SAUCIER — Those who know

“Peace be with you,” Jesus said to his disciples in the locked room.

Those words in the Gospel of John are unremarkable in themselves. By the time of Jesus, “Shalom aleichem,” or “Peace be with you,” was a common Jewish greeting.

For John and for Jesus, the words were much more. They were a promise kept.

Earlier in that gospel, Jesus says to these same followers, “Peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you.”

Centuries before, Isaiah had referred to this Messiah as the “Prince of Peace.” At his birth, choirs of angels proclaimed, “Peace on earth.”

This is the man who taught, “blessed are the peacemakers,” and “love your enemies, do good to those who harm you.”

Arrested in Gethsemane, Jesus told his disciple to sheathe his sword. If defensive violence was what he wanted, his Father in heaven would send “more than 12 legions of angels.”

A Roman legion was 6,000 soldiers. At the Roman garrison in Jerusalem, there were 500 to 600 troops and maybe a full legion in all of Judea.

It was a battle the angels would have certainly won, but Jesus instead chose the path of peace, even though it led to his death.

Still, some who claim to be followers of Christ insist that war is the will of God, that God is on our side, and that God will aid us in bringing “overwhelming violence to those who deserve no mercy.”

It is not hard to find passages in the Old Testament that attribute a righteous violence to God.

Exodus claims that “The Lord is a man of war.”

Deuteronomy chronicles the conquest of the Promised Land, with the total annihilation of cities like Jericho and Ai.

Saul is told to wipe out the Amalekites — men, women and children.

There are problems when justifying violence and war with these passages — historical context, hyperbole and theological perspective.

For the Christian, though, the biggest issue is not reading the Old Testament with the eyes of the New. As Origen taught, in the final book of the Bible, it is Christ, as a slain lamb, not a victorious warrior, who opens the seven-sealed scroll revealing God’s judgment and mercy.

In his recent vigil for peace, Pope Leo prayed:

“May the madness of war cease, and the Earth be cared for and cultivated by those who still know how to bring forth, protect and love life. Hear us, Lord of Life.”

I’m pretty sure by “those” he meant us.