Sermon: Peace Be With You, As My Father Sent Me, so I Send You.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
Each week at this church we say part of these very words to another. We walk around and greet each with “Peace be with you” or “Peace of the Lord.” Because of that familiarity, I want to slow down and consider the events leading up to these words, “Peace be with you.” The disciples, in the past few days, have been very poor friends and followers of Jesus. The night after he washes their feet and gives them wine and bread, the disciples fall asleep on him then they run away from him and then they hide. Jesus, regardless of his disciples, has been through everything: Arrest, trial, beatings, a crown of thorns, and crucified, died, and was buried. And after all this, Jesus went to hell. And there he defeated death and the devil. And then Jesus came back to earth. Finally, Jesus returns to these same disciples and finds them locked up in a room.
At this point, the full majesty and power of Christ is revealed. He does what none of us could do. He does not return to them in anger or rebuke. He does not ask them “What are you doing here?” or “Why did you not believe?” Instead, he says, “Peace be with you.” This is not some friendly gesture or every day greeting. This is not some casual greeting as if to say, “I hope things are okay with you” or a move to please the media, “Peace, Yo!” This is the I’ve been to hell and back greeting. Peace. The war is over. You don’t have to die anymore. You don’t have to go to fear the cross. You are going with me to heaven. The battle, the biggest battle of humanity, that against sin and death, is over. Peace, my disciples. Your sins are forgiven! Your abandonment and your unbelief are forgiven. Peace. Yes, these are some mighty big words that we say to each other each week in Church. Indeed, when I hear these words, I think of the images of peace after World War II when the people crowded the streets and the air was filled with shouts of joy. This is the kind of reaction we should have when we hear these words. When we say “Peace be with you” we are telling someone, the ultimate peace in the universe, true communion with God, is now possible for you and may you dwell in that peace. And this is a peace which no army can go back against. This is the world’s only permanent peace treaty. And that is the Good News.
But Jesus isn’t finished yet. He keeps going with his greeting. He says, “As the father sent me, so I am sending you.” These too are powerful words that demand closer attention. Who is Jesus sending first of all? Jesus is sending people locked in a room, locked in their fears. By sending these disciples, the same ones that abandoned him, the same ones that are locked up in a room because of their fears, Jesus is telling us today, that we, yes, we, in spite of our own imperfections and fears, are supposed to go out into this world share this message of ultimate peace.
And how are we supposed to do that? Well, how does Jesus send the disciples out? With the Holy Spirit. Jesus does not give them 3 years of Seminary education. He does not give them a test of their knowledge of the Bible. He does not give them a thorough examination of their character. He does not give them witty catch phrases or fancy marketing materials. He does not give them money or secular power. He gives them instead the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit gives each person gifts for spreading the gift of peace and forgiveness. Some of you can teach, some of you can lead, some of you can sing, some of you can heal, some of your can pray, and some of you can listen. My point is that whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, the Holy Spirit is always empowering us to spread the message. I want to go over two examples and reflect on how the Holy Spirit can work to empower us in both these cases.
Many life long Christians only know other Christians. It might be easy, in such a circumstance to say, well, everyone I know already knows who Jesus is, so I don’t have much a role to play in being sent out by the Holy Spirit. However, such people make great prayers, especially for young people who so need prayers for their faith as they mature. Such people make great listeners and mentors. In my life, my mentor played an important role. The faith my grandmother shared, even though I already believed, helped me see even more deeply how much God loved us. Furthermore, many people, even if they are life-long Christians, still need to hear that message of ultimate peace and forgiveness. So just because we only know Christians does not mean that Jesus is not sending us. On, no. We’ve got plenty of people to pray for and listen to and to tell what Jesus has done and is doing in our lives.
On the other extreme, many of us also find ourselves in complex work situations with people of various faiths ranging from Muslim to atheism. Modern rules of etiquette tell us to not talk about our faith at our job. So, how can the Holy Spirit really be empowering us there? The secular boundaries of the work world and of the modern metropolitan world are ultimately no match for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been breaking down boundaries for 2,000 years and will keep going. Discussions about the news, about books or TV shows, about health and family, all provide opportunities to listen to people and find out what rooms they are locked in. They also provide opportunities to offer them words of Jesus’ peace, to invite them to Church, and to tell them you are praying for them.
This may seem like a lot of work and you may ask, why is Jesus sending them into the world? Because Jesus wants every person, all six-billion beating hearts, to know this ultimate peace. This message of peace and forgiveness is not one for some elite or for one culture, but for everyone. If Jesus is in heaven and Jesus wants every person in the entire world to believe in him, there is a problem. How is Jesus going to get into the heart of every person? You and me.
So, where does “doubting Thomas” fit into all of this? Well, Jesus sends the disciples out. The first person they tell is Thomas, who raises objections and articulates why he does not believe. I think the disciples’ encounter with Thomas was probably pretty typical for early Christianity. When early Christians went out and said, “Hey, there was this man named Jesus who was also God, who was killed and now has come back and by believing in him you can have eternal life” most people probably clung to their old gods and were skeptical. However, Jesus shows up to Thomas. This is great news. When we go out and spread this message of peace, we cannot expect that each person we talk with will understand or appreciate every word we say. We cannot control how the person will react. Furthermore, we cannot control how Jesus will be involved in their lives. But we do know that if we go out and start spreading the news, that Jesus will show up in that person’s life. We don’t have to bring them to Jesus. Jesus will come to them, like he came to the original disciples, like he came to Thomas. All we have to do is tell people about this ultimate peace.
“Peace be with you. As my father sent me, so I send you.”
