power of God working in them. The Gospel today challenges us to ask ourselves: is God dwelling in me and as Jesus promised? Do I experience the Love when Jesus and the Father dwells in me? The power of Easter can only be seen in Christians who live happily and full of hope despite the hostile world they live in. There are no external proofs of Easter like seeing the resurrected Lord in person.
After all Christ did not promise a life of security unaffected by what is happening in the world. The power of Christians is the power of the Holy Spirit and the indwelling of the Father and the Son. They will be like the sun and the moon that will lighten the darkness of this world. There is hope always because Easter has made our God even closer to us – no matter what our eyes and ears see and hear about our world.