IAct 2:14a,22-32
I Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
"Goodbye."
"See you later."
"Till we meet again."
"Adios amigo."
"God speed."
These are all salutations of parting and separation. In a sense, each of them is a "prayer" for safety, good health, happiness, healing and almost anything else that salutes the relationship we share with another person.
They are words of reconciliation. We are reconciled to impending separation with a promise of reunion in the future, a transcendence of "now" to "then", "today" to "tomorrow", of "loss" to "found". They are words that assure us that we are not alone, that we are held together in Spirit, by a bond that transcends death itself.
Human language is inadequate when it comes to explaining or understanding the simple words Jesus spoke to his disciples when he said, "Peace be with you". But, for all their simplicity, those words were perhaps the most powerful words ever spoken.
To begin to understand, we have to look, first, at the context in which Jesus spoke them. He had suffered a most horrible death at the hands of people who had not the slightest sense of compassion, who felt not a thread of regret for the inhumanity of their actions.
And the disciples, having witnessed the agony and death of Jesus on the cross, were so fearful for their own lives that they met behind locked doors in anticipation of meeting him again in the flesh, fully resurrected from death.
Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side which had been pierced as he hung dying, and they rejoiced when they saw the Lord. They desperately needed reassurance that Jesus was indeed standing in that very room with them.
But Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So later the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in his side, I will not believe."
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."
Most of us are a lot like Thomas when it comes to believing in the fruitfulness of our moments and we do our best to prepare for disappointment at every turn, afraid to trust. We seem to spend all our lives "waiting for the other shoe to drop".
As children, we lose ourselves in play, while dreading the voice that calls us off to bed before we are ready. As youth, persistence and adrenalin push us far beyond the ordinary to reach a goal. Yet a voice deep within reminds us that we may not win the game.
We struggle through life, grabbing what happiness we can, trying to ignore the negative thoughts that dampen our full enjoyment of what we have come to see as only fleeting moments.
We pander to our constant need for something new, something better, or just something different in an effort to get another fix of excitement or happiness. We insure our homes and our cars just in case of fire or accident or theft. We buy health insurance in anticipation of illness or injury. And we even fear the possibility of joining the ranks of millions of other uninsured Americans who cannot afford basic health care.
We're proud of young men and women in uniform and watch them march off to war, knowing that, along with pride, comes the possibility of dying in a distant land. We speak of peace while we make war.
And finally we buy "life insurance" only to find that it doesn't do what the words imply - after all, it has nothing to do with saving our lives. We ease the stress of living through humor and sometimes we even laugh so hard we cry.
All too often we go through the motions of life keeping in reserve the true depth of our joys; sacrificing the sweetness of spontaneity, or trust in a stranger's smile. We have become conditioned to "waiting for the other shoe to drop". That is, simply put, the human condition.
And we question the words of Jesus, "Peace be with you. My peace I leave with you." How do we reconcile His words to the condition we find ourselves in as we kick and scream against the hurts and disappointments that assault us daily?
Do we feel a certainty of the promises we make to loved ones at the end of life that "we will meet again."? Do we fully believe our own words as we declare that our loved ones have gone to a far better place where there is no more pain? Or, even here, do we wait for the other shoe to drop as we confront unwelcome thoughts, "but what if it isn't true?"
Doubts and struggles are part of the human journey. Earthly nature is designed to perpetuate itself by birth and death. Between joy and sorrow, fun and drudgery, love and hate, we are bound to know confusion to the point that we find ourselves often "waiting for the other shoe to drop."
But, because God sent his Son, Jesus, to earth in human form, God knows the fragile conditions of earthly life. He sent to us the good news that this condition is only temporary. And because of the human life and suffering of Jesus, today we can contemplate His words, "Peace be with you. My peace I leave with you."
Yet, in doubt, we cling to the things of this world so much that we miss the true beauty of the magic moments that spread themselves before us spontaneously. We miss the sweetness in a stranger's smile; we give away our golden opportunities for quiet reflection, throwing them to the winds of impatience.
We contemplate how overwhelming is the quest for Peace because we don't understand what it is. For "peace" is not just the absence of war. It is the condition of authentic respect for the dignity and rights of every human being to achieve complete fulfillment of God's plan in our lives.
Peace is the absence of the exploitation of the weak. It is the absence of poverty and social inequality that obstruct the building of stable conditions for authentic peace. Peace is the absence of greed. It is the absence of intolerance toward persons whose life styles don't fit neatly into a preconceived image.
Peace is the absence of bullying on the play ground, the absence of bullying in business and government. Peace is the absence of "one-upmanship", of envy, rage and malicious gossip, the abuse of money, power and status.
So then, what really is peace? We speak the word often with a myriad of nuances. We symbolize it in the form of a dove, or an olive branch. We march with banners to claim it as our God-given right.
Let's go back to Thomas and the disciples now. Though the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and he said to Thomas, "Peace be with you. Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."
Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
"Peace be with you", he said. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you". When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
Peace is forgiveness.
Peace is Faith in forgiveness.
Peace is Faith.
Don't you think Jesus is asking you and me to trust a lot more in His word and that peace will come to us through faith in forgiveness?
Amen.