Today is the first of January, 2020, the first day of a new year. We are here to thank the good Lord for all the graces and blessings we have received. It is a day to also commit the new year into God’s hands, asking Him to be with us and teach us how to trust him and overcome our fears. Today is also the 53rd world day of peace. How many of us read the message of the Holy Father for the celebration of the world day of peace? It’s a wonderful message but as always, good things don’t attract much attention, people will rather spread calumny against the Pope than spread his good words and works.
Before now, people are more respectful of Holy authority and have more fear of God but those values are fast eroding, people access the social media without conscience. In any case, today I want us to focus on the message of peace. Even a child born today knows that though we have achieved so much in our world today in areas of science and technology, our world is crying for peace.
There is so much threat to peace in our world today, in many families, in communities, among friends and the worst of all in many hearts. A fearful proportion of men and woman in our world today are battling with depression and there is growing interest in suicide more than ever before.
In the message of the Holy Father, he proposed many paths to peace which I want to summarise.
- We must renounce our desire to dominate others or see their diversity as a threat. Rather, we must learn to tolerate and accept others in their diversity.
- We must set aside violence in thought, word or deed against our neighbour and against God’s creation (ecological conversion).
- We must not encapsulate others in what they have said or done but value them for what they embody, thereby breaking the spirit of vengeance, learning to choose the path of forgiveness and respect for God and one another. This is how we live in the Spirit of universal fraternity, as children of the one heavenly Father.
- We must seek reconciliation with God and accept His love for us and share this with others. Reconciliation with God is very essential to seeking peace with others.
However, for us to have peace with others and the world we must first seek peace within ourselves. So many people dress well, look good but they lack peace within, without inward peace, we can’t project peace to others. This year let us embark on a journey of seeking more of inward peace and then seeking peace and reconciliation with others especially beginning from our families. Our greatest project this year could be the restoration of peace.
This morning, let us reflect on five ways to achieve inward peace.
- Let go of your painful past.
Your hurts, disappointment, painful childhood, your errors, let go of your feeling of guilt, your mistakes, your failures, stop living in self-pity and self-condemnation. Accept your past, be at peace with it, ask for healing and move on, do not bring your regret and guilt to this new year.
Deuteronomy 1:6 God said to Moses, you have stayed too long on this mountain, it is time to move on, this is what God is saying to someone today. Also, in 1 Samuel 16:1, God told Samuel, how long will you grieve over Saul, stand up, fill your horn with oil and move on.
It is time to come out of misery and regret, it is time to accept God’s healing and forgiveness and embrace a whole new life of grace, peace and joy.
- Be careful of people’s opinion and judgement.
Many people are sad and depressed today because they allow people’s opinion and judgement to ruin their joy and self-esteem.
Do not judge yourself by what people say about you. Do not allow people to ruin your life for you, people can be very mean, judgemental and uncharitably critical. Many times people diffuse their internal frustration on others and make judgement out of prejudice, envy and baseless hatred.
Last week when I watched a video on some comments on the Holy Father, I concluded that to be a happy person, I must learn to see myself in God’s eyes, not through people’s eyes, I learnt to see people’s judgement for what it is.
Always remind yourself of your worth in the Lord, you are blessed, you are the apple of God’s eyes, you are a favoured child of God, a masterpiece of God’s excellence, a child of purpose, a reflection of His glory, wonderfully and fearfully made, you may be imperfect but your God loves you and He won’t give up on you and He continues to work on you.
The brothers of David saw him as a non-entity but God saw him as a powerful king, if you allow people’s opinion to dictate your life and shape your perception of yourself, peace will be impossible.
- Do not base your happiness on people or relationship.
It is the nature of the human person to disappoint, do not put your joy in a friendship or relationship. We have seen husband or wife simply walking away after finding another love, leaving their spouse broken and many ended up committing suicide.
Some people are seasonal in our lives when their seasons are over, they move on, some are ordained for the past but we lament them even in the future. Do not put your joy, your happiness, your purpose of living in any man or woman, let your joy be from God and from within you. Even a disciple of Jesus betrayed him, another denied him, the rest ran away.
Love, treasure, respect and celebrate people but do not let your happiness depend on anyone. The bible contains stories of how the human person that God loves so much, turned around and disappointed God, right from the very first story in the bible to the end, why do you think it is safe to base your joy on people.
- Be fair and kind to others.
Isaiah 48:22 the bible says “no peace for the wicked.” It is impossible to have peace when we are wicked, unkind, unjust or cruel to others. True peace can come from treating people with kindness and having a clear conscience.
- Reconcile with God.
No true inner peace without being at peace with God, do not let the pleasure of sin, guilt and shame to ruin your relationship with God. The foundation of true and lasting inner peace is to be at peace with God.
Let us turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of the prince of peace, to intercede for our world, for the Church, for our families and for us, that we may experience, cherish and share God’s gift of peace to others.
Rev. Fr Emmanuel Okami