2nd Sunday of Easter

In our Gospel, Jesus appears to the disciples behind locked doors and rather shockingly (since most of these people deserted Him during his arrest and crucifixion) He says, "Peace Be With You."  Then He shows them His wounds - His hands and His pierced side, still present even on His resurrected and glorified body.  God wants to give us a deep, abiding peace in this life.  The path to that peace, however, is counterintuitive: it involves admitting and confessing just how much we have wounded others and God along the way - our sins - because to the extent that we admit our sinfulness, we experience God's amazing mercy; and to the extent we experience God's desire and love for us even in the midst of our brokenness, we experience God's peace!