2nd Sunday of Easter
John 20:19-31
"Peace Be with You"
"On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut 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 send 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; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 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 print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe." Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but 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 be faithless, but believing." 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 believe." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name." John 20:19-31, RSV.
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
An artist was commissioned by a wealthy man to paint something that would depict peace. After a great deal of thought, the artist painted a beautiful country scene. There were green fields with cows standing in them, birds were flying in the blue sky and a lovely little village lay in a distant valley. The artist gave the picture to the man, but there was a look of disappointment on his face. The man said to the artist, "This isn’t a picture of true peace. It isn’t right. Go back and try again.
The artist went back to his studio, thought for several hours about peace, then went to his canvas and began to paint. When he was finished, there on the canvas was a beautiful picture of a mother, holding a sleeping baby in her arms, smiling lovingly at the child.
He thought, surely, this is true peace, and hurried to give the picture to the wealthy man. But again, the wealthy man refused the painting and asked the painter to try again.
The artist returned again to his studio. He was discouraged, he was tired and he was disappointed. Anger swelled inside him, he felt the rejection of this wealthy man. Again, he thought, he even prayed for inspiration to paint a picture of true peace. Then, all of a sudden an idea came, he rushed to the canvas and began to paint as he had never painted before. When he finished, he hurried to the wealthy man.
He gave the painting to the man. He studied it carefully for several minutes. The artist held his breath. Then the wealthy man said, "Now this is a picture of true peace." He accepted the painting, paid the artist and everyone was happy.
And what was this picture of true peace?? The picture showed a stormy sea pounding against a cliff. The artist had captured the furry of the wind as it whipped black rain clouds which were laced with streaks of lightening. The sea was roaring in turmoil, waves churning, the dark sky filled with the power of the furious thunderstorm.
And in the middle of the picture, under a cliff, the artist had painted a small bird, safe and dry in her nest snuggled safely in the rocks. The bird was at peace midst the storm that raged about her. 1
Jesus came to the disciple in the midst of the confusion of the rumors of the resurrection. Jesus came to them midst of the chaos of their lives and said, "Peace be with you". Like that mother bird, Jesus came to the disciple while they were dealing with the stormy seas of doubt, the churning waves of hope, and said "Peace be with you."
Let’s get a feel for the situation. The disciples were crowded into the upper room. They had heard word just that morning that Jesus’ body was no longer in the tomb. The women had come to tell them he had risen. But they didn’t believe. They had their doubts. John and Peter went and checked it out. Peter saw, but he couldn’t put it all together. John saw and believed. So, I would imagine that he went back and spent the rest of the day trying to convince the rest that what he saw, the empty tomb, the folded linen clothes, the head piece sitting by itself, that this was all the signs that Jesus had indeed risen.
Can you imagine the conversation that took place during that day? They were too afraid of the Jews and the Romans to go out and see, or look for Jesus, so they sat in that upper room sulking, praying, arguing, discussing, pondering, recalling the words of Jesus. I can imagine that John was leading the conversation and Peter boldly trying to make sense of it. The women, especially Mary was trying to convince the rest of her conviction that Jesus had risen, because she had traveled the long road of doubt and despair and had come to the conclusion, the realization, the belief that Jesus had indeed risen.
So here they all were talking, praying, arguing, and then in an twinkle of an eye, in an instance, in a flash of a second there stands Jesus in the middle of them, and says "Peace be with you."
According to the text it says, "When he said this he showed them his hands and his side."
I would imagine they might have said, "Is it really you Lord?" "Have you really risen from the dead? Then to prove it was him, he shows them his hand, and his side. His hands that bore the marks of those cruel nails driven in, his side where the spear was thrust and water and blood flowed from it. Then the text says, "Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord." They believed it was him. They celebrated. They were excited. I can imagine they danced around, hugged each other, had tears flowing from their eyes, they might have said, "Yes, John was right, Mary was right, He has risen. He was right when he told us after 3 days he would rise again." Can you imagine the joy, the excitement, the wonder, the thrill of these people. Here they were wondering hoping, but hoping with not too much hope least they be disappointed that he had not risen, here now in the middle of them was Jesus alive, risen from the dead, standing among them. Their reaction was joy, tears, happiness, excitement, a burden of despair had been lifted from their hearts and souls. The sorrow of the previous Friday had turned into excitement, joy and fulfillment of the resurrection promise.
Jesus came to the disciples and peace came over them. An exciting peace. A peace like a big breathe of air releasing from their lungs. A peace that said it is time now to rejoice. A peace that relived their grief, a peace that calmed their fears, a peace that was filled with joy and the fulfillment of the resurrection promise.
The disciples were now at peace with themselves. Jesus was indeed risen. They were at peace with Him and within their souls.
A story says:
Two painters were asked to paint a picture illustrating peace. The first painted a beautiful evening scene in the foreground of which was a lake, its surface absolutely calm and unruffled. Trees surrounded it, meadows stretched away to the distant cattle gently browsing; a little cottage, the setting sun-all spoke of perfect rest.
The second painter drew a wild, stormy scene. Heavy black clouds hung overhead; in the center of the picture an immense waterfall poured forth huge
volumes of water covered with foam. One could almost hear its unceasing roar, yet perhaps the first thing to strike the eye was a small bird, perched in a cleft of a huge rock, absolutely sheltered from all danger, pouring forth its sweet notes of joy.
It is the second painter who could describe the peace that passeth all understanding which is the Lord Jesus Christ, the wisdom of God in the heart of the redeemed. One can only have peace with himself if he has peace with God. 2
Peace with one’s self can only be acheived with one has peace with God through Jesus Christ. All the disciples had that peace now except Thomas. Thomas had not been with the other disciples when Jesus came, so he had not experienced that peace.
As the text says; But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe."
Thomas was not at peace. He was struggling with his faith. He had questions that no one could answer for him.
Then as the text says; Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but 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 be faithless, but believing." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus came eight days later and gave that peace that passes all human understanding to Thomas. Thomas could now be at peace as he exclaimed that Jesus was his Lord and God.
Helen Keller wrote, "If we trust, if we relinquish our will and yield to the Divine will, then we find that we are afloat on a buoyant sea
of peace and under us are the everlasting arms."
Thomas relinquished his doubts, his fears, to questions to the Lord and he was at peace in the everlasting arms of his Lord and Saviour.
We need to be like Thomas. We can have peace in our lives, an inner peace if we surrender our will to Christ.
Jesus says "Peace be with you."
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale April 9, 2007
1 Author Unknown
2 Author Unknown
