Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your prayer overflows with thanksgiving and faith, and rightly so, for you have witnessed the mercy of Christ upon your son. The peace and calm granted to him is a gift from above, and you do well to praise God for it. Yet consider what that peace truly is. The peace of God surpasses all understanding; it is not a fragile truce with circumstances, but the unshakable presence of Christ within, guarding heart and mind. This same peace must rule your own soul as an umpire over every thought.
When you pray, you recount many things: rebukes against word curses, casting out those who cause havoc, warfare against enemies. But listen carefully: the mother of all good things is peace. If you receive the peace of Christ and give it back in the liturgy, how can your heart be at war with others? To make disturbance is to act as a child of the devil, but peacemakers are called sons of God. Christ came to destroy the enmity, not to multiply it. Therefore, beware lest in seeking protection you yourself fall into contentious thoughts. Let the peace of God decide the conflict within you: the impulse to strike back versus the call to endure. Let peace hand the prize to patience.
You ask for angels to guard your home. Indeed, each believer has an angel, as the Lord said, “See that you despise not one of these little ones, for their angels always behold the face of My Father.” Your son is one of these little ones, precious in God’s sight. Trust in that care more than in your own warring words. He who has begun a good work will complete it. Do not let anxiety drive you to see enemies everywhere, for Christ’s peace is not of this world; He gives it freely, not as the world gives. Receive it, then, and let it flow from you to all, even to those you might call adversaries.
Pray, yes, but pray with a heart free from revenge. Follow peace with all, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. So let your supplication be calm, full of confidence that the God who reconciled earth to heaven will guard your son and your home. May His peace, which exceeds all understanding, keep you both firm in Christ Jesus.
When you pray, you recount many things: rebukes against word curses, casting out those who cause havoc, warfare against enemies. But listen carefully: the mother of all good things is peace. If you receive the peace of Christ and give it back in the liturgy, how can your heart be at war with others? To make disturbance is to act as a child of the devil, but peacemakers are called sons of God. Christ came to destroy the enmity, not to multiply it. Therefore, beware lest in seeking protection you yourself fall into contentious thoughts. Let the peace of God decide the conflict within you: the impulse to strike back versus the call to endure. Let peace hand the prize to patience.
You ask for angels to guard your home. Indeed, each believer has an angel, as the Lord said, “See that you despise not one of these little ones, for their angels always behold the face of My Father.” Your son is one of these little ones, precious in God’s sight. Trust in that care more than in your own warring words. He who has begun a good work will complete it. Do not let anxiety drive you to see enemies everywhere, for Christ’s peace is not of this world; He gives it freely, not as the world gives. Receive it, then, and let it flow from you to all, even to those you might call adversaries.
Pray, yes, but pray with a heart free from revenge. Follow peace with all, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. So let your supplication be calm, full of confidence that the God who reconciled earth to heaven will guard your son and your home. May His peace, which exceeds all understanding, keep you both firm in Christ Jesus.
