2nd Easter
John 20: 19-29
On the evening
of the first day after the Sabbath, the disciples were together with the doors
locked for fear of the authorities. Jesus came and stood in their midst and
said,
“Peace be with you!”
And while he said this, he showed them his hands
and his side.
Full of joy the disciples
recognized the Lord. And again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has
sent me, so I am sending you.”
And when he said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive Holy
Spirit through
which the world will receive healing. From now on you shall work in human destinies
with spiritual power, so that they shall have the strength to wrest themselves
free from the load of sin, and at the same time to bear the consequences of
their offences.”
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not there with them
when Jesus came. Later the disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
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| Luca Signorelli |
But he replied, “If I do not see in his hand the marks of the nails, and
do not put my finger in the place where the nails were, and place my hand in
his side, I cannot believe it.”
Eight days later, the disciples were again gathered in the inner room
and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood in
their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Stretch out your finger and see my hands, and
stretch out your hand and put it into my side. Be not rigid in your heart, but
rather feel and trust in my power in your heart.”
Then Thomas said to him, “You are the Lord of my soul; you are the God
whom I serve.”
And Jesus said to him, “Have you found my power in yourself because you
have seen me? Blessed are those who find my power in their hearts, even when
their eye does not yet see me.”
April 27, 2014
John 20: 19 – 29
The disciples had locked themselves in out of fear. We could imagine their souls in a state of agitation. Even though some have reported seeing Christ Risen, the shock waves of the previous week are still reverberating. Everything that happened, the physical earthquakes, the torture and execution of their Beloved, his rising from the dead, it is all so stupefying.
Then He appears. He brings them the gift of Himself; and with that gift he brings them another, the gift of calm. He brings tranquility, serenity. The creative Word of God speaks peace into their hearts. He breathes the love of His healing Spirit into them. Look, He says, here are my wounds. I even died, but I am still radiantly and joyfully alive.
Our emotions can signal important information to us. Danger may be near; we may need to take action. But by His own actions, Christ indicates that we are nonetheless to move fairly quickly into a state of peace, of balance, of equanimity. As He says, lingering in agitation will not help us
Christ would have us work calmly, in peace and in love, from the center of our being. And whether we see Christ or not, we can hear Him say to us, in every Act of Consecration of Man: ‘My Peace can be with you because I give it to you.’ The healing breath of His spirit of peace is available for us to inhale always. We can always ask Him: make me a channel of Your peace. For as
Fra Giovanni said in the 16th century:
No heaven can come to us unless
our hearts find rest in it today. Take
heaven!
No peace lies in the future
which is not hidden in this present little instant.
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