"Peace be with you"
John 20:19-31
Easter 2C, April 15, 2007
A Sermon by Fr. James Haney V
“Wait ‘til your father gets home.” When I was a kid, those words used to send chills down my spine. If Mom had tried everything, and was still fed up with me, this was her last line of defense. “Wait ‘til your father gets home.” Those words meant only one thing. I was in big trouble. I was up the proverbial creek, and didn’t want to think about a paddle. I knew that the sight of Dad coming through the door that evening would not be a pleasant one. “Wait ‘til your father gets home” meant that I had screwed up big time, and there were going to be dire consequences.
In today’s Gospel reading, I imagine the disciples must have felt the much the same way. The setting is Easter night. The disciples all know that they’ve really screwed up. Their self esteem was about zero. Their master needed them. They ran away. He got crucified. And they chickened out to save their own hides.
So here they are, a few days after Jesus death. They’re hiding out. They’re behind locked doors, just in case the Romans or the Temple police are out looking for them. They’re dreading a knock on the door.
So what would their reaction have been upon seeing Jesus appearing out of nowhere and standing among them? You can just imagine the shocked look on their faces. Their eyes bugging out, their jaws dropping.
They’ve messed up big time. They know it. And Jesus knows it. So what is Jesus going to do? Is he going to yell? Will he be angry? Will he tell them that he was stupid to ever pick such a lousy bunch of disciples in the first place?
But Jesus does none of these things. Instead he says two words: “Shalom aleichem.” ‘Peace be with you.’ Jesus doesn’t come at them with anger or vindictiveness. Jesus doesn’t chew them out or gripe at them. Instead he offers the greeting: ‘Peace be with you.’
What a mixture of emotions the disciples must have had. Fear. Surprise. Anxiety. Relief. Bewilderment.
And we shouldn’t be surprised by these emotions. People who are dead usually don’t walk into a room and start talking to you. Resurrection is not an ordinary everyday occurrence.
But, overall, John tells us, when the reality of the situation finally sinks in, one emotion takes over. The disciples rejoice at seeing their risen Lord. And Jesus says a second time, “Peace be with you.”
But then Jesus offers more than just words of peace. He also breathes his peace on them. He breathes on the disciples and gives them the Holy Spirit, the very spirit and life of God. From the Resurrected Jesus comes a gift of grace for his disciples. They certainly didn’t earn it by their behavior during Jesus’ passion.
But the glorious Good News that first Easter night is that the Holy Spirit is given to the disciples in spite of all their failings. God’s Spirit comes despite the disciples denials and betrayals. God’s peace comes even though the disciples are trying to run away and hide.
But you can’t really run away from God. Jesus searches the disciples out and finds them. Jesus comes to the disciples where they are, even behind locked doors.
Jesus brings peace. Jesus brings his Holy Spirit. And the only thing he asks in return is that they believe.
And the disciples do believe. But you might say, “Now wait a minute, what about Doubting Thomas?” Well the truth is, even Thomas believes. We unfortunately call him doubting Thomas. But ultimately he is believing Thomas. He simply takes a week longer than the rest of the disciples. He wasn’t there Easter night, and he wanted some concrete evidence. Doubting Thomas believes when he encounters the Risen Christ.
In fact, Thomas gives the fullest profession of faith of anyone in John. Thomas gives that wonderful profession of faith: “My Lord and My God.” In the end, Thomas believes.
In the Gospel according to John, belief is of the ultimate importance. Over and over again, throughout his Gospel, John asks only one thing of us. John asks us to believe the Good News. That’s John’s whole purpose in writing his Gospel. He wants us to believe/trust/have faith in Jesus Christ. He wants us to believe that Jesus is risen from the dead. And he wants us to receive the new life that Jesus brings.
We are called to believe even as we struggle with our doubts. Belief/trust/faith is never easy. Belief requires grappling with God. Belief requires wrestling with God. The opposite of faith is not doubt, just as the opposite of love is not really hate.
Love and hate are tied closely together. It takes as much energy to hate someone as it does to love someone. The opposite of love is indifference, not hate. Love and hate are tied closely together.
Likewise, faith and doubt are tied closely together. The opposite of faith is also indifference. Doubt and faith are two sides of the same coin.
Good intellectually honest doubts are the next best thing to good intellectually honest faith. We believe, like Thomas, not by ignoring our doubts, but by honoring our doubts. Remember the sequence: Thomas expresses his doubts. Jesus overcomes them. Thomas moves to a deeper level of faith.
This is supposed to be a pattern for us. We are to grapple with our doubts in order that our faith may be strengthened. In fact, it is honoring our spiritual struggles and doubts that can carry us from a simplistic faith to a deeper and more mature faith.
Like Jacob in the OT, we are called to wrestle with God. Like Thomas, each of us is called to come and touch the living Christ. We are called to touch his wounded and scarred body. We touch it through prayer, through scripture, through sacrament, and through his body, the church. We are called to believe even in the midst of our doubts. And we are called to receive the new life Jesus brings.
Jesus’ life is new. And he gives his disciples, and by extension, us, that new life as well. That’s the point of our last two verses of the 20th chapter of John:
“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
In a very real sense, the story of the Gospel does not end at the end of the books we call Gospels. The Gospels are open ended. Jesus is alive. Jesus is active. Jesus is at work in the world about us.
The last page of the Gospel is not yet written. Each of you is called to add your own pages to the pages of scripture. Holy Scripture tells the world how God has been active in the past. You are called to tell the world how God is active in the present, and how God is present in your lives.
Jesus Christ comes to you with his wounded hands outstretched. He knows all your failings. He understands your weaknesses. He knows your doubts. And he loves you anyway. He comes with words of love. “Shalom aleichem.” ‘Peace be with you.’
This is the Good News of Easter. Jesus Christ is alive forever and ever. He brings us his peace. He brings us his life. May we respond with joy. May we respond with gratitude. May we respond, “My Lord, and my God.”
The Rev. James P. Haney V
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Wichita, Kansas
