This sermon was preached at St Jospeh the Worker Church Northolt 2nd Sunday f Easter 7th April 2024
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John 20.19–31
19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 27Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ 28Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But 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.
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If I said to you a place was very peaceful - what would you imagine it was like?
{take people’s suggestions}
Quite early on in my time as vicar of Holy Trinity Barkingside, someone came up to me and said “how lovely and peaceful” they felt after coming to mass. They were the first person to say this - but they were not the last.
At first this rather surprised me - Because at Holy Trinity we were known for having quite a loud noisy service. There were drums and guitars. Tony was great at getting us clapping along to the songs. People sang with great gusto. It was joyful - it was joyfilled - but it wasn’t quiet - and yet this newcomer came up to me and said “how peaceful they felt” A sort of peace that is not about quiet but is about the inner renewal that God brings us through his “peace that passes all understanding” (Philipians 4:7) - the sort of peace that we hear Jesus talking about in the Gospel reading we have just heard.
Now if you are a regular at a Church of England church you will know that in a little while we get to the bit where we “share the peace”. Perhaps we don’t do it with as much gusto as we did before the Pandemic - though I hear that when Bishop Pete was here he got you doing it hardcore!
The Peace in the mass goes back to two things.
On the one hand the numerous occasions - Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; or 1 Peter 5:14
When the bible tells us to “greet one another with a Holy Kiss” - or “with a kiss of love”
And secondly to
Matthew 5:23So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister* has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first make peace with your brother or sister,* and then come and offer your gift.
The things we do in the mass are meant to show us how to live our lives as Christians the rest of the time. (Pointing to the lectern) we read the bible in mass because we are meant to read the bible at home. We pray in mass (making hands together gesture) because we are meant to pray at home. We make an offertory - because in all our life we are meant to be generous like Jesus was generous. We share around the table of the Lord because we are meant to show hospitality around our tables at home. And we share God’s peace with each other - because being at peace with one another and with God - is a key to being a christian community.
From the earliest days, sharing the Peace was a part of the mass. But as with many things, by the later middle ages, it had started to go wrong. It had retreated to just something the priests and servers shared with each other and the rest of the congregation just sat back and watched.
Well, the reformation churches weren’t keen on things only the altar party did so through the baby out with the bathwater and dropped the peace entirely. If you look at the 1662 Book of Common Prayer - there is no Peace.
It wasn’t until the 20th Century - first in South India and then around the world that the Peace was restored to Anglican, Roman Catholic, Lutheran and other worship.
Which brings us to today’s Gospel reading.
Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ - He doesn’t just say it once - he says it twice -and then a third time. It’s not just a handshake “shallom / salaam aleikum” - he really wants them to take in what he is saying.
“Peace be with you” And I want to think of five aspects to this Peace that Jesus shares with the disciples - Five aspects that you can think about as we share the Peace with each other later in the service.
The Peace of the Presence of the Parklete- (the Paraklete, the Holy Spirit)
‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
I think that was what that person meant when they came out of mass at my first church and said “Oh I feel so peaceful”.
I remember another first - when I saw someone crying at the end of Church “Are you OK?” “Oh yes, I feel so happy!”. Again, I have now so often seen people with tears of joy at the end of a service that I am no longer surprised when the crying person says “Oh I am so happy”
Experiences of the Holy Spirit can frequently a deep overwhelming sense of peace and restfulness. Perhaps you have seen (whether in person or on YouTube) when people are being prayed for during prayer ministry - and you see them see them flop down towards the floor and you wondering what is going on.
Well what is often going on - is that as you are prayed for and the Holy Spirit comes upon you, your body reacts to the presence of the Holy Spirit by beginning to relax. You may find your body starting to sway. And if you are unused to this and don’t know what is going on you may be forcing yourself somehow to keep standing up right. But if you trust the people who are praying for you and let go you will find yourself being lowered gently down by them to the ground. And you’ll find yourself lying there in the most peaceful state you have ever been in, as you lie there, resting in the Spirit.
As I said that is not the only way you can experience the Peace of the Presence of the Spirit. Perhaps as you sit there after you have received communion you find yourself with tears of joy welling up in your eyes. Or perhaps a broad uncontrollable smile coming over your face which may even turn to laughter. Or perhaps you find a part of your body - maybe your hands - tingling. Or perhaps you find yourself praying in sounds and words that you do not know - what we call the gift of tongues.
Jesus says Peace be with you. …., ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
When you experience the Spirit come on you like that you will experience deep inner healing sense of peace.
The Peace of the Presence.
