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"More Than A Greeting"

Sermon by Dr. Anne Ledbetter
on John 20:19-31
given April 15, 2007

What happened to spring? To warm sunshine coaxing daffodils to bloom and tulips to sprout up! How did we get this wet, wintry day in April? Twenty mile per hour winds gusting to thirty, dark skies, drenching rain, cold temperature – a bleak Nor’easter. Of course, it is April 15th, so maybe Mother Nature is expressing her views on the IRS!

Wasn’t it just last Sunday that we celebrated Resurrection with brass and timpani, Easter lilies, an Egg Hunt for the children, and breakfast for all? I suspect many of us were hesitant this morning, if not afraid, to brave the elements, and we yearned to stay hunkered down indoors. Thus, it should be easy to identify with the disciples in our scripture lesson today.

It was Easter evening, and Jesus’ closest friends huddled behind closed doors in fear of being discovered. If the authorities would crucify their Master, what would they do to his disciples? They were not willing to find out.

As they crowded together – perhaps they were reliving scenes of the past week in their minds – Jesus’ temper tantrum in the temple, his healing of the sick, the Last Supper they shared together where their teacher stooped and washed their feet. That was the night he spoke to them so mysteriously and lovingly, “Where I am going you cannot come. If you love me you will keep my commandments. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you....” Then they followed Jesus to the garden where he prayed, where he was betrayed by Judas, where he was arrested by the soldiers. What had happened? The evening of their perfect Passover with the Master had turned into a horrible nightmare. They had all run for their lives, while their Lord was crucified between two criminals. And then this morning Mary Magdalene and the women had gone to the tomb to anoint his body, and came back saying that the tomb was empty – not the work of grave robbers, but of God who had resurrected Jesus! Maybe they wonder if Mary, in her deep grief, has simply lost it!

But while they are pondering their predicament, suddenly Jesus appears to them saying, “Peace be with you.” Into their fearfulness Jesus brings peace. Next Jesus shows them his hands and side where the nails and spear had pierced him, and everyone begins to laugh for joy and amazement. Jesus then says again, “Peace be with you.”

In this surprise nocturnal meeting, Jesus appears to the gathered disciples, who will be the nucleus of the emerging church. He tells them that as God has sent him with the gospel of grace, so he is sending them. Then there is the Pentecost-like scene with Jesus breathing on them, and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit!”

There is more in this passage – not least of which is the part with Thomas who missed the Lord’s appearance, and who doubts the good news. But this morning I want to examine this simple phrase Jesus speaks, not once, not twice, but three times in this passage, “Peace be with you.”

In some ways we want to chalk up these words as a customary social address. “Peace be with you.” When I was in Israel recently, people often said “Shalom or Salaam – peace” at a point of departing. We have our own social norms and niceties as well. Upon greeting we might say, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. How nice to make your acquaintance.” Or more familiarly, “How’s it going? Good to see you.” One might read Jesus’ words as a salutation, “Peace be with you,” but in the gospel story they resonate as (much) more than a greeting.

Remember that the last time his disciples had seen Jesus, he had been arrested and they had abandoned him in his darkest hour and run for their lives. Talk about guilt, humiliation, regret and remorse! How could they bear to look their Master in the eye? But when they do, Jesus looks deep into their souls and pronounces this word of forgiveness, “Peace be with you.” In other words, all is forgiven. It’s alright. Their teacher understands. The same One who uttered forgiveness from the cross, has risen from the grave breathing more forgiveness – peace. He came to reveal the depths of God’s love, and he does so making peace.

It is hard to imagine a more dramatic scene of forgiveness, isn’t it? The one they pledged to follow, they instead abandoned to enemies who killed him. Now that one reappears breathing peace, forgiveness, amazing grace. Forgiveness is a learned trait, and not an easy one at that. But God calls us to forgive as God has forgiven us in Christ.

Remember how astonished and confounded we all were last fall when the Amish community reached out to the family of Charles Roberts, the man who had shot and killed the young girls in a one room school house? While the news reporters were clamoring for interviews with the victims’ families, many of the Amish people were visiting the Roberts family to express their forgiveness and their care. We cannot fathom such forgiveness; it’s hard to take in. But Jesus embodies such inordinate grace and bids his followers to do the same.

