The Promise🕊

The following is an adaptation of an ancient eastern tale (besides the actual quote)…

It is said that there was a wise eastern king who was looking for something to meditate on when he was happy and when he was sad. When he was in moments of success or in moments of failure. Something unique, something mind changing…

So, even though he was very well known by his wisdom, he decided to give the task to his wise men council. 

This group of erudite men after many days of meditation came up with a phrase, wrote it in a small piece of papyrus and place it inside a ring made out of gold. 

Then, they presented it before the king and told him: “Your majesty, inside this ring it is the phrase that you told us to find. But we would like you to open it only when indeed you are in a moment of joy or sadness.”

So, the wise king did it as his counselor told him to do. He put on the ring and didn’t open it until it was necessary.

After some time, the kingdom was in a big war with his neighbor and the king was in the frontline battle. In one of the battles he was forced to retire, and even lost track of his men. He was pursued by the enemy until he found a cave in the mountains to hide. 

Once there, he felt that it was his last day, and remembered his family, his friends, his kingdom and his God. Suddenly he saw the ring on his finger and it was the best time to open it. When he did it, he found the following scripture: “this too shall pass”. He said: “indeed, it looks that I shall pass to the other life, but I’m ready”. He said this because he had lost all hopes that he was actually going to pass this one. Then he felt asleep with a deep feeling of hopelessness…

Early in the morning, he heard a big fight going on, swords, men, horses and trumpets. Then, with the sword in his hand he went out, and to his surprise he saw his men and join them in the battle. He found his horse as well, and fought like never before!

Finally, he and his men won the battle and recovered the kingdom. While entering the gates of his recovered city on his brilliant horse, his people cheered on him and his army. 

While very one saying: “long live the wise king!” He saluted his people back, and felt overjoyed. And one more time he saw the ring on his finger, and decided to open it. With a smile on his face, he said: “indeed this (joy) too shall pass”, because he finally understood the lesson behind the scripture. 

“This too shall pass“, yes. 

We feel hopeless or sad like never before because indeed it is what we are living in the moment. We feel happy, overjoyed, invincible because it’s what we are feeling in the moment, as well. 

Our feelings and emotions are temporary, and don’t last for ever, they are part of the moment. Whatever we are feeling right now, depending on the context we are living, soon will be different. Very soon…

What shouldn’t be gone very soon are our hope and peace. Hope is a feeling, that might easily fluctuate but thankfully is related to our peace, which isn’t just a feeling. Peace is an state of the mind, the heart and the spirit. It doesn’t mean being careless if the world is falling apart, it means being in peace when rather the actual world, or our own world (life) is falling apart.

But today, April 2, 2020 with the USA having the most infected people with Covid19 in the world (216,000) and his economy collapsing how to keep peaceful and hopeful?  If our hope and peace are based in politicians, the economy system, our career, our intelligence, our possessions, and even our families it will be a matter of time to lose them. None and nothing is safe and inmune to our “invisible enemy (the virus)”, and when hope and peace are gone, soon our minds and hearts will be filled with many other negative thoughts and feelings. 

Nevertheless, “This too shall pass“, but keeping hopeful and peaceful while it passes need to have another source. An inmune source to our “invisible enemy”. Then, it has to be another one than ourselves and loved ones, people in power, and our material possessions. It has to be someone better and unchanging and unfluctuating than us. Or perhaps someone that is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hb. 13:8). It has to be someone that said that “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Mt. 24:35).

And what words did He say?…He said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you – peace of mind and heart. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (Jn. 14:27).”  Definitely, the world (whatever or whomever it represents) might even be able to give us hope (at least an ephemeral one), but what it cannot give us at this moment or at any moment is this kind of PEACE. What an awesome peace! And what an awesome source!

So, let’s put our hope on Jesus, the source of that promise, and our peace won’t easily fade away when trouble arises. Let’s put our hope in someone solid, someone credible, someone just, someone that doesn’t change: “God is not a man that He should lie, Nor a son of man that He should change His mind. Has he said, and will He not do it? Or has He promised, and will He not fulfill it? (N23:19)” …

Then, if He has promised a different kind of peace, why not believe it? Why not believe Him and in Him? We cannot afford to be pride in this crucial moment of our history.

Therefore, it is time to make peace with the Source of a better PEACE. It is time to be humble, it is time recognize our transgressions (to Him and our neighbours), it is time to repent and change, and then and only then…because of mercy, a water of indescribable Peace will overflows us….That’s the promise.

Please take that promise,

Shalom,

 

Gianco