In the Prologue, St. Benedict quotes Psalm 34: let peace be your quest and aim (Psalm 34:15). I prefer the Grail translation: “Seek after peace, and pursue it.” One reason is that it is simply more familiar. It’s the translation we at the Abbey pray in the Divine Office. But there is another reason. Hidden within St. Benedict’s injunction to seek peace is his great theme: “prefer nothing whatever to Christ” (RB 72:11).
The prophet Micah helps us to make the link: “he shall be peace” ( Micah 5:4). The context clarifies that, for us Christian readers, “he” is none other than Christ himself: “He shall take his place as shepherd by the strength of the LORD, by the majestic name of the LORD, his God;… for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth: he shall be peace” (Micah 5:3-4, emphasis added). St. Paul adds: “he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, (Ephesians 2:14-16).
St. Gregory of Nyssa, one of the great Christian teachers of the fourth century, enriches this idea: “Since we think of Christ as our peace, we may call ourselves true Christians only if our lives express Christ by our own peace. As the Apostle says: He has put enmity to death. We must never allow it to be rekindled in us in any way but must declare that it is absolutely dead. Gloriously has God slain enmity, in order to save us; may we never risk the life of our souls by being resentful or by bearing grudges. We must not awaken that enmity or call it back to life by our wickedness, for it is better left dead.
No, since we possess Christ who is peace, we must put an end to this enmity and live as we believe he lived. He broke down the separating wall, uniting what was divided, bringing about peace by reconciling in his single person those who disagreed. In the same way, we must be reconciled not only with those who attack us from outside, but also with those who stir up dissension within; flesh then will no longer be opposed to the spirit, nor the spirit to the flesh. Once we subject the wisdom of the flesh to God's law, we shall be re-created as one single man at peace. Then, having become one instead of two, we shall have peace within ourselves.
Now peace is defined as harmony among those who are divided. When, therefore, we end that civil war within our nature and cultivate peace within ourselves, we become peace. By this peace we demonstrate that the name of Christ, which we bear, is authentic and appropriate.” (Treatise on Christian Perfection, Office of Readings, Week 19 of Ordinary Time, Thursday).
We tend most often to think of peace as the reconciliation of all the “us vs. them” conflicts that beset our world and, to be honest, ourselves. The daily news makes it difficult how sore a need this is, and how difficult to attain. Since most of us are not called upon to make peace among warring nations or even warring factions in our own nation, we need to look closer to home at all whatever divides us from an “them” in our families, neighborhoods, workplaces and, sadly, even in our churches.
But St. Gregory reminds us that there are divisions not only among us, but also within us, also crying out for reconciliation. On both levels, outward and inward, the heart of reconciliation is living fully the life of the risen Christ into whom we have been baptized. In seeking to live deeply in Christ, both socially and individually, we are indeed seeking Peace and pursuing it with all the means the Rule supplies in terms of prayer and relationships.
©2021 Abbey of St. Walburga
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