Three Dimensions of God s Peace John 20: 19 31 The Peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you And also with you. What are we really doing when we pass the peace of Christ? Are we simply sharing an ancient word of hello Shalom Or is there something deeper that happens When we actually pass the peace of Christ. I think there s something more going on here than just a greeting of friendship And I think that John 19 holds the key. When it was evening on that day Easter Day Resurrection Day The first day of the week and the doors of the house were locked FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS, Jesus came and stood among them And said, Peace be with you. The disciples were afraid. They thought the Roman soldiers, who had taken Jesus, The temple guards who led arrested Jesus would be looking for them And the crowd that had turned on Jesus Would also turn on them so they were afraid. All except Thomas who was out among the people.
So when Jesus first said Peace be with you he was talking about the peace that comes from not being afraid. The disciples were paralyzed with fear. They were afraid to go outside the upper room. They were afraid to admit that they knew Jesus. Now fear itself is not a bad thing. It keeps us out of danger. But fear that paralyzes us is not good. It keeps us from living. The first word of the angel in Matthew to Joseph: Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. The first word of the Angel to Mary in Luke: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. The word of the angels to the shepherds: Do not be afraid; for see I am bringing you good news. And the words of the angel at the tomb to the women on Easter: Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus Who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised. Notice that the angels don t say that it was all a dream. They don t say that bad things don t happen to good people. They don t promise that life will always work out as we hope.
But they call us from that paralyzing fear to a peace that passes all understanding which is the peace of God in Jesus Christ. So Jesus in his first pronouncement of peace is calling his disciples And us to move from a paralyzing fear to trust that God Will be with us as Jesus said to his disciples: Peace I leave you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27) But Jesus doesn t end there with his peace offering. The text says he showed them his hands and side and said: Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me so I sent you. Notice that Jesus doesn t in any way minimize his wounds. In fact he shows them to his disciples again. But then he offers them the peace that comes with purpose. It sort of reminds me of the young basketball player Who broke his leg in the Louisville Duke game And the tv showed the good common sense Not to show the injury over and over again. The players on both sides of the contest were shaken by the injury But the young man as he was wheeled out said Go win the game. And they did.
Even though the players had witnessed a terrible injury to their team mate They had the peace that came with having a purpose, That allowed them to go back on the court and play. Jesus offers that peace to his disciples and he offers that peace to us. Jesus endured a terrible death that is true and he doesn t guarantee That we won t encounter difficult things in our live but what he offers Is the peace of having meaning and purpose in our lives. As the Father sent me, so I sent you. We are on a mission. We are sent by God in Jesus Christ to be part of God s reconciling plan for the world. That purpose transcends our fear And our grief and allows us to live fully activated and motivated lives And if that s not enough Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit into us. There are two other times when God breathes his Spirit into human beings. In creation, when God has created Adam out of the dust of the earth And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. (Gen. 2:7) At Pentecost, once again the disciples were paralyzed by fear suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a mighty wind all were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak
In each case God s Spirit is breathed into God s people And they receive the peace that comes with purpose in their lives. And God gives us that purpose as well. We too are sent by God to be witnesses to God in Jesus Christ. As the Father sent me, so I send you. Every mission trip I have ever gone on there has been an element of danger Whether I was going to Israel and the Occupied territories or Honduras Or a border town in Mexico there has been an element of danger And yet I am at peace with my decision to go because I have a purpose, I have been sent by God. Of course we think of our communities as safe places to serve But when I invited a minister colleague from Scotland To do a pulpit exchange with me in Kansas he wouldn t do it Because he was too afraid of the tornadoes! Fear gets in the way of lots of things but the peace of God s purpose Allows us to overcome those fears that threaten to paralyze us And to step out in faith with the God who sends us. So Peace with purpose is the second dimension of God s peace. But there is a third dimension of God s peace that is revealed in Thomas interaction with Jesus.
Remember Thomas was not paralyzed by fear and had a sense of purpose. We know that he was courageous because in John 11 when All the rest of the disciples we trying to keep Jesus From going to Jerusalem when Lazarus was ill Thomas was the one disciple who said: Let us also go with him that we might die with him. Thomas was not afraid. And Thomas had a sense of his purpose as a follower in Christ as witnessed In his question to Jesus in John 14: Lord, we do not know the way To the place where you are going. How can we know the way? To which Jesus responds I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, You will know the Father also. But what Thomas lacked was the confidence that what he knew was real. When Jesus encounters Thomas personally with proof Then Thomas also had the peace that comes with confidence. How many times have you asked God, if this is your plan, show me a sign. That s what Thomas was doing here and when Jesus responded Thomas became the first disciples to confess My Lord and My God. So three dimensions of the peace of Christ: peace from paralyzing fear;
Peace that comes with purpose & the peace of a personal encounter w/ Christ. And the best news is that it s not just about those early disciples But it is a peace that is available to us as latter day disciples. Jesus said to Thomas: Have you believed because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. We are in the story and the words of Jesus so let us respond With Thomas saying Jesus Christ is my Lord and my God. Amen