Lectionary Year B, Second Sunday of Easter
Text: John 20:19-31
What is peace? What
does it mean to have peace?
Today’s gospel reading includes three times where Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” (John 20:19, 21,26) The Hebrew phrase is shalom aleichem and would have been a commonly used greeting. It is at least one of the primary basis to the “passing of the peace” practiced by many Christian churches. Yet the fact that the gospel makes explicit mention of the greeting, not only once but three times, seems to indicate that perhaps there is more to be understood in this ordinary greeting. Perhaps like the bread and wine of the Last Supper, which were common items for a Passover meal and that were given new meaning by Jesus, perhaps “peace be with you” is also imbued with new meaning after the resurrection.
In our common English use, peace primarily means an absence of external conflict. Our culture, in general, values this kind of peace; so much so that resolving conflict is frequently only undertaken in a token manner, or brushed away altogether for the sake of expediency and comfort – most often to accommodate the societal status quo and the systems and structures that benefit from it.
But is this the kind of peace that Jesus gave his disciples? We only need to look back a little earlier in the gospel to read that Jesus’ peace is a different sort of peace. In his words following the Last Supper, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27)
The peace found in the Roman empire was certainly a kind of absence of conflict, but it was maintained by the threat of force, backed by a capable and willing army. It was a peace maintained through fear. Jesus’ peace is one that does not employ force or fear.
In today’s gospel reading, the disciples are all in some kind of house with the door locked. They are afraid, and for good reason: their master had just been executed by the Romans as a threat to the empire, and by their association to him, they could be on the wanted list also. It is into this room that Jesus miraculously appears. Jesus greets them, and then shows them the scars that he still bears from the crucifixion. It is only then that the disciples find joy.
If we back up one verse from today’s reading, we are informed that Mary Magdalene has told the disciples that she had met the risen Jesus. But this news did not have any effect on the disciples’ fear or faith. Jesus’ initial appearance does not appear to have changed them either. Only when they see the scars on the body of Jesus are their fears replaced by joy. Note too, that in the subsequent Thomas set of texts, he too, hears about Jesus’ appearance to the disciples but hearing about it does not result in belief. Rather, he insists that not only does he need to see the scars, but he needs to touch them: although once Jesus appears and shows Thomas the scars, Thomas is immediately satisfied and believes.
Once the disciples experience a release from their fear, Jesus once more offers his peace and in conjunction, commissions them to be his apostles. He sends them out to do the same works that the Father sent Jesus into the world to do. It is work that generated opposition to it by the political and religious powers of that time. It is work that eventually led to Jesus’ execution. This is the work that Jesus is sending out his disciples to do. It is the work that every generation of Christian is still called by Jesus to do.
Jesus opposed the status quo. Jesus advocated for the underclass, the oppressed, the marginalized. Jesus called out abuses of power. He made a point of inclusion and egalitarianism in his society. Jesus taught and lived out a reversal of traditional notions of power. This got him killed. These practices are what the church is called to continue.
I think we are all too aware that we live in troubled times. We might not live in a war zone, but there is unease, tension, and more and more, open conflict and violence between individuals and societal groups. We may be living in a relatively peaceful time, as peace is often understood. But intuitively we probably know that we are not really living in a peaceful time.
Is the church currently living behind closed doors, in fear, as the disciples were on the very day of Jesus’ resurrection? Are we afraid of what the repercussions might be if we were to genuinely confront and challenge the status quo of the world, its systems, structures, and powers? Have we forgotten what Mary, the mother of Jesus proclaimed in the Magnificat, a portion that reads:
He
has shown strength with his arm.
He
has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He
has pulled the powerful down from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.
He
has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty-handed.
Or what Jesus himself read from Isaiah and applied to himself at the beginning of his public ministry?
The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because
the Lord has anointed me.
He
has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
To
proclaim release to the prisoners
And
recovery of the sight to the blind,
To
liberate the oppressed,
And
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
The church was not
commissioned to maintain her edifices. The church was never given permission to
be part of the empire. The church was not blessed to maintain her own comforts.
Simply proclaiming what we believe is not enough: Mary told the disciples about her experience, but it did not change them. The disciples told Thomas about their encounter with Jesus, but it did not change him.
Simply being present in the world as a community of faith is not enough: Jesus appeared to the disciples and Thomas, but his mere presence did not change them.
What the world needs to witness is a wounded and scarred Christ: only when Jesus reveals the symbols of having battled and emerging victorious do the disciples and Thomas believe.
The Apostle Paul describes the church as the body of Christ in this world (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). Are we as a community of faith, trusting in the peace of Jesus, willing to do the works that Jesus did, to risk being wounded by the world?
What the world needs is not more preaching, more theology, or more churches. What the world needs is more communities that are vulnerable and willing to advocate for and lift the oppressed, the marginalized and the outcasts, and to alleviate the pain and distress of the suffering, to not just minister to these but to include them as full members of our community. Furthermore, the world needs communities to confront the injustices and the abuses that are inflicted by the powerful, and to oppose the systems and structures that permit and perpetuate said abuse.
The power of Jesus’ resurrection is found in his scars. They are the signs that he gave all to accomplish his mission and came out victorious. This is perhaps another reversal to ponder: victory and power is found in Jesus’ wounding. Perhaps it is a lesson that we need to consider more thoughtfully: where are our communities’ wounds and scars that we received as we fought and continue to fight for the dignity and worth of fellow humanity?
The peace given to the church by Jesus is the settled confidence and courage to confront oppression, to correct injustice, and to comfort all who are victims of the caustic priorities of this world. Shalom aleichem! May the peace of Jesus Christ be with us all.
