Resurrection Peace

 

The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.

As the Father sent me, so I send you." Then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

                      If you forgive people's sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."     

Prayer:

Almost everyone is afraid of something. What is it that sends shivers up and down your spine? What is it that either paralyses us with fear or starts us screaming? Is there something we are afraid of? Maybe it’s one of these.

·        Mysophobia is fear of "dirt".

·        Hydrophobia is fear of "water".

·        Nyctophobia is the fear of "darkness".

·        Acrophobia is fear of "high places".

·        Arachnophobia is the fear of "spiders".

·        Xenophobia is fear of "strangers".

·        Claustrophobia is fear of "confined places".

·        Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the "number 13".

For the person who has some kind of phobia, say the fear of spiders, there is no peace until the spider is removed. Whatever we might be afraid of, until the cause of that fear is removed, there can be no rest and peace.

That’s how it was with the disciples after they had witnessed the cruel death of Jesus on the cross. Peter and John had witnessed the empty tomb early that morning but we are told, "They still did not understand the scripture which said that he must rise from death."

They had listened to Mary Magdalene’s account of her meeting with Jesus in the garden near the tomb where Jesus had been laid. Then John tells us, "It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the authorities."

The disciples knew from experience that the chief priests and other religious authorities were very determined and would stop at nothing to get their way. Therefore they were all huddled together behind locked doors. Who knows if they might be the next ones to be dragged away and treated crucified like Jesus?

But it was not only the religious authorities the disciples afraid of! One of their own had betrayed Jesus. If one of their most intimate comrades would betray them, whom could they trust?

And now there have been strange stories that he is alive. The guards at the tomb were bribed to spread the rumour that while they were asleep the disciples had come during the night and stolen Jesus’ body. There is no telling what the chief priests and other temple authorities will do to get the disciples.

So the doors were locked because of the disciples’ fear. The early Christian who read John’s Gospel would have known what it’s like to have this kind of fear. They too were afraid that the authorities would come and take them away and cruelly treat them and kill them.

Fear can be a confusing condition. There is good fear and bad fear. If you are trying to cross a busy street, it is good to be afraid. If you are on top of a bald hill and there is a lightning storm, fear is normal.

          On personal note, I had a tremendous fear of failure during my two or three years in this parish. I was so unsure of myself, frightened by others and couldn’t be myself. But to be who I am as a child of God, I had to face this dragon of fear within and deal with it through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.                   

I cannot change people’s behaviour or circumstances around me, but I can change me by how I react through the power of the Holy Spirit. When I surrendered my right, fear, and insecurity to God, He gave his boldness and peace which passes all human understanding 

But if fear is given too large a role - if fear begins to dominate too much of our thought and feelings - it can become a distracting, distorting, disabling and even dangerous emotion.

If too much fear paralyses us in the middle of traffic, or freezes us on the hilltop during the lightning storm, it could be our undoing. Given too much reign, we are no longer able to think and do things normally.

Into this locked room the risen Jesus appears to the disciples and this only adds to their fears. Jesus is dead, they had seen it with their own eyes. They panicked. The first thing Jesus addresses is their fear. We are told, Then Jesus came and stood among them. "Peace be with you," he said. … Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you".

This man they experience in front of them is so real that he speaks to them, and shows them the deep wounds in his hands and the gash in his side. And Jesus’ message -

·        in spite of all that is threatening,

·        all that is changing,

·        all that defies human understanding –

·        is simply, "Be at peace. I am with you; be peaceful."

When Thomas is confused about the disciples’ claim to have seen Jesus alive and declares that he can’t believe unless he actually touches the scars in Jesus’ hand and side, Jesus appears to him too. And his message is the same. Even in the face of doubt, Jesus says simply, "Peace be with you," and then he gives Thomas what he needs to believe. Happy are those who cannot see, and yet believe."                         

Martin Luther, preaching on this same text noted that: "Just as Christ did not stay long outside, away from His frightened disciples, but soon was there comforting them and saying: ‘Peace be unto you,’ ‘I am come, be of good cheer and fear not,’ so it is still. When we are afraid, God lifts us up …."

This is how the Easter message works. What God accomplished in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ changes everything. The risen Saviour brings us peace.
When we are downhearted about our sin, when we are upset about the way have treated others and especially God, the risen Christ brings us forgiveness and peace. Sins forgiven brings peace to the guilty conscience.

It brings healing and reconciliation between those hurt and offended. It brings a newness and a fresh start. We have peace of mind because we no longer have to fear the judgement of God on all that we do, say and think that is so contrary to what God wants of us. We say it in our liturgy again and again especially after we have heard that we are forgiven, "Peace be with you!"

The risen Jesus brings us peace when we fear the day of our death, or when we stand at the open grave of a loved one. It is natural and normal for us have this kind of fear but over riding this fear is the sure knowledge that when we pass through the valley of the shadow of death we will enter a glorious new life in eternity.

The risen Christ gives peace when we face times of doubt, confusion, crisis, sickness and grief. The fact that we have a Saviour who is risen from the dead assures us that he comes to us in those times as Saviour and Lord of lords he is able to support and help us. There is a lot in life that can make us afraid –

·        threats to personal safety,

·        being unemployed with family to support,

·        threats to career paths,

·        threats to the happiness of our families,

·        threats to our health, etc.                                                                 ×4Ø         

We may be frightened by what is happening in the church or in society. We may be frightened by sickness or by aging. There are so many things that can cause us to be panicky and afraid. In every case, in every moment, our God appears to us as one who offers us peace.

Just as Jesus came to the fear-filled disciples through locked doors he comes to us in our moments when we are filled with fear and the first thing he says to each and every one of us is, "Peace be with you!"

Here we come to an interesting and challenging part of our text. The peace that Jesus gives isn’t just for our private use. He goes on to say, "As the Father sent me, so I send you." To put it simply the peace the risen Saviour gives is to be shared, passed it on to those around us who live in fear.

After experiencing God’s peace through what we hear from God through his Word and receive from God through the Sacrament in our worship service, we are challenged to share the peace we have experienced with those who have no peace. There are those who are burdened with guilt, afraid of surgery, old age and dying and need the peace of God in their lives. Jesus commissions each and every one of us to be channels of his peace to others.

Locked doors could not keep him out. Nothing can. He is present among us as surely and as fully as he was with the disciples in the locked room on that first Easter. He is here with us to free us from our fears, to speak his peace into our hearts, to forgive our sins, to turn our sorrow into gladness, and to bless us.

 

His peace be with us always!

Amen.