I am a person who loves words. I tend to talk a lot, so I do have a lot of experience of words! This morning I have picked out four words that I think sum up the readings we have heard. They are anticipation, excitement, peace and promise. I will explain, but please know that I will not be testing you on the words later.
I will start with anticipation. In the gospel reading (John 20:19-31) we heard of the disciples waiting for Jesus to appear. They had heard that He was alive. They may have been anticipating His arrival, but they may have also been anticipating what He would say to them and what He might ask them to do next. There must have been excitement as well. Waiting to see Jesus again must have been exciting as well.
Jesus had risen from the dead and appeared to his disciples. Imagine their excitement and anticipation. How would you have felt on seeing Jesus? Maybe you would have thought immediately of questions such as, ‘What is going to happen next? Is there going to be a new start for Jesus’ ministry? Are we going to go to the Temple and overthrow the people who killed Jesus? Maybe we are going to watch Jesus take over the political power in the world and rule himself?’
Jesus, who had been through so much with and for the very friends that he was speaking to - Jesus, who had confounded their expectations by rising up from the grave - Jesus, who was now standing amongst them, confounded them again by offering the simple words… ‘peace be with you’.
Incredible. No immediate ideas for the future, no action plans to discuss! Amidst all the excitement and anticipation, the wonder of what might happen next, Jesus stood and said, ‘peace be with you’, and the disciples could have been forgiven for thinking, ‘what else do you want to say to us?’ Peace is a word that we associate with Jesus. To be honest, when I look at the world around us, I cannot help but pray for God to bring peace. It is much too big a problem for us to deal with. We can only pray for peace and ask God to help both the people suffering from war, and the leaders of nations that may seek to put care and peace first.
Back to the gospel reading. After saying, ‘Peace be with you’, Jesus unveiled an action plan for the disciples by saying, ‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you’.
Jesus, through his victory over death, and the gift of the Holy Spirit that would come to all his followers at Pentecost, was handing over the earthly ministry to those followers – as they received the peace of Christ, so they were to share it with others.
In the gospel reading we also heard of Thomas. I often feel sorry for Thomas, who will forever be known as doubting Thomas. But put yourself in his shoes. Maybe you wouldn’t have been swept away with all the excitement and anticipation; maybe you would have wanted to step back for a moment and be sure. Maybe that would seem to be the most natural thing to do.
For Thomas it was perhaps the reaction that he had from Jesus that helped him. This is because the reaction of Jesus to Thomas and his doubts reminds us that in times of doubt, times of questioning, times when things don’t seem to make perfect sense, Jesus is there waiting for us to approach him, and we can know from Thomas and Jesus that whatever we may have done to Jesus, or not done to him or for him, he waits with open arms to welcome us back.
Thomas is the inspiration that reminds us that the peace of Christ is a peace that passes all understanding, and a peace that is always available to us. It is the type of peace which means that everything will be ok in the end, and it is also the peace which enables us to pray for peace in the world and in the lives of others.
Just as those early disciples must have stood before the risen Jesus and wondered what comes next, so we can stand, firm in our faith, wondering what comes next, but knowing that God is with us, and assuring us of his peace.
In the reading we heard from the first letter of Peter, we heard about the wonderful news that because of the resurrection we have a new hope. This hope is living, it is real. It has the best inheritance ever. This inheritance is one that can never fade, can never perish, or be damaged. It is perfect.
It is the promise of life everlasting with God. This is a beautiful promise. It can never be broken. It is the promise of God for us that He loves us and will never leave us.
It is good to know that after anticipating something, being excited and knowing the peace of God, His promise never ends.
All the words I have used have been positive. Sometimes life is far from positive. We may find it hard to be positive at time. In our faith we may have moments of doubt, times of questioning, times when things don’t seem to make sense. Just like it was for Thomas, so it is for us. Jesus is there waiting for us to approach him, and we can know that whatever we may have done to Jesus, or not done to Him or for Him, He waits with open arms to welcome us back.
We can always know His peace. We have a promise of something even better than we could imagine. After all, we have promise of being with God for ever. Being in a relationship with God is the best that we could have.
I am very happy to anticipate, to be excited by and to know that peace. To know the promise that God gives us. As the last verse of our Psalm (16:11) this morning put it,
‘You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.’
May we know the fullness of joy in God’s presence every day. May we always remember that His peace, and His promise, are never ending. AMEN
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