Easter 2A Reflection (John 20:19-31)

The scene of the very first Easter day is not so glorious. It is filled with fear and doubt. We see Jesus’s disciples hiding themselves from the local religious and civil authorities out of fear that they may be accused of stealing the body of Jesus from his tomb. Considering our current situation, we can very well resonate with the disciples as we too are keeping our version of the stay-at-home order. If I may rephrase (or contextualize into ours) the beginning of the gospel lesson, it goes something like this: “When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where people had met, wearing their masks on and keeping their physical distance of 6 feet were locked for fear of the virus…” We might, however, warn them, “No meeting even with your masks on!” 

You get my point that the common experience that the disciples and we share together is fear. Their fear of being charged of stealing Jesus’s body and being punished by the power that be or being crucified like Jesus is deeply rooted in fear of death. Our general fear of the virus is also rooted in fear of death. While it is completely human to have this fear, there’s one thing we should be careful with: don’t let fear control us. When fear dominates us, we lose a sense of control, that all our behaviors are driven by fear, that our decisions are made solely on fear, that our whole being shrinks. 

Then what do we do about this fear? A psychologist would say, “Name your fear. Recognize and accept it with self-compassion without your self-talk of ‘buck up’ and self-judgment.” While this is a helpful and recommended way of managing fear, we Christians hold onto one more, which is the most essential core of our lives. It’s the crucified and risen Christ. 

In the midst of the disciples’ fear, Christ comes and stands among them and says, “Peace be with you.” This peace is merely a word we say to calm ourselves but that which goes beyond the phenomenal realm of life and death. This peace is of the resurrection, not of resuscitation. It is eternal, always enduring and hopeful. This is the peace we share during our Sunday mass. 
    
Christ is in our midst and brings this peace born of the resurrection. All of us already are ensouled and embodied with this seed of Christ’s perpetual peace at our baptism. This new reality of the resurrection is what the Church celebrates and lives out. We hope both with realizable desires and with faith in our eternal oneness with God in Christ. 

It is my prayer that all of you are able to experience this eternal peace of the resurrection within yourselves. It doesn’t go anywhere. It has never left you. It is always right here in the depth of your being. Keep paying attention to that peace within you as all thoughts and feelings cease. This discovery and experience of the peace of Christ, which passes all understanding, will create in us a new narrative while we keep the stay-at-home order. 

So if we let this peace of Christ speak to us, it might be like this: “We are not passively stuck at home but are actively flattening the curve of infections. We are not just doing anything useful at home but are helping healthcare workers conserve their energy and take a break. Our freedom is not forcefully taken but conscientiously exercised to keep ourselves and others safe.” 

The Peace of Christ be with you always, especially during this crisis in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.        

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