Jesus of Nazareth: Great Spiritual Power of Peace and Harmony
TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 24 Oct 2011
Charles Mercieca, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service
Since the early days of creation, God thought of sending His beloved Son to this world to purify us from our iniquities. His eyes fell on a young Jewish lady, Blessed Mary, whose mission was to bring this divine Son into the world. God wanted to show us that our strength is not derived from a well trained military but rather from the practice of virtues that elevate us to a higher level of existence. If we were to be good spiritual beings, all violence will end for good.
Jesus’ Role in the World
In Christianity the position of Jesus is very unique since He is viewed not only as a prophet but also as the divine Son of God, the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. His mission on earth was to teach us by example how to lead a good and holy life that is pleasing to God. In order for all of us to benefit from the wisdom of Jesus we have to listen to what he said on some occasions. Here is a list of statements Jesus made, which are not enlisted in any specific order.
1. Do to others what you would want others to do to you. This explains the importance for all of us to help create a world of peace and harmony.
2. Put the sword away for he who kills by the sword will die by the sword. Jesus was quick in condemning the violence Peter was about to perform.
3. When slapped on the face turn the other cheek rather than hitting back. Retaliation has a self-defeating purpose, as we observe in military actions.
4. Imitate the Father who is in heaven by loving and forgiving one another. All people are God’s children whom He loves dearly.
5. Violence breeds violence and more violence breeds more violence. This is vindicated in the history of every war that took place throughout the ages.
6. Whatever you do to the least of your brethren you do it to me. This is one of the great peaceful contributions Jesus made for all of us.
7. Peace be with you forever. The message of Jesus of Nazareth consisted in presenting us with peace and harmony that bring about great joy to our hearts.
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Human beings have the potential to do great things through the practice of virtues. Those who do so will receive the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, which become the source of their strength. Such gifts may be enlisted as follows:
1. Wisdom: This enables us to see things into proper perspective as to make always the right decisions that are in the best interest of all people without exception. This way everyone will be a winner and no one a loser.
2. Understanding: This gives us the ability to see anything we pursue from various angles. This way we feel we are truly on the right constructive path that proves to be beneficial to everyone without exception.
3. Counsel: This serves always to get the right advice in choosing the best of many possible alternatives. Needless to say, this is very useful since, quite often, we cannot reverse the clock of history.
4. Fortitude: This consists of inner spiritual strength that will enable us to pursue our noble goals and objectives without ever giving up. It certainly reveals in a number of ways, God’s power within us.
5. Knowledge: This is bound to direct us to success in our effort to make good and positive contributions to society. The more we know the more we are in a position to become genuine assets to others.
6. Compassion: This reveals God’s mercy toward us who keeps on loving us and providing us with all the necessities of life in spite of our arrogance, stubbornness, and determination to pursue evil.
7. Fear of God: This spiritual gift is not derived from the fear that God may punish us for our evil doings, but it derives from the fear that I may end up offending such a good and merciful God.
In view of what has been stated, it is obvious that the legacy of peace and harmony that Jesus of Nazareth left us, cannot be taken lightly.
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Charles Mercieca, Ph.D. – President, International Association of Educators for World Peace, Dedicated to United Nations Goals of Peace Education, Environmental Protection, Human Rights & Disarmament.
-Professor Emeritus, Alabama A&M University.
-Hon President & Professor, SBS Swiss Business School, Zurich.
-Member, TRANSCEND-A Network for Peace, Development and Environment.
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 24 Oct 2011.
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The article is quite enriching. God and his son Jesus Christ are really the source of true peace. My students will be assigned to read this article when we shall be discussing on “Media and Conflicts” in our “Media and Society” course. Different people attach different interpretations to the whole idea of peace. Jesus’ teachings on peace are one way to understand what peace means.
Let me comment as follows:
First: “Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.” (Albert Einstein) Probably, Einstein intended to imply that Jesus had been one of those “Great spirits.”
Second: Essentially, I agree to all the above 1. to 7. But, as to “7. Fear of God”, I believe that it is more appropriate to say “reverence for God” rather than to say “fear of God.” You have a “fear” of violent hooligans at the football stadium, for instance? But you do not respect them in the sense that you respect God. You have a “fear” of poisonous snakes in the forest, for instance? But you do not respect them in the sense that you respect God. When you use the word “fear” in order to express or to mean your respect to God, it might produce a misleading. Therefore, I propose the use of the word “reverence” when you refer to your respect to God. But if you really mean “fear,” it is all right or appropriate to use this word. Imagine, for instance, that you were one of those people of Pharaoh, and that you were a parent who had the first born child. Then, you would really have a strong fear of Yahweh.
Third: Allow me to conclude this comment by quoting Jesus’ words as follows: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” St. John 14:27