2) The Peace that puts the past behind you
1Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
The disciples (well with the exception of John and the girls) ALL ran away. They abandoned Jesus to be crucified. And as they lock themselves in the upper room, they are probably feeling guilt “why didn’t I stay with Jesus - yes I would have died but I would at least have been loyal to him”
We often talk about Judas as the one who betrayed Jesus, but what is the difference between Judas and the other disciples?
[take answers] -
answer: Judas was the only one who didn’t repent. Who killed himself before he could be welcomed back into Jesus’s forgiving arms.
Sometimes it took time to really receive that forgiveness - look at Peter on the shores of the lake in John 21. But forgiveness is powerful.
“Peace be with you” - Jesus enables the disciples to experience his unconditional forgiveness - and then gives them as the Church the opportunity to share that gift with others. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’”
I remember in my early 20s the first time I made my confession outloud to God in the presence of a priest. When I say “I remember” - I don’t remember much about the occasion at all. I don’t remember what I said, I don’t even remember who the priest was. But I remember the feeling I felt. The feeling of RELIEF when I heard the words “Your sins are forgiven”
During 1974-1979 the terrible Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia committed tremendous atrocities - 25% of the population died or were murdered. One of the leaders Kaing Guek Eav, nicknamed Comrade Duch was in hiding in the 1990s when he encountered a Cambodian American pastor Christopher LePel who had themself been imprisoned and lost loved ones under the Khmer Rouge. Duch coonfessed to LePel that he had done things that “couldn’t be forgiven”. According to LePel, after converting from Buddhism to Christianity, Duch changed from a man with “no joy, no peace, no purpose in life” to someone whose “heart wanted to share the word of God to his friends and family”. In Budhism there is no concept of forgiveness. But through Jesus’s cross, Duch received the only Peace possible for him.
Duch no longer particularly tried to hide himself - and when the country was at peace he was tried - admitting and confessing to the court everything he had done. He is one of very few members of the Khmer Rouge to face trial, and the only one to admit and take responsibility for what he had done. Duch says, “I don’t know if my brothers and sisters can forgive the sins I’ve committed against the people… Thank God that the Lord forgives me”
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1)The Peace of the Presence.
2) The Peace that puts the past behind you
3) The Peace that makes fear disappear -
“the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’”
The disciples were terrified. They had been on top of the world on Palm Sunday - only for everything to change in a matter of days. Jesus whom they thought was invincible had been carried off and killed. If that could happen to him what could happen to them? And why would not the Romans or the Jewish Authorities come and finish the job?
No wonder they have locked the doors!
And then - there he is in the midst of them. The locks couldn’t keep him out. Then again - if a giant great big boulder couldn’t keep him in a tomb and death itself couldn’t lock him in, you could hardly expect a few human bolts to get in his way….
And over the next 40 days as they see him again and again the disciples are transformed from quivering jellies - to a people who have no fear of death. 11 men plus an uncounted number of women - none of whom have ever left the country they were born in - will travel to the ends of the earth. All but one of them will die rather than deny the truth that Jesus has risen from the dead.
Anxiety is a terrible thing - a condition that sadly is on the rise in our country. It can be crippling. As can depression and other forms of mental ill health. And Christians can get these too. One of the lies the devil likes to say is “Christians can’t get anxiety or depression - so if you have mental ill health you can’t be a proper Christian.” It’s quite possible to be a Christian and feel like you are locked in that upper room. That you are trapped in a tiny world.
And if you are in that place - as well prayer - do get the counselling and if necessary medication that you need.
But as psychiatrists are only just now beginning to realise - faith helps people to get through the darkness of depression and anxiety. Perfect love casts out all fear and the love of Jesus will help you get through this. Prayer and the support of a Church community, and the presence of Christ - actually leads to proven better clinical outcomes. It doesn’t mean you will never get anxiety or depression - but it does mean you are likely to recover faster than if you didn’t have those supports. I doubt Jesus took away the disciples fear all in one go -indeed a week later when Thomas was with them they were still locking the door. But overtime he made their fear disappear. Just as Jesus took away the disciples fear - he can take away your crippling fear. Amen?
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1)The Peace of the Presence.
2) The Peace that puts the past behind you
3) The Peace that makes fear disappear
4) The Peace that pulls people together -
2 Cor 13:11-12 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
In the years in which they wandered around with Jesus, the disciples were always bickering! Which one of us is the greatest disciple? I’m the greatest disciple! No I’m the greatest disciple! Jesus - can me and my broth sit on your right and hand and on your left when you come on your throne in glory. Ego vs unhappy ego.
I guess seeing someone come back from the dead puts things in rather a new perspective. Not to say that the early Christians didn’t need reminding occasionally to “Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.”
