He Shall Be Peace

But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, least among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne,^* Then the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel. He shall take his place as shepherd by the strength of the LORD, by the majestic name of the LORD, his God; And they shall dwell securely, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth: he shall be peace. (Micah 5: 2-5)

This familiar passage from the Old Testament book of Micah predicts the coming of the Messiah Savior. When we hear this passage, we often focus on the words “ruler” and “shepherd,” both terms of which apply to Christ. But the often overlooked line in this translation is the last one: “he shall be peace.” Not he shall bring peace. Not he will make peace. But he shall be peace.

St. Francis of Assisi seems to have grasped the meaning of this passage. His greeting, and the one that he wanted his Friars to use, was pax et bonum, which means “peace and all good.” Jesus told his apostles that, when they entered a house, they were to say, ”Peace be to this house,” and if a person of peace lived there, peace would descend upon that house.

“Peace to this house.” “He shall be peace.” The apostles were blessing the house with another name for Jesus. It was as if they said “Jesus be in this house.” And if the people in that house were good and moral people of peace, the Spirit of God, that is the Spirit of Jesus, would come to rest on the people in that house.

St. Francis knew this when he greeted everyone with “peace and all good” for who is all good but Jesus, and who is peace but Him?

At Christmas time, the thoughts of many people turn to peace. We long for peace in our world that is torn by war and violence. We call Jesus the Prince of Peace meaning that His kingdom is peace, but He is Peace Himself. What would the world be like if everyone embraced the teachings of Jesus? We would not have to wish that peace would come. We would have peace in our midst, and we would recognize Him by name.