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Peace Be with You
Peace Be With You (John 20: 19-29)
Remember that time you acted impulsively, and your friends called you an Impetuous Peter? Or what about when you were the last person to catch on to something new, and everybody labeled you a Late-to-the-Game James? No? Well, what about that time you questioned something and people called you a Doubting Thomas? Poor Thomas never lived that one down, did he? As if none of the other disciples had ever doubted. Why donât we remember Thomas for the courageous words he had spoken just a couple of weeks earlier, as Jesus had headed for Jerusalem and Thomas said to the other disciples, âLet us also go, that we may die with himâ? Seems like people are more likely to be remembered for their less-than-stellar moments than their exemplary ones.
On the one hand, itâs easy to feel sorry for Thomas. After all, he wasnât in the room when Jesus appeared to the rest of the disciples the first time, so he hadnât seen the resurrected Lord for himself. On the other hand, we have to wonder why he didnât believe the others when they told him they had seen Jesus. Why would they lie? Maybe Thomas was just a hard-headed skeptic. But Jesus had some words for him that were also for future skeptics: âBecause you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.â Is it wrong to doubt? To question? Notice that Jesus doesnât rebuke Thomas for his need to experience Jesus for himself before he believes, and he doesnât rebuke us either. But he does ask us to believe, even when there is no physical evidence to support our belief. To have faith when we canât be sure. Because the opposite of faith isnât doubt: itâs certainty.
When Jesus appeared to the disciples in the locked room the first time, his friends had every right to expect a scolding. Just a few days before, all of them except John had either abandoned or denied him. But Jesus had only words of comfort: âPeace be with you!â And words of mission: âAs the Father has sent me, I am sending you.â Then he breathed on them as God had breathed on the first man, infusing them with the new life of the Holy Spirit. Thus he prepared and equipped them to carry on his work throughout the world. The work of healing and restoring. We who have experienced the risen Jesus are to carry on this mission of reconciliation, love, mercy, and grace. We canât put our hands into the wounds on his flesh, but through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we can believe. We can know him, and we can invite others to believe and know him.
Just as with the disciples, he offers us peace, the fullness of all good things from the Father, even if we doubt or question. He offers us what so many of us desperately need: enough. His peace is not the absence of conflict or strife but the presence of Himself, the presence that completes us. That makes us whole. We still might not understand many, many things. We still might have a million questions. We still might doubt. But because he fills us with his peace, we can rest in him. We can stop chasing after all the things that only temporarily satisfy us but ultimately leave us empty and wanting. And it is not only for ourselves that he gives us this peace. As the Father sent him, he sends us. âWe have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truthâ (John 1: 14). Now let those who have seen him, who know him, carry his message of grace, truth, and peace into the world.
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By Westview Church Waukee Iowa RCAPeace Be With You (John 20: 19-29)
Remember that time you acted impulsively, and your friends called you an Impetuous Peter? Or what about when you were the last person to catch on to something new, and everybody labeled you a Late-to-the-Game James? No? Well, what about that time you questioned something and people called you a Doubting Thomas? Poor Thomas never lived that one down, did he? As if none of the other disciples had ever doubted. Why donât we remember Thomas for the courageous words he had spoken just a couple of weeks earlier, as Jesus had headed for Jerusalem and Thomas said to the other disciples, âLet us also go, that we may die with himâ? Seems like people are more likely to be remembered for their less-than-stellar moments than their exemplary ones.
On the one hand, itâs easy to feel sorry for Thomas. After all, he wasnât in the room when Jesus appeared to the rest of the disciples the first time, so he hadnât seen the resurrected Lord for himself. On the other hand, we have to wonder why he didnât believe the others when they told him they had seen Jesus. Why would they lie? Maybe Thomas was just a hard-headed skeptic. But Jesus had some words for him that were also for future skeptics: âBecause you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.â Is it wrong to doubt? To question? Notice that Jesus doesnât rebuke Thomas for his need to experience Jesus for himself before he believes, and he doesnât rebuke us either. But he does ask us to believe, even when there is no physical evidence to support our belief. To have faith when we canât be sure. Because the opposite of faith isnât doubt: itâs certainty.
When Jesus appeared to the disciples in the locked room the first time, his friends had every right to expect a scolding. Just a few days before, all of them except John had either abandoned or denied him. But Jesus had only words of comfort: âPeace be with you!â And words of mission: âAs the Father has sent me, I am sending you.â Then he breathed on them as God had breathed on the first man, infusing them with the new life of the Holy Spirit. Thus he prepared and equipped them to carry on his work throughout the world. The work of healing and restoring. We who have experienced the risen Jesus are to carry on this mission of reconciliation, love, mercy, and grace. We canât put our hands into the wounds on his flesh, but through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we can believe. We can know him, and we can invite others to believe and know him.
Just as with the disciples, he offers us peace, the fullness of all good things from the Father, even if we doubt or question. He offers us what so many of us desperately need: enough. His peace is not the absence of conflict or strife but the presence of Himself, the presence that completes us. That makes us whole. We still might not understand many, many things. We still might have a million questions. We still might doubt. But because he fills us with his peace, we can rest in him. We can stop chasing after all the things that only temporarily satisfy us but ultimately leave us empty and wanting. And it is not only for ourselves that he gives us this peace. As the Father sent him, he sends us. âWe have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truthâ (John 1: 14). Now let those who have seen him, who know him, carry his message of grace, truth, and peace into the world.
Click here to listen
http://www.westview.org/wp-content/uploads/Podcast2017/4-23-17podcast.mp3 | Open Player in New Window