But something had changed. Acts tells us that one of things that led to thousands of people becoming Christians in the first few weeks after Pentecost is they saw how radically the Christian community lived. And it was attractive.
When we live at peace with our fellow Church members it’s attractive - Amen?
If we squabble and argue and have egos and feuds in our churches - we will never see revival. Sadly in todays church across our nation we have too much of that - and I believe that is why we don’t see revival. But if we can return to how things were like in the first few centuries AD - “see how these Christians love each other” - then we shall see revival.
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1)The Peace of the Presence.
2) The Peace that puts the past behind you
3) The Peace that makes fear disappear
4) The Peace that pulls people together
5) Peace that brings healing - Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
Just as Jesus emerged having been healed even of death itself, so he offers gifts of healing to his church. The Hebrew word Shallom means both Pace but also wholeness and healing.
I have seen some very dramatic healings - people told they would die of cancer still alive a dozen years later.
Ok those miracles are rare - they are miracles, they are not ordinary!
But as well as that - let me tell you something you may not have noticed - the number of 80 year olds and 90 year olds in churches is way bigger than it ought to be.
Whether it is the communal singing or the peace in worship lowering your blood pressure, or the benefits of not being isolated and seeing other people, or the advantage of having a sense of meaning and purpose in your life (that so few people have) or perhaps just a little touch of God’s blessing - the statisticians tells us that people who worship weekly live on average 18 months longer than everyone else. And they definitely live happier. Amen?
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1)The Peace of the Presence.
2) The Peace that puts the past behind you
3) The Peace that makes fear disappear
4) The Peace that pulls people together
5) Peace that brings healing
And finally
6) Peace for a purpose - ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’
As a Christian preacher it wouldn’t be fair to mention “inner peace” without mentioning that some of our rivals are offering it as well. Indeed there is a Budhist Monk who has made his millions by getting Netflix to show his “Headspace” app.
Now I don’t doubt that zen meditation can lower your blood pressure and help your life expectancy.
But there is a big difference between Budhist Meditation and the Peace that Jesus brings. Budhist meditation is all about “me”. How do I (I) achieve enlightenment.
We Christians share the Peace in mass - because what would be the point of me being at peace in myself and giving the finger to the world? Christianity is a family faith - a BIG family faith. You know if you came here this morning just to be on your own and not to talk to anyone - you probably came to the wrong venue.
And so from the moment Jesus says “Peace be with you” - he’s telling them to share that life changing peace with others. The very first one they bring in - slightly kicking and screaming - being Thomas.
But when Thomas encounters Jesus, when he puts his fingers in the wounds - and kneels down before him, he is changed.
Indeed as any Indian Christian will tell you - Thomas was the one who took the Gospel there.
All the Apostles end up going out to share the Gospel
Back in the 16th Century Ignatius Loyola founded the Jesuits to be a new missionary order. They would take the Gospel to Goa, Vietnam, The Philipenes, China, Japan.
What training would such missionaries have. Ignatius developed a pattern of 30 days prayer - of meditating on the bible stories, imagining yourself in them, and allowing God to speak to you through them. Why? Because what better training for sharing Jesus could you have than spending time in the presence of Jesus. And it would be fair to say that the whole modern missionary movement protestant and catholic began with what the Jesuits did in the 16th century.
Jesus gives us his peace so we can share that peace with each other AND with the world outside.
)The Peace of the Presence.
2) The Peace that puts the past behind you
3) The Peace that makes fear disappear
4) The Peace that pulls people together
5) Peace that brings healing
6) Peace for a purpose
The author David Mathis writes -
Reticence to kiss between spouses may signal unresolved issues in a marriage. So too, in our churches, reticence to greet each other with manifest and unqualified warmth may signal a problem (and lead us to revisit Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 5:23–24).
Now I have noticed coming a few times to St Jos over the last few months - that you do greet one another very warmly on coming into church - and very warmly on leaving mass. I’ve seen quite a few you hugging - you are definitely a friendly bunch. Amen!
And I know that when Bishop Pete came here, he got you to actually share the peace again with each other. So given the subject of today’s bible passage, today when we get to the Peace, I am going to invite you to greet one another with the same enthusiasm as you do at the door.
If you have got a low immune system - don’t worry - as people come towards you just give them a bow {demonstrate} and they will know not to give you a hug. But as much as we feel safe to do, when we get to it, lets share that peace enthusiastically.
Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Amen?
[1]https://jamesbishopblog.com/2017/02/20/communist-khmer-rouge-leader-mass-murderer-comrade-duch-becomes-a-born-again-christian/
[2] https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/greet-with-a-holy-kiss
