While the disciples are in the upper room full of fear, the risen Lord appears and gives them his peace (cf. Jn 20:19). In this coming, which we can define as foundational, he lays the foundations of the Christian community: the Holy Spirit, forgiveness, and the gift of peace. Peace (שׁלום-shalom) has a double characteristic: it is born from his presence (cf. Jn 14:27) and testifies to his victory over the world (cf. Jn 16:33). With the shalom the times of strangeness have therefore ceased and a new fraternity is arising. In the risen Christ every man can therefore find God as Father and their neighbour as brother. To understand the significance of this greeting at Easter, we must know that in Jewish culture the opposite of shalom (peace) is not milchamàh (war) but rather ma machlòket (division). Jesus with his resurrection triumphed over every division fruit of sin. But not only that. Shalom comes from shalem (intact, complete). What does it mean? That peace is not so much a wish but a responsibility, that is, whoever offers peace undertakes to build it. The sine qua non to build it up, that the brother or sister is our completeness. This content then passes into Hellenistic Greek with eiréne, a term that derives from the verb eiro (to intertwine, connect, balance). Peace is the sign of a balance rediscovered with oneself, with others and with God. But Paul, in a Christological fragment of great depth (Eph 2:11-18), reminds us that Christ is our peace. Christ not only builds peace and gives it but he is the very constitutive of peace, the decisive factor of cohesion. Peace comes from God, it is a gift ex alto, it builds the Christian community, the Church, and it builds from the Church. So here is the Easter challenge, pass it on to the world. We can then say that the Christian community is at the centre of this movement in a double way: being its place and at the same time its instrument.

Commentary by b. Sandro Carotta, osb
Abbazia di Santa Maria – Praglia (Italy)

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey