Today is Day 49 of our reflections on the gospel of John.  Thanks so much for joining us!  To contact us, visit our website at www.markandkatiemartinez.com.

A Reflection on John 20:19-23

“Peace be with you.” (v 19)

The apostles have locked themselves in a prison of fear and shame. Confused, afraid, and shocked from the reports of Mary, Peter, and John, they need Jesus’ peace now more than ever.

We, too, become trapped in our self-imprisonment of fear and shame. We build walls around ourselves and shut the doors, hoping to maintain some semblance of peace on the outside, whatever the turmoil on the inside.

But that semblance of peace is false. It does not last, and it does not satisfy. We have to let go of our pursuit of this false peace, whatever its forms: clinging to control, quieting our interior unrest with exterior pleasures, avoiding conflict out of self-preservation.

“Not as the world gives do I give to you,” Jesus promised us at the Last Supper (John 14:27). The peace that Jesus longs to give us is so much more than worldly peace. The peace of Jesus is an interior rest, a lying down in green pastures by still waters, a restoration of the soul (see Psalm 23). It is this peace that leads to a calm confidence in the Father’s will. This peace allows us to trust Him more than the world. It is a powerful peace; powerful enough to crumble the walls of shame and fear in our hearts.

When we have His peace, everything else that comes is secondary to it. This is the peace that only the Lord can give, the interior peace that gave the Apostles courage to later stand up and preach the gospel to all nations, even if it led to their death.

With His peace, we can change the world.

What is keeping me from accepting His peace?

Prayer: Jesus, I need Your peace. Come into the inner room of my heart, and tear down the walls of fear and shame that try to keep You out. May Your peace reign in my heart and the hearts of all believers forever.  Amen.

Scripture quotations are from The Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright ©1965, 1966 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved worldwide.