Peace Be With You

My heart has broken again, this time over the terror attacks on churches and hotels Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka. The cost in lives, suffering and destruction has only begun to be tallied. This adds to the list of recent devastating and horrific acts - mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, Coptic churches in Egypt, a synagogue in Pittsburgh - where people practicing their faith in places of worship that should have provided sanctuary have been murdered.

It occurs to me that the fear and anxiety of the disciples in John 20:19-31 as they locked themselves in that room after Jesus’ crucifixion isn’t too far removed for many people. Whether our fear is because of real or imagined persecution and harm for our beliefs, or doubt about the truth of the resurrection, this story is one in which people may find themselves even more poignantly this week. We may be locking ourselves from the world because of fear about how God will respond to our lack of faith, or because of what those in power may do, or because we fear judgement or retribution from those inside or outside the church.

If we’re nursing any of these anxieties in these dark days, we can find hope in this story. Jesus has the ability to come through whatever walls we attempt to set up to protect ourselves. Jesus comes to us, even when we’re convinced He won’t, even when we don’t make it easy, even when He isn’t particularly welcome. He knows what we’re struggling with, what fears are crippling us, and He comes and brings God’s peace. He reassures us that He did what He said He would do, that He is alive and transforming us and the world. And He doesn’t stop there but gives us a mission. Despite our wavering strength and commitment, God still invites us to be part of the solutions to the problems we face. God will equip us by the Spirit to be ambassadors and rescuers of others. And we are given the power to offer forgiveness or withhold it.

This forgiveness business has always perplexed me. We have the power to stop people from being forgiven? What is that about - isn’t Jesus the one who was the bridge for us to be reconciled to God without us doing much of anything or deserving it? And yet, we have permission to not forgive others. There has always been a part of me that wonders if this was some kind of test. Was Jesus checking to see if the disciples had really gotten it, that they understood how much had been forgiven of them, particularly their desertion at the cross, and therefore how much they should share forgiveness? Had they listened when He taught them to pray to God - forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us?

I suppose it’s a good point of reflection for all of us. These days of stress, of fear, of hate, can cause us to feel justified in not seeking to understand others, in being outraged and horrified instead of listening and finding the root of the horrific choices of others. Forgiveness isn’t easy, but it seems to me that we need to do it on some level or those walls will never come down, we will perpetuate ‘us and them’, and we will never experience peace. If we can’t forgive, then we can’t expect forgiveness for ourselves.

As we consider how to talk about this story with congregations and younger learners, we need to cultivate space for rich conversation to allow people to share about their fears and concerns, those things that make them put up walls of distrust and anxiety. We can’t change what we don’t acknowledge. Depending on the group, these questions can be as simple as ‘what scares you or worries you?’ or ‘what does forgiveness mean and when is it hard to do?’

Easter is an opportunity for new life, for new beginnings, for the power of what Jesus did for us to restore our hope and desire to follow Him closely, no matter the discomfort or cost. May we all hear Jesus’ words spoken to us - “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you”.