John 20:19-31– Peace Be With You

He is risen!

So, why do we care? Because we are an Easter people! But what does that mean?

It means we have white paraments for a little while! What does that mean?

White is the color of celebration. It is the color of purity, light, glory and joy. We only use white to mark significant events that shape our understanding as Jesus Christ.

One of the things we must understand about Christ is his obliviousness to the human situation. Here are our disciples, fearing for their lives, locked inside a house probably hiding under and behind furniture, terrified of the world. Jesus pops in without even opening a door and declares, “Peace be with you!” Perhaps the modern equivalent of “Hey, guys! What’s up?” Completely casual, totally relaxed.

Maybe we’re the ones interpreting the situation wrong.

We struggle with the chaos of this world. Despite the fact that human beings are the ones who invented war and destruction, we continually ask ourselves, “Why can’t there be peace?” What is this peace of which he speaks? There’s violence out there! Destruction! We could be killed at any moment! The sky is falling Chicken Little!

No, no it’s not. We are living better than anyone has ever lived in history. Each of our homes is safer than ever before. We live in a country where we are blessed beyond measure with so much to spare that if we were kinder, gentler, less aggressive, more giving, less narcissistic people who look for the bad in everything and everyone, we could have the most incredible society even God could imagine.

But we don’t. Because we worry too much about ourselves and what could be rather than what is. The disciples shouldn’t be fearful of what is outside of those doors, they should be terrified of what’s inside them! Not inside the doors, inside their heads! But, also Jesus, they should definitely be afraid of Jesus, because they weren’t doing what he told them to do.

Prior to his death, Jesus gave them strict instructions, go out into the world and make disciples. Spread out. Make the path to salvation known to whom all your meet. Who are they going to meet locked up behind closed doors? No one!

The Jews weren’t coming for them… not yet anyway. The world wasn’t going to come for them until they started doing what Jesus asked them to do. Burying their heads in the sand wasn’t going to do them any good at all.

Christianity is a social religion. Without the world out there, it doesn’t exist. You cannot love both God and neighbor if you don’t even know who your neighbor is. You cannot be humble, meek, generous, kind, or loving without someone to do those things to. You can’t practice Christianity behind closed doors.

The irony of this whole situation is that the fear our disciples are feeling needs to be real. If it’s in our head, it’s just anxiety, if it’s a threat out in the world coming at you, that’s a real reason to fear. Jesus can get you no matter where you are, he doesn’t even need a chimney like Santa Claus, he just pops right in to tell you to get your butt outside and enjoy the sunshine. Or even more scary… he just says hello. There isn’t much more terrifying than a completely calm and relaxed person during a highly stressful time.

You could live here in an anxiety filled chaos, wallowing in doubt or you can go boldly into a strange new world you have no idea even exists, and create a reality which should spark fear into your heart!… but… it won’t.

By believing, you may have a life in his name.

Is living in fear a life? I would argue no, at least not one I would ever want. But to live in belief, to live in hope, to live in Jesus Christ, now that’s a life! It got me out of a cramped dark hole of pity to getting to spend a day sitting on a beautiful front porch, of a home I’d never dreamed to be able to call my own, with a dog keeping me company, a best friend who randomly drops by with food and conversation, and a laptop to sit and write what I pray to be an inspirational sermon. I got to enjoy a gorgeous day praising my Lord and giving thanks for all the blessings he has given.

God has given me all these things, none of which I asked for or even knew I wanted. I know God has given me these things just as much as I know that if I ever stop believing in him it could all disappear, probably even faster than it came. But it took a whole lot of work from me. I had to leave the safety of what I knew. I had to face a world that was often hostile at times.

Peace is a funny thing. It has absolutely nothing to do with what is going on around you and everything to do with what is going on inside of you. If you’re the kind of person who needs tangible proof to believe in God, start touching things! God is everywhere in everything. Interesting how both peace and anxiety are just things inside your head isn’t it? How scary is it that you get to choose which one you give a home to?

While we may come to be able to comprehend how some of his creation works by narrowing own our field of view to only what we can lock into a room with ourselves, the greatest beauty of God comes from stepping outside of our realm of comfort and into a world so vast it has no boundaries, there is so much in it that is dangerous and could do us great harm, but there is also so much delight and joy out there that to hole ourselves up into our own comfort zone where we can do nothing but sit in our own fear is foolish.

Jesus appeared inside a locked house before a bunch of fearful people who claimed they believed. His own disciples. Locked in because of what they feared might happen only to be shown that their greatest fear, embarrassment over having failed to uphold that which they had been commissioned and agreed to do would find them behind any locked door, not even death was going to relieve them of their responsibility. But, if they were willing to do what was asked of them, despite how terrifying it should have been, with their faith in Jesus Christ backing them up, there would be nothing to be afraid of.

May, the Lord bless you and keep you;
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you
And be gracious to you;
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you
And give you peace.