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April 23, 2017Shalom - Peace be with you!
On the evening of the day - when Jesus rose from the dead, he went to his disciples,
who were gathered behind locked doors for fear of the Jews, and said to them,
“Shalom, Peace is with you.”
Can you imagine how speechless the disciples must have been as they gazed upon the crucified Christ? They were already experiencing profound fear, confusion, and no doubt mourning the death of Jesus. Were they now experiencing some form of hallucination? In order to unlock the door that housed their doubt, Jesus showed them his hands and side, and once again said Shalom, Peace is with you. However, this time that conventional greeting meant much more.
This time, Shalom meant that Jesus was giving this ordinary group of men and women, the gift of his very self. Peace became more than something that you wish for or some poetic verse… Peace is Jesus. Pure Love is Jesus, Forgiveness is Jesus. Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, was with the father from the very beginning of time. When he breathed on this ordinary group, he gave them the gift of new life and the power to forgive sins.
He forgave them. Even though he was betrayed by Judas, even though Peter denied knowing him 3x, and even though all but one of the remaining disciples abandoned him as he hung on the cross, he forgave them. He forgave them because God’s peace is always and everywhere an act of love that will blossom into an incredible journey of faith for those who accept his gift of grace.
Yet it's ironic that many of the religious people of Christ's time were unable to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Primary among them were the Pharisees who were very devoted to their prayers and the rules of their religion. But over the years, their outward observances had become so important that the real meaning of their prayers had been lost. Over time their hearts grew farther and farther from God. As a result, they had no relationship with him.
Following the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus, the disciples were nowhere to be found. The words of the prophet Isaiah must have weighed heavily on their hearts. For as Isaiah prophesied, “We all went away like sheep, - yet ours were the sufferings he bore, ours were the sorrows he carried. On him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:46)
As I reflected on today’s scriptures, I realized that belief and unbelief are interwoven within each of us. We all need to draw near to Jesus. We all need to be attentive to the distractions that prevent us from doing so.
While in the Upper Room, Jesus knew that doubt was still crippling the faith of his disciples. So he showed them the scars of his Passion. He revealed his wounds to them - the very wounds that opened the door for our salvation. Upon seeing the wounds, the disciples were miraculously freed from their fear and were able TO SEE and TO BELIEVE. This became the catalyst which helped them turn despair into joy, doubt into faith, and heartache into abiding love.
Jesus remained in the Upper Room just long enough to offer a second prayer. Once again it began with, “Peace is with you.” This time, however, the prayer was followed by a commissioning. “As the Father has sent me I now send you.”
I find it amazing that Jesus saw in these men and women those who would become his ambassadors of love. He knew they couldn’t accomplish that mission on their own so he breathed on them and gave them new life in the Spirit. Any fear or shame or doubt that may have burdened them was replaced with the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit. They became spiritually equipped to go out and administer God’s divine peace and consolation to all those who were burdened But where was Thomas? It had only been three days since the crucifixion. Did he have someplace better to be? Did he need to take some time off in order to clear his head? Or did he need some time alone in order to discern if he would ever return as a disciple? No one knows for sure.
We do know that Thomas was not set up to be shamed because of his absence from the Upper Room, nor was his demand to see and touch the wounds of Jesus unreasonable. After all, during the first visit to the Upper room, Jesus readily showed his wounds to those who were gathered. Why shouldn’t Thomas have been afforded the same opportunity?
In Scripture, we know there is a parable about a Good Shepard who left his flock in order to rescue and bring home a lost sheep. We all know that Jesus is that Good Shepherd.
So when Jesus returned to the Upper Room, on the 8 th day following Easter Sunday, it was no surprise that he did so with the single purpose of addressing the spiritual needs of one particular sheep - that being Thomas. Once Thomas encountered the Lord, he knew without a shadow of a doubt Jesus’s true identity – and out of deep reverence he exclaimed, “MY Lord and My God.”
Thomas immediately realized that it wasn’t the signs that Jesus performed that stirred his faith.
Rather his faith was fanned into a flame once he recognized that Jesus is the true son of God.
Today’s readings open a myriad of questions for each of us.- What do you need to SEE before you can fully believe?
- What BURDENS do you carry that need to be lifted before you will see more clearly?
- What SECRETS are you keeping hidden in the darkness and the shadows of life, that prevent you from walking in the light off Christ?
Whatever they are, I can assure you that Jesus desires to release them from us. As a resurrected people, Jesus desires that we lay our burdens and wrongdoings at the foot of the cross so that he could take them with him as he traveled through the cross to the resurrection. We live on the resurrection side of the cross, once we acknowledge this, we will discover Jesus’ true identity.
And then, like Thomas, we will also exclaim, “My Lord and My God.”
