There are some relationships that we find troubling or want to avoid if possible. These are, to put it more accurately, former relationships or friendships. In a romantic relationship that is breaking apart, there is the dumper, and the dumpee. We’ve seen on TV or experienced ourselves engaging in the conversation which begins with “It’s really about me, not you.” In a friendship which is about to be over, I would say there can be the traitor, and the betrayed. (Of course, there are some relationships that simply fade away.) Whichever type of relationship we might be dealing with, I imagine we would probably have experienced some people who we feel a bit awkward to face. This feeling of avoidance gets stronger if we are the ones who actually hurt or betrayed them.
The disciples of Jesus would probably feel uneasy, uncomfortable, and guilty to talk about their teacher and their collective act of ditching him and denying him. In today’s gospel lesson, these friends of Jesus are gathered at someone’s place after hearing about the missing body of Jesus from Mary Magdalene. Their leader Simon Peter and John went to verify if what Mary said was true. For them, this is a serious matter. They might be accused of stealing the corpse of Jesus. They probably are together to discuss how to get away from this potential criminal charge or where to find the missing body. They are for sure scared. They make sure the door is locked so that no one can come in. But then guess who comes in? Not the religious or civil authorities to question them about the missing body, but that very missing body himself. Jesus comes into the gathering of the ten traitors and stands among them. St John does not tell us how the risen Christ became a locksmith or how he enters through the locked door. The first word he says is this: “Peace be with you,” not the “I remember what you did last summer” or “I remember what you did to me, especially you Peter” type of conversation. It’s the peace of God that he shares with his friends who deserted him. This word of peace is then the message of forgiveness and reconciliation. Jesus embraces his disciples and friends who denied him like the father of the prodigal son. The resurrection in and of itself is God’s declaration of forgiveness not only for the disciples but also for the sins of the world. So, St. John in the second lesson says, “Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 Jn 2:2) This true peace of God originates from unconditional forgiveness and reconciliation. It comes through the presence of the risen Christ takes away the disciples’ fear. As I reflect on today’s gospel lesson, I notice that we hear the word ‘peace’ at least once in our Sunday Eucharist, and at least once a week. It is when the priest says “The peace of the Lord be always with you.” The other time that we hear the word would be when the priest invokes the blessing after post-communion prayer. It begins with “The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge of God and of his Son Jesus Christ.” At the hearing of this word ‘peace,’ it is not that of the priest, bishop, saints, or anyone else, but of Jesus Christ alone. And this hearing of the peace of Christ during the Holy Eucharist brings all of us to the place where Jesus’ disciples are gathered out of fear and anxiety. When we come to church on Sundays, we bring our concerns, fears, and anxieties about ourselves and those who we deeply love and care. To all these baggages we carry over our shoulders and lock ourselves into the church, Jesus tells all of us, “Peace be with you.” It takes away our deepest fears and anxieties. It takes away our shame and guilt. When Jesus says, “Peace be with you,” this isn’t a typical greeting like “How are you?” or “Hello.” He means peace that forgives, embraces, restores, and recharges us. And we hear this message of Christ’s peace through the mouths of one another as one Body of Christ. We become the voice of Christ for one another. The peace of Jesus doesn’t keep us behind the locked door. Let’s listen to what Jesus does next. He shows the healed wounds of his hands and side as if those wounds are the mark of who he is as the risen Christ. He repeats again, “Peace be with you.” Then he says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (Jn 20:21) With the peace of Christ, the disciples’ fears are vanished. And they are sent just as Jesus himself is sent by the Father. Being sent means that one is sent for a purpose. Being sent by Jesus means that one's whole life, whole being is sent for the mission of God. A moral theologian, William Cavanaugh says, “One’s person identity is discovered in one’s mission.” (Being Consumed, p. 82) With the peace of Christ, we are accepted, adopted, reconciled, and restored as God’s beloved. We discover our true identity that is not the version of this world but the one with the divine intention. We are seen as God sees Jesus. And we are sent out of our own selves by God. We go out of ourselves but never individually as a single unit, but as one body of Christ. It makes sense that every Sunday Eucharist, we are being sent to the world with the dismissal, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” Not only are we sent out by Jesus to go out of ourselves into our neighbors and strangers in the world together as the body of Christ, but also we do this only through the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus breathes on the disciples and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Whatever the disciples do in the name of Jesus is impossible without the help of the Holy Spirit. Think of the spirit as the breath of God through which we breathe in and out. With the peace of God the Son which forgives and reconciles us and the world to God the Father, we are sent as one body of Christ being empowered by God the Holy Spirit. This is the true nature of the church, the community of the resurrection. In our first lesson today, we hear strange and counter-cultural stories from the Book of Acts. The whole group of those who believed are of one heart and soul, giving up their private ownership of any possessions but all held and shared in common. At first, we might think of this as a basis of socialism or communism. But I don’t believe this is intentionally suggesting any economic and political system for our society. It is actually showing how the community of the resurrection, the church, the Eucharistic community looks like. Whatever one owns is used for others. This doesn’t mean one can’t own a property but owns and uses not for a personal gain or a private purpose only but for the sake of others in need. This is what I call “Eucharistic lifestyle.” We consume the Body of Christ, in which we are actually consumed in his Body to be broken to feed others. So the collect for today which we prayed together says, “Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith…” I’m aware that the annual meeting will be followed after service. I pray that this annual meeting where all of you are gathered together be the time to see each other as a crucial part of what makes you uniquely who you are in this one Body of Christ. Also, we once again remember the passing of Dave whose presence is nearer to God not only to grieve for the loss but also to give thanks and praise for his life and our perpetual communion with him and all those who have gone before us in the hope of the resurrection. In this Eastertide, may we see each other as the community of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, proclaiming his peace in this hostile and restless world. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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