A Homily given by Deacon Ben Jones, assisting Deacon;
St. George’s Anglican Church, Raleigh, NC;
On the 1st Sunday in Easter, A.D. 2009
“Peace”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
AMEN.
St. john 20:19.
“the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the jews, came jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, peace be unto you.”
The First Sunday after Easter is called “Low Sunday”. The origin of this name is some what obscure. In any event, this First Sunday after Easter is of a lower degree than that of the magnificent celebration of Easter itself. In a few words, you just can’t improve on Resurrection Sunday, the commemoration of the redemption of the world. Jesus Christ has won our salvation. Don’t think that “Low Sunday” means a time of relaxation. We look to Jesus as our example to see how we should conduct ourselves following Easter. He is present in His resurrected body still at His Father’s work, commissioning His Apostles, establishing His Church, and giving His Peace; all on the evening of His Resurrection. Let’s take a closer look into this “Peace” that Christ conveyed to His Disciples.
As our Gospel lesson begins we see the Disciples were seeking safety behind closed doors. More than likely they feared for their lives. John had just witnessed and the other Disciples had heard about the scourging and the crucifixion of their Master. They feared that they were next. As an example, consider Peter. He probably feared greatly for his life because he had been identified three times during the trial of Jesus. The fear that the Disciples felt may be a bit hard for us to grasp because through the Bible we have the complete Holy Week and Easter scriptures at our fingertips. We know the ending. The Disciples didn’t have this luxury even though Jesus had told them time and time again what would take place. At the Last Supper, “Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.”1 He is true to His word.
When Jesus appeared to the Disciples they thought they were in for a scolding. Their imaginations were running away with all kinds of thoughts of being abused, whether at the hands of the captors of Jesus or Jesus Himself. Instead He exclaimed, “Peace be unto you.”2 To the troubled, uneasy Disciples, Jesus brings a message of “Peace”. He now comforts the Disciples.
The Lord “shewed unto them His hands and His side. Then were the Disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.” Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so I send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”3 This event is known as the “Johannine Pentecost. What Jesus has done is to breathe His Holy Ghost into the Disciples. The Johannine Pentecost is much different than Pentecost in the manner and the meaning in which the Holy Ghost is given to the people. What we will hear in the reading for the Epistle on Whitsunday or Pentecost Sunday is, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind from heaven, and filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”4
You see, the resurrection through the resurrected Christ had certain implications for the Disciples. It gave them this “Peace” and it implied a commission, “So I send you”. There is a clear connection between this “Peace” and the reception of the Holy Ghost. Jesus foreshadowed this connection of the Holy Ghost and this “Peace” at the Last Supper. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the “FATHER” will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”5 This connection is “THE FATHER”. The Father sending the Holy Ghost through His Son brings “PEACE”, means “PEACE”, and is “PEACE”. Jesus is still about His Father’s work.
To understand this “Peace” we have to remember and to understand what Jesus told the Disciples. “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”6 The translation from the Greek for comfortless is “orphanos”, I will not leave you as “orphans”. Jesus Christ has promised to be with us through God’s gift for us, the Holy Ghost. It is through the Holy Ghost that we receive “God’s Peace”, or His Love for us. When Jesus told His Disciples that He was about to depart and that He was leaving them His “Peace” and His “Comforter”, He left them with what we continue to be a part of to this very day. The Disciples then, and we now, have the ultimate assurance that after the “Resurrection” to be drawn to Christ through a deep communion of Spiritual life with the Father and the Holy Ghost. “Even the “Spirit of Truth”: whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”7 This “Peace” as Christ tells us, is not just the peace as the world understands, but rather a “Peace” which is “ALIVE” in us as Christians, in this world and the next. This “Peace” is a gift that both calms and challenges us. The “Peace of God” does not grant us immunity to pain and suffering, or even to death, but rather it enables us to face all realities and to triumph over them in union with Jesus Christ Himself.
We experience the “Peace of God” in the Mass. We are told at the Fraction of the body, “The Peace of the Lord be always with you”, to which we respond, “And with thy Spirit”. This is to commemorate Christ breaking the bread at the Last Supper and giving His “Peace” to the Disciples. At the Dismissal we are told to, “Depart in Peace”. We take this “Peace” with us in our everyday life. Then the Priest concludes the Mass with the Blessing which begins, “The Peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord”.8 This is from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians, where St. Paul preaches about our necessity to rejoice in Jesus Christ as the power of life, through His gift to us, the Holy Ghost.
Just as Jesus came to His Disciples on that first Easter evening while they were hiding in fear behind a closed door, He comes to us who are behind our closed door, bringing us His “Peace”, to enable us to share in His resurrection with the Father and the Holy Ghost. Jesus calls us to turn it all over to Him. Whatever pain and suffering, as well as the good times, we give it all to God. If we share in His death, then we will certainly share in His resurrection and victory, that “Peace” which the world cannot give.
Here is a little something to add to your quiet time with God. You can start and finish your prayer time in this manner. When you are all set to start or to finish your prayer time, say in a soft whisper, “The Peace of the Lord be always with me”. You will feel a comfort just like a soft blanket being put over you. That’s the Holy Ghost with the “Peace of God”, wrapping you in God’s Love.
amen.
And now unto God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost,
be ascribed all might, majesty, power, and dominion,
most justly due this day, both now and forever,
world without end. Amen.
1 The Gospel According to St. Mark 14:27-28.
2 The Gospel According to St. John 20:19.
3 The Gospel According to St. John 20:20-22.
4 The Acts of the Apostles 2:2-4.
5 The Gospel According to St. John 14:26-27.
6 The Gospel According to St. John 14:18.
7 The Gospel According to St. John 14:17.
8 Book of Common Prayer; 1928 ed., pg. 84.