Peace Be With You

"The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the [road to Emmaus], and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. While they were still speaking about this, He stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then He said to them, 'Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in our hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself' . . . And as He said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. . . They were incredulous for joy and were amazed." -[Luke 24: 35-48].


"Peace be with you." Christians say this phrase of Peace to each other before approaching the altar to receive Communion. We say goodbye to each other in everyday encounters, by saying "Peace be with you!" We sign our notes and e-mails to each other with "Peace". Even in my own house, if things get too raucous, I hold up two fingers and say, "Peace! I need Peace in this house!"

Peace is one of the most important qualities in a Christian. 'But the greatest commandment is Love' -[Matthew 22: 36-40].

I think of Peace and Love, the most often, at this time of Easter. The irony is that Jesus "proves" his Peace and Love, by showing His disciples -- and us -- His wounds! Jesus tells His disciples that they should not be troubled, then He shows them His wounded hands and feet.

I have spoken before in this space about how Jesus' final sacrifice should have, by right, taken away all the sins of this world. In fact, our Jewish brothers and sisters do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, because God's Only Son should not have died violently and humiliatingly, as a criminal; but, more than that, the sins of the world did NOT actually end with Jesus' death. [Related posting, "This Ends With Me", April 13, 2015].

It is a harsh irony that even today's violence begets more violence and hopelessness. [Jesus said, "For all who take the sword shall perish with the sword."- Matthew 26:52. ]

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Hate begets Hate; violence begets violence. The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy, instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. . . . adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars."

King was so very wise! This theological statement, so beautiful expressed, is now being proven by Science.

In 1995, a small group of physicians inaugurated the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, [ACES Quiz], which tested patients on the number of traumatic or abusive incidences that they had experienced in their lives. What they found startled them-- as the number of adverse childhood experiences rose, the serious effects on adult health rose as well.

The type of adverse experiences are: parental humiliation of the child; childhood fear of physical injury; actual visible injuries such as bruises; sexual abuse; feeling of lack of love; neglect such as lack of food, clothing, medical care; abandonment such as through death or divorce; parental substance abuse; domestic violence; parental mental illness or suicide; a household member in prison.
[Take the ACES quiz by accessing cdc.gov, Division of Violence Prevention.]

In a ground-breaking book, "Scared Sick", published in 2012, authors Robin Karr-Morse and Meredith S. Wiley explore the very real physical costs of violence in our culture. The authors state: "Unrecognized, the now-silenced cry of the child takes the form of physical dysregulation in key systems that regulate health. " The authors also cite physicians who say that "more than 80% of the time, [medical] diagnosis comes out of the [patient's] history." In other words, heart disease, diabetes and cancer have a clear connection to early trauma.

The book also cites a McGill study that found that "adverse childhood childhood experiences such as child abuse leave epigenetic marks on DNA. . . This research documents that how children are treated registers at the cellular level."

These findings have multiple levels of significance. For me, personally, I experienced 8 out of ten of these Adverse Childhood Experiences, before I reached the age of 18. I am paying for this in my adult health! This ill health prevents me from certain sports or activities that I would enjoy, it prevents me from entering the workforce, and it isolates me socially, to the extent that I need to recover for months at a time before I can be active again.

I get down when people act like I "want to be this sick", like it is all psychosomatic. But if it is at the cellular level, it is not "all my fault!" In fact, I hate my ill health, because it is an all-too present reminder of the trauma that I thought I had escaped forever.

These findings also bring harsh light on those who would judge the homeless or the mentally ill. The book, "Scared Sick", pointedly states that they are "the castoff remnants of emotional trauma."

BUT there is Hope for me, and for all those wounded children in adult-form among us. The authors tout meditation, mindfulness and social support as powerful tools of healing. To me, this begins to look a lot like Christianity . . . .

Jesus was right, we need Peace among us! Let us recognize the now-silenced cry of of the child. Despite His wounds -- or maybe because of them -- "Peace be with you!"

[Related Postings: "The Truth of His Wounds", April 13, 2012; "The Legacy of Abuse:, April 24, 2104; "Warning Signs of Abuse", May 10, 2013; "STOP Abuse", April 4, 2011].

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