Columbia Seminary President Laura Mendenhall will never forget one of her last visits with Professor Shirley Guthrie as he lay dying of cancer a few years ago. She recalls, “We were talking about his approaching death, and I told him he seemed to be at peace. His eyes twinkled, and with amazement in his voice he said, ‘Yes, and the peace is bigger than I imagined.’ He went on to say that he had quit worrying about all the things he had to do ... ought to do. Then he said, ‘It turns out these things are not as important to God as I thought. It’s all about forgiveness.’” (1)

In addition to pronouncing forgiveness, Jesus’ words also announce the good news of the gospel. “Peace be with you,” Jesus says. His words are nothing short of proclamation. The one who was dead is alive! Death is not the victor, but God has the last word and that Word is Love.

As Shirley Guthrie learned on his deathbed, nothing is more important in life than sharing God’s love and grace. We so easily get caught up in seeking success, getting into the right schools, accumulating wealth, traveling the world, saving for retirement, building a résumé, pursuing the good life, that we often get disoriented and lose our life’s direction and focus. But Jesus reminds us that peace is already ours. This peace he bring or Shalom, is more than an absence of conflict. Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, encompasses wellness, prosperity, joy, health, integrity, wholeness. The peace of Christ exclaims that we are whole and wholly loved by God.

In the Word made flesh God has spoken grace and peace, and bids us to do the same. Like the first disciples, we too have been breathed upon with the Breath of God, the Holy Spirit, which empowers us to love our neighbor, and to work for justice so that all may experience the shalom wrought by none other than God’s own Son, the Prince of Peace.

What is this peace Christ brings? The culmination will someday be the realm of God where lion and lamb lie down together,

where Sunni and Shiite live in harmony,

where Republicans and Democrats abandon political posturing and work for the common good,

where all people are blind to color and race and sexual orientation, and treat one another with deep respect.

This realm of peace begins with Christ and grows when individuals receive God’s love and become living vessels of that grace and forgiveness.

This peace of Christ is that peace which passes all understanding – the presence of God, the power of divine love –

that enables the parent of a special needs child to demonstrate patience on a daily basis,

that assures an ostracized teenager of his worthiness amidst social isolation,

that sustains the caregiver of a loved one with Alzheimer’s,
that helps a surviving spouse get up to face a new day without his beloved,

that grants courage to a young recruit in Iraq about to head out on patrol,

that gives comfort to the young mother dying of metastatic breast cancer.

How do we get this peace? It’s already been given to us in Christ. And God has given it to us not to hoard and hold onto, but to share with others as forgiveness, as gospel truth, and as finally, as blessing.

You see friends, there is power in words. We discover this as children, when we learn to say, “Please. Thank you. I’m sorry. I love you.” This week reminded us of the power of language as the news reported how Don Imus has used words and the destructive nature of his words regarding the young women on Rutgers’ basketball team.

Our Hebrew forebears believed in the power of words. Words could be both destructive and creative. For in the Genesis story God literally speaks the world into being. God says, “Let there be light,” and there is light. There is power in dabar, the Hebrew word for speech. When Isaac is tricked into giving his blessing to Jacob, he cannot take it back, and say, “Oh, sorry, that was an accident. I meant to give my blessing to Esau.” The blessing’s been spoken. It’s been done. To bless someone was to convey power. To curse someone was to unleash destruction.

Finally, Jesus’ words to the disciples and to us today are blessing, “Peace be with you.” He gives us the peace he has promised, the peace which passes all understanding. He does not give as the world gives. He gives and gives and gives. It is a gift he will not take away, but should we reject it, or lose it, or use it all up, he keeps on giving because Christ is ever-present, abiding with us to the end of the age. Christ has promised to be wherever two or three are gathered in his name, and he continues to breathe upon us with peace and power, faith and forgiveness, love and eternal life.

Sisters and brothers, the risen Savior has addressed us today with words of forgiveness, good news and blessing. So may we then become proficient at resurrection speech that we may share the peace of Christ in word and in deed. Amen.

NOTES

1. As recounted by Kim Clayton in Journal for Preachers, Volume XXX, No. 3, Easter, 2007. pp.5-6.

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