I am hearing "Be not afraid" quoted quite often these days, and certainly this assurance is what humans have been hearing from angels and prophets, including Jesus, for centuries. It is comforting. When I hear this encouragement, it often leads me reflect on The Beatitudes. They, too, can be comforting in times of loss and struggle because the inherent message in the sermon is that things change. Luke actually brought this home rather strongly in Luke 6:20-26. In addition to the comfort of knowing that those who hunger will be filled and those who mourn will laugh, he warns that if you are rich, you have already received your consolation, as if to say that your riches are already in the past. If you are full, you will know hunger. If you are laughing now, you will know sorrow. What I hear is the encouragement to hold on to neither what we might be tempted to call our blessings nor what we might call our struggles. Hold lightly, because ultimately, there is nothing to hold on to. Our physical bodies, our minds, our treasures, our gains and our losses are impermanent because this life is change. This should not be considered dreary news, but rather offers us liberation, and hopefully leads us to generosity. Once we release our grasping, our hearts are free to experience what Thich Nhat Hanh describes as "the heart of reality". Others would call this reality God. I tend to call this reality Love. I think this reality is the "different" peace that Jesus said he offers (John 14:27).
In his book, The Art of Living by Thich Nhat Hanh describes impermanence in this way:
"Impermanence is something wonderful. If things were not impermanent, life would not be possible. A seed could never become a plant of corn; the child couldn't grow into a young adult; there could never be healing and transformation; we could never realize our dreams. So impermanence is very important for life. Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible (116)."
Yes, even peace. Let us go with open minds and hearts.
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