But what one notices about all those whom we have been considering – the Apostles, Mary Magdalene and St Stephen – is that they all had a close personal relationship with Our Blessed Lord.  They were not nominal Christians.  On the contrary, like all true followers of Christ, they had first made their peace with him by a realistic repentance; and both they and their lives were distinguished by a powerful and personal faith and love for him.

The Apostles believed in him and loved him enough to leave all and follow him.  Mary Magdalene believed in him and loved him enough to stand by his Cross and weep at his tomb.  Stephen believed in him and loved him enough to die for him.  So St Peter, in his letter to the Christians of the second generation, described their relationship with the Risen Christ in exactly the same way: “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him…” (NRSV, 1 Peter 1:8, our emphasis).  So the inner peace and harmony which Christ bestows is bestowed only on such as they.

As St Paul puts it, “…the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7) – and the significant words in that assurance are the last three, “in Christ Jesus”.

That does not mean that one will be left unmoved by the troubles and sorrows and anxieties of life or be insensitive to them; but it does mean that deep down in one’s being, there will be an underlying sense of security, a sense of belonging, which adversity is as powerless to destroy as prosperity is incapable of creating; in a word, a sense of being inwardly at harmony with God and at home with him.