Chapter 26: A Piece of Peace

“I leave you peace. My peace I give you.”

The most remarkable contrast evident upon the image on the Shroud of Turin is the overwhelming sense of peace amidst ample forensic proof of so many tortuous wounds and bloodstains. Clearly the man of the Shroud suffered immense physical pain, yet the residue of His image projects complete serenity.

Why would the image of serenity immersed in suffering have been the only artifact left behind? Was it Christ's intention to show us another possibility for our relationship to suffering?

Given the right set of circumstances, it would be safe to say that “the whole world is against us.” Among the billions of people on the planet, there are very few people, mostly our family and friends, who care deeply for us. Are we so naïve that we actually believe the world population really cares about our tiny individual lives before their own? If the whole world were to fall into a state of crisis, we would likely all be capable of turning on each other to fight for our own and our family's survival. Our lives hang in such a precarious balance and we are always on the edge of this primitive “survival of the fittest” mode, even though we perpetuate an illusion to the contrary.

The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is only one tiny fragment of proof that having zero back up plan is the norm for many human endeavors. We coexist in the illusion that our governments, companies, and institutions have their acts together and can handle all manner of large scale crises. We fabricate this false comfort zone because the reality of the tenuous nature of human existence is too overwhelmingly scary to contemplate. Good thing we have a sense of humor...

As one crisis after another emerges in our world, we are starting to see that our relief efforts only go so far. Haiti is still a disaster and most who were there to help have moved on. It's understandable – people can only do so much to help others; our own lives inevitably beckon us back home to help ourselves and those we love.

The time between disasters and crises seems to be shortening. It begs the question:

Why hasn't the the whole world already fallen into crisis all at once?

And that question leads me to other questions...

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What is this force that binds together all our fragile realities and doles out the suffering incrementally so that we can recover and sustain our existence as a species?

Is it the same force that binds the scars and stains of torture embedded into the image on the Shroud?

Is human suffering holographic in nature, existing on many planes, in various domains, all suspended in some illusion of reality?

Is our suffering like a holographic image in that it is nonlocal – it cannot remain in a fixed location in space and time?

Do the particles of our suffering convert to waves when we are not directly experiencing the pain?

Is suffering part of the indivisible subatomic system, part of the implicate order that enfolds all realities into one?

Is each mark of suffering embedded into the image on the Shroud part of the 3D road map that answers the age old questions about why we are here and why we suffer?

Does the subatomic spray-like image that so faintly graces only the surface fibers of the cloth do so as a metaphor to remind us that the scars of suffering are temporary, but that salvation is eternal?

If you were Jesus Christ, a person with supernatural powers who could heal the sick and raise the dead, who could die and be resurrected... what would you leave behind for the world to contemplate?

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It makes sense that Christ would have left us the gift of peace because we have no sustainable way to find true peace in our exterior tumultuous world. Amidst constant suffering and always on the brink of destruction, we tread the waters of this life and hold ourselves together as best we can. Peace in this world is a fairy tale we tell ourselves –- a way to hold onto hope.

Peace is not to be attained in our world. Serenity inside suffering is something we can only find deep within ourselves. It is a gift that we can only fully receive through faith, faith in the force that binds and protects us.

I marvel at how hard the skeptics work to prove the Shroud is a forgery and not the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. I wonder if each of them was left the gift of a million dollars and was told it was a gift from Christ if they would work equally hard to prove that gift a fake.

The mere presence of the image of serenity on this piece of cloth imbues us with the gift of peace. This Son of Man, who so willingly agrees to always be with us no matter the crisis, to never abandon us like most of the world would, to grace us with the detailed record of His suffering for our salvation...His is the image that remains largely ignored, ironically even among those who have faith.

His gift of peace serene
on cloth suspended
our dream