“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
John 14:27 (NAB)
The “Prince of Peace”, is one of many titles of Jesus. It originated from Isaiah’s scripture, which we hear at Christmas time each year, but the Prince of Peace lives in all of us, all year round, through the Holy Spirit. Jesus said His peace is not the kind of peace we find in the world. It doesn’t depend on circumstances and is with us always, in whatever we go through.
I heard a story on the news last year, about a young female rookie pilot, who was taking off in a small plane in Pontiac, Michigan. It was her third solo flight, and after she took off, a veteran pilot who was about to take off, noticed that her front landing gear fell off. He immediately got on the radio, introducing himself by first name and told the young pilot what had just happened.
With a confident and calm voice, he guided her step by step to make a safe landing. He learned that the young pilot’s name was his own daughter’s name. Her voice was shaken but she followed his instructions as he calmly guided her to a safe landing.
The young rookie pilot said that his calm voice kept her at peace and helped her to focus on his instructions, as she safely landed her plane. If she had landed the plane on her own, it could have flipped upside down, resulting in serious injuries, or possibly even bursting into flames.
Being there at the right time to see what happened was the first miracle, and the second miracle was that the veteran pilot became a calming voice of peace to the young pilot. That veteran pilot knew exactly what was needed to guide her into a safe landing, and he calmly talked her through it.
There is an unseen kingdom within all of us who believe, and it’s called the kingdom of heaven, where a Prince resides, whose name is Jesus. He is the veteran pilot who calmly speaks to our troubled souls, talking us through each crisis in our life. He speaks to us not in an audible voice, but His peace resides deep within our souls.
It’s easy to forget that the Prince of Peace is dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit, each day. He is with us whether we are doing a mundane task like standing in line at the Post office, grocery shopping, or a more intense task, like visiting a terminally ill friend or relative in a hospital. We need to live in the knowledge that Jesus is truly with us and in us, in whatever is happening, so that we can hear His calming voice that reassures us, it’s all going to be okay.
Two years ago I was meditating on this truth, on my way to visit a friend who was dying of Pancreatic cancer. Her husband died of a heart attack only three weeks earlier and they were childless. Helene had no family member in her life during the end stage of her illness, but we had a friendship that spanned fifty years. She was like an aunt to my own children and we shared every major life event together, weddings, funerals and much more.
Her hospice nurse called to tell me that Helene had just lapsed into total unresponiveness. She told me she wasn’t waking up and stopped speaking. I started praying that she could find God’s peace in her unresponsive state.
As I drove to see her, I was thinking about the fact that the Prince of Peace lives within me. When I arrived at her nursing home, I prayed that He would somehow show Himself to my friend, even in her unresponsiveness. As I reached for the door handle of her room, I whispered quietly to myself,
“Here comes the Prince of Peace.”
I walked into her room, where she was sleeping and as I took hold of her hand, she immediately opened her eyes, and turned to look at me.
I was surprised that she opened her eyes and looked right at me, after being informed that she wouldn’t. She couldn’t speak, but I spoke briefly to her about the Prince of peace, and then I prayed for her.
Two days later she passed away, but I trust that His Presence was with her on that day and in her final moments.
I often wondered if she saw someone else besides me at her bedside. Did she see Jesus, the Prince of peace?
I sure hoped so.
Jesus speaks in a soft calming voice to us, giving us His peace in all the storms of life. His calming voice brought peace to a rookie pilot who landed a plane without landing gear. His Presence came near the bedside of a dying soul, bringing her His peace.
We are all rookie pilots flying through this life, and Jesus is the calming voice of a veteran pilot, who is leading us to a safe landing. Through all the turmoil we encounter on our flight, called life, we may feel like we are flying solo at times, but the Prince of Peace speaks into the radio of our soul, and with a calm and confident voice, He leads us peacefully to a safe landing. As we tune our ears to listen to His calm voice within us, we can go on to share His peace with others.
Lord, fill us with more of you and your peace. Tune up our soul’s hearing so that your calming voice may continue guiding us safely through any storms we are facing today. Amen
