Our Last Will and Testament

It is remarkable and refreshing to see how Pentecost had blown open the hearts of those who experienced it. The fire had melted away all the old categories and assumptions to allow for something wonderful to take their place. The infant church throws its door open to the pagans, and a new community is formed. It is indestructible. We have inherited a great legacy from them.

Since 1983, when I was ordained to the sacred priesthood, I have seen and heard many things. Ministering to people at the end of life, there is a common enough desire to leave their 'loved ones' some kind of financial boost. Sometimes, this last will and testament can become the source of family conflict, where for the sake of a few quid, relationships are shattered beyond repair. What was meant to help has only hurt.

Notice, how, in today's Gospel Jesus makes a living will before His disciples. His bequest is not something that will tear them apart, but something that will help them to stay together. He leaves them Peace, the only gift that will guarantee their future. Peace does not divide but restores.

Once upon a time, two brothers met after forty years of being apart. Poverty had driven one of them to seek his fortune abroad. Like the brother who stayed at home, he had done okay but was never wealthy. When they met, they were strangers to, and suspicious of, each other. The tension was high and as each family member crept gratefully into bed, the two brothers were left alone. The one who stayed brought bread to the table, the one who left a bottle of wine from his suitcase.

When the daughter of the household awoke the next morning, she noticed that neither of them had gone to bed that night. She went outside and saw them together in a field. They turned and waved, and side by side, stepping together, they came towards her. As she watched and waited, she knew that even though she had not yet had to stay awake through a long night to beat the darkness away with her love, she knew she would be able to do it.

​Peace, the restoration of relationships, is the only inheritance worth having