Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this morning is from the Gospel of John, the twentieth chapter:
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And 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 withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, 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; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, 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 believed.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Thus far the text.
Dear friends in Christ,
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Amen! Notice, what happens today with this risen Jesus Christ. He walks through walls. He scares the ever-loving snot out of His disciples. He does miraculous signs among people. Jesus’ risen body doesn’t look too different than His pre-crucifixion body, save the holes, yet because Jesus is now risen, because He is now making full use of His divinity, there is no end to what He can do. And what’s the one major thing He is focused on doing today? Bringing peace.
That’s right, peace. The disciples are hanging out in a locked room because they’re afraid of the Jews, and the man they all thought was dead, appears in the midst of them. So, they’re all afraid, terrified, because they’re worried the Jews, the Sanhedrin, the people who put Jesus to death, are going to do the same thing to them.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been afraid, truly afraid. I’m not just talking pit in your stomach scared, I’m talking afraid to the point of being sure you’re going to die. I don’t know that I’ve ever been that scared. The closest I can come is the feeling I get right before I wake up from a recurring nightmare I’ve had since I was a kid. It’s a feeling of utter despair, there’s nothing you can do, there’s nothing you can fight with, you’re going to die, you’re going to die horribly, and you can’t stop it.
But these disciples weren’t living out their dreams. This was real life. They were seriously afraid they were going to die. And all of the sudden a dead man appears in their midst! He just pops into the middle of the room, and says, “Peace!” Can you imagine the fear these disciples had? Can you imagine the tumult as tables and chairs are knocked over as the disciples scramble to get against the wall, as far away from this ghosty thing in the middle of them? Can you imagine the screaming, the yelling, and all the commotion? Do I race out of the room away from this guy or do I stay? Do I go outside where I could be killed on the street or do I stay here with a ghost?
Of course that’s what’s going on in their heads. But, what’s really happening is that the risen Lord Jesus Christ, He who was dead but is now alive, Christ who is risen indeed, uses the divinity that is His to own, and appears through the wall in their midst. And instead of saying, “Hey, guys! Told you so,” He just says, “Peace be with you!”
But what peace? What peace is there when people want to kill you? What peace is there when everything you had been hoping for, as the disciples had, had come to ruin? What peace is there when your friend and your teacher is murdered? If that’s all there is, truthfully, there is no peace.
But Jesus doesn’t give them peace as a dead man. Jesus doesn’t give them peace as a murdered man. Jesus doesn’t give them peace as a man without power. Jesus gives them peace in His very presence. Jesus being with them is peace. Jesus being near them is peace. Jesus being risen from the dead is peace. Jesus being with them is peace. Even when they don’t understand it.
And this is true for us. What peace is there for us? What peace is there when the world is going to hell in a handbasket? What peace is there when our kids don’t behave? What peace is there when our grades are slipping? What peace is there when we have racial tensions in our community? What peace is there when our lives fall apart? What peace is there when we are fighting with our spouse? What peace is there when there seems to be no reconciliation with our brothers or sisters? What peace is there when nothing ever seems to go right?
There is peace because Jesus gives it as a man with power. There is peace because of the very presence of Jesus. There is peace because Jesus is near us. There is peace for Jesus is risen from the dead. There is peace because Jesus is with us.
How so? Well, for the disciples, eventually, they settle down. And what does the text say? They were glad. But when? When Jesus had shown them His wounds. You see, we have peace because of the crucified Lord and because He is risen. Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
And because of this, there is peace. There is peace for us. There is peace when the world is going to hell in a handbasket. There is peace when our kids don’t behave. There is peace when our grades are slipping. There is peace when we have racial tensions in our community. There is peace when our lives fall apart. There is peace when we are fighting with our spouse. There is peace when there seems to be no reconciliation with our brothers and sisters. There is peace when nothing ever seems to go right. And where is this peace today?
Where is the peace that passes all human understanding? Where is this peace? I look around and I don’t see a crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. I look around and I don’t see Him in our midst. I look around, and like Thomas, I doubt.
Yet, when this is what I look for, when I look for Christ standing before me today, I am not looking where He has promised to be. You see, that which Christ promises He does. So when He promised that He would be killed, He was. When He promised He would raise Himself after three days, He did. And when He promises that He is with us always, even unto the very end of the age, He is. So, when He has promised His Church that He is in the word of forgiveness, He is. When Christ has promised that He will be found in the reading of the Word, He is. When Christ promises that He is in the waters of baptism, He is. When He promises that you eat His body and drink His blood in the Lord’s Supper, you are, for He is there.
Christ is everywhere we look and listen in this congregation, for Christ is in His Church. This is peace. The Word is peace for Christ is there. The Supper is peace for Christ is there. The Font is peace for Christ is there. Christ is in the midst of us, make no mistake, and there is peace found here.
But what is this peace, especially in this world? Is it the absence of conflict? No, because Jesus cries, “Peace,” to the disciples, but the Jews still want to kill them. You have peace and yet our world is still troubled. Yet, you have peace.
So, what is this peace? What is this peace that Jesus speaks? It is the peace that passes all human understanding, it is the forgiveness of sins, it is the belief that Jesus Christ is the Lord of All. This peace, this peace comes to you from God. It is not something that you do, it is something that is given to you. It is not something you create, but it is created in you by the Holy Spirit. This peace is something that causes you to confess with Thomas, “My Lord, and my God!” This peace brings you to faith. This peace brings you the knowledge of your risen Lord and Savior. This peace brings to you a Savior who walks through walls, who softens hardened hearts, who fights into blocked up ears, who makes His way into murky minds, and who gives to all who stop resisting Him the faith to believe. And this faith brings you into everlasting life in His name.
This is what peace is. Peace isn’t just something that sits out there and is a nice word or concept. Peace isn’t something that just sounds like it belongs in an ideal world. Peace is what Christ is, and it is what Christ brings. It brings to you a foretaste of the feast to come in the Resurrection of the Dead. Peace is brought to you now, it’s the in-breaking of the Last Day, the Day of Judgment, into the present. It’s a little end of time right now. Peace is that which we have now, and that which we shall have for eternity. And this peace will last forever. This peace is forgiveness, it is righteousness, this peace is Jesus. And this peace will see you through now, through the tough times, through the fear, through the angst, through the tension, through the consequences of our sins unto the last day.
This peace will bring you to the end of time and to your resurrection from the dead, for this peace is truly Jesus. Jesus with us, Jesus near us, Jesus in our midst. Jesus is our peace. And Jesus is everywhere we look and everything we hear in this Church. For Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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