One of the parts of the Mass which is reserved for the deacon, if there is one present, is the Sign of Peace. The deacon gets to say: "Let us offer each other a sign of Christ's peace." That greeting is taken from what Jesus says in the Gospel we read today (Jn 14: 27- 31A): "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you." So what is this peace that Jesus gives us, and that we offer each other? Let me tell a story of my own experience with that peace. About 20 years ago I had a case our in LA for a Minnesota medical device manufacturer. My client got into a fight in federal district court in LA involving a bunch of LA-based sales representatives. We also started a case in Minnesota dealing with some of the same issues, so there were battles on several fronts. On really short notice we got summoned to appear in front of the federal judge in LA to explain what we were doing, and to defend ourselves from some pretty-pointed attacks. The judge in LA was known to be opinionated and could really lower the boom on lawyers, or legal arguments, that he didn't like. So, the prospect of appearing before him to face some serious, but misleading, complaints made by LA attorneys for the other side was a bit daunting. You know it's bad when the general counsel for your client decides a couple of hours before the flight to LA that he can't join you at the hearing because a "last minute meeting has just come up." I got on the last flight to LA, which was, of course, delayed. We arrived at LAX about midnight and I got to my room a bit before 1 am, exhausted and pretty-much a wreck with anticipation over the fate which awaited me in the morning. As I worked through what was going to happen I concluded that I should probably bring my tooth brush to court, because the judge would likely have me arrested for contempt. He was the kind of guy who would do that. I tried to go to sleep, but the more I tossed and turned, the worse I felt about the upcoming hearing. It was going to be terrible, I thought, and I couldn't figure out a way to make things better. Finally, about 2:30 in the morning, a thought came into my mind. Or I heard. Or the Holy Spirit spoke to me-- you name it, somehow I was told to go get the Bible which the Gideons put into every hotel room and pull out the 23rd psalm and read it. You know that psalm-- the one which begins "The Lord is My Shepherd...." OK, I was in my hotel room, not sleeping, so I figured: "why not? I've got nothing better to do." So I went and found the Bible and read the 23rd psalm. Nothing.... I read it 4 or 5 more times. Still nothing..... I closed up the Bible and was about to put it down when I was told-- heard-- understood (pick a word) the instruction: "Keep reading." So I kept reading. Five, six, seven times I read the 23rd psalm. Still nothing.... Finally, maybe the eighth time I read the psalm, a remarkable feeling washed over me. Call it "peace" if you like. it was a feeling of assurance, an understanding that whatever happened the coming morning, all would be well, the awareness that Jesus had my back. My fears immediately vanished. I went to bed and slept the rest of the might (such as it was) like a baby. I got up in the morning and stood at the podium in front of the federal judge about whom I had been so concerned and I had the clear understanding that Jesus was standing next to me, on my left, with His hand on my right shoulder. I had "the peace of Christ." As it happened, the hearing went spectacularly-well for our side. The judge almost held the other side in contempt, and bereated them for even bringing the motion that required my presence in LA. But I knew it didn't matter. Christ was with me either way. Should we believe it when Jesus offers us His peace? You bet. And that's what it looks like.