Christ’s Gift of Peace (Part Two)

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” (John 20:19 NAB)

From last week, we looked at Jesus’ greeting of peace to his disciples in the evening of that first day which marked his resurrection. Jesus came to his followers in a scene surrounded in tension and fear. Upon entering the room, he spoke to them, “Peace be with you.” He spoke these words to reveal himself to them giving veracity to his resurrection. Here was the signpost that pointed to the overcoming power of life over death. As the One who overcame the grave, Jesus was with them and with him came the reality of true peace.

Only a moment later, Jesus once again spoke the words, “Peace be with you.” This time he spoke the words to send them into the world in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the peace he gave to his disciples, to assure them, became the peace by which he commissioned them as his apostles, sending them into the world with the message and power of forgiveness.

From here on out, this was the new reality under which Jesus’ followers lived. Jesus’ resurrection was the basis of a peace that no power in heaven or earth could defy. Oh, yes, as Jesus’ messengers went out into the world, they suffered persecution and martyrdom. The powers of the world lived (and still do) under the delusion that they have the upper hand as they proclaim and perpetuate the myth of their authority. No! “Jesus is risen!” “Jesus is Lord!” And because of this his peace has been forever established. This was their new reality. But loved ones, be reminded, it is ours too!

The message of our Lord’s peace, first spoken two millennia ago, continues with us today. As such, our Lord’s peace is the peace by which we are to now live. This is true peace that presently comforts and assures. At the same time as the recipients of his peace, our Lord commissions us to go forward in his peace, in message and action, bringing forgiveness and reconciliation to the world about us. Like our spiritual ancestors, we do so in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. But no less than they, are we charged with the same commission.

This peace, the peace Jesus gifted to his early followers, and the peace he gifts to us today, is the basis for the life we live with him. This is the peace that is to be displayed and offered by us to the world in which we are sent. You see, peace is our calling. This peace is at the heart of the Christian life in both what we have received, and to that which we are called as followers of the resurrected Lord. I look forward in sharing with you more of the meaning and implications of our life and calling to peace in Christ next week. Until then, “Peace be with you.”