Each week at this church we say part of these very words to another. We walk around and greet each with “Peace be with you” or “Peace of the Lord.” Because of that familiarity, I want to slow down and consider the events leading up to these words, “Peace be with you.” The disciples, in the past few days, have been very poor friends and followers of Jesus. The night after he washes their feet and gives them wine and bread, the disciples fall asleep on him then they run away from him and then they hide. Jesus, regardless of his disciples, has been through everything: Arrest, trial, beatings, a crown of thorns, and crucified, died, and was buried. And after all this, Jesus went to hell. And there he defeated death and the devil. And then Jesus came back to earth. Finally, Jesus returns to these same disciples and finds them locked up in a room.
At this point, the full majesty and power of Christ is revealed. He does what none of us could do. He does not return to them in anger or rebuke. He does not ask them “What are you doing here?” or “Why did you not believe?” Instead, he says, “Peace be with you.” This is not some friendly gesture or every day greeting. This is not some casual greeting as if to say, “I hope things are okay with you” or a move to please the media, “Peace, Yo!” This is the I’ve been to hell and back greeting. Peace. The war is over. You don’t have to die anymore. You don’t have to go to fear the cross. You are going with me to heaven. The battle, the biggest battle of humanity, that against sin and death, is over. Peace, my disciples. Your sins are forgiven! Your abandonment and your unbelief are forgiven. Peace. Yes, these are some mighty big words that we say to each other each week in Church. Indeed, when I hear these words, I think of the images of peace after World War II when the people crowded the streets and the air was filled with shouts of joy. This is the kind of reaction we should have when we hear these words. When we say “Peace be with you” we are telling someone, the ultimate peace in the universe, true communion with God, is now possible for you and may you dwell in that peace. And this is a peace which no army can go back against. This is the world’s only permanent peace treaty. And that is the Good News.
But Jesus isn’t finished yet. He keeps going with his greeting. He says, “As the father sent me, so I am sending you.” These too are powerful words that demand closer attention. Who is Jesus sending first of all? Jesus is sending people locked in a room, locked in their fears. By sending these disciples, the same ones that abandoned him, the same ones that are locked up in a room because of their fears, Jesus is telling us today, that we, yes, we, in spite of our own imperfections and fears, are supposed to go out into this world share this message of ultimate peace.
And how are we supposed to do that? Well, how does Jesus send the disciples out? With the Holy Spirit. Jesus does not give them 3 years of Seminary education. He does not give them a test of their knowledge of the Bible. He does not give them a thorough examination of their character. He does not give them witty catch phrases or fancy marketing materials. He does not give them money or secular power. He gives them instead the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit gives each person gifts for spreading the gift of peace and forgiveness. Some of you can teach, some of you can lead, some of you can sing, some of you can heal, some of your can pray, and some of you can listen. My point is that whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, the Holy Spirit is always empowering us to spread the message. I want to go over two examples and reflect on how the Holy Spirit can work to empower us in both these cases.
Many life long Christians only know other Christians. It might be easy, in such a circumstance to say, well, everyone I know already knows who Jesus is, so I don’t have much a role to play in being sent out by the Holy Spirit. However, such people make great prayers, especially for young people who so need prayers for their faith as they mature. Such people make great listeners and mentors. In my life, my mentor played an important role. The faith my grandmother shared, even though I already believed, helped me see even more deeply how much God loved us. Furthermore, many people, even if they are life-long Christians, still need to hear that message of ultimate peace and forgiveness. So just because we only know Christians does not mean that Jesus is not sending us. On, no. We’ve got plenty of people to pray for and listen to and to tell what Jesus has done and is doing in our lives.
On the other extreme, many of us also find ourselves in complex work situations with people of various faiths ranging from Muslim to atheism. Modern rules of etiquette tell us to not talk about our faith at our job. So, how can the Holy Spirit really be empowering us there? The secular boundaries of the work world and of the modern metropolitan world are ultimately no match for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been breaking down boundaries for 2,000 years and will keep going. Discussions about the news, about books or TV shows, about health and family, all provide opportunities to listen to people and find out what rooms they are locked in. They also provide opportunities to offer them words of Jesus’ peace, to invite them to Church, and to tell them you are praying for them.
This may seem like a lot of work and you may ask, why is Jesus sending them into the world? Because Jesus wants every person, all six-billion beating hearts, to know this ultimate peace. This message of peace and forgiveness is not one for some elite or for one culture, but for everyone. If Jesus is in heaven and Jesus wants every person in the entire world to believe in him, there is a problem. How is Jesus going to get into the heart of every person? You and me.
So, where does “doubting Thomas” fit into all of this? Well, Jesus sends the disciples out. The first person they tell is Thomas, who raises objections and articulates why he does not believe. I think the disciples’ encounter with Thomas was probably pretty typical for early Christianity. When early Christians went out and said, “Hey, there was this man named Jesus who was also God, who was killed and now has come back and by believing in him you can have eternal life” most people probably clung to their old gods and were skeptical. However, Jesus shows up to Thomas. This is great news. When we go out and spread this message of peace, we cannot expect that each person we talk with will understand or appreciate every word we say. We cannot control how the person will react. Furthermore, we cannot control how Jesus will be involved in their lives. But we do know that if we go out and start spreading the news, that Jesus will show up in that person’s life. We don’t have to bring them to Jesus. Jesus will come to them, like he came to the original disciples, like he came to Thomas. All we have to do is tell people about this ultimate peace.
“Peace be with you. As my father sent me, so I send you.”
posted by RJM at 1:57 PM
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