Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States - Lutheran Seminary God Pause - Moved by the Promise for Thursday, 5 June 2014 - Read John 20:19 When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle, and said to them, “Peace be to you.”
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit! 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.”(World English Bible)
These few verses are a power-packed unit as they lay out the gifts for ministry of the risen Lord in three stages: Peace, the Holy Spirit, and Forgiveness. On the evening of the first Easter, the disciples were not out sharing the news of the resurrection, but they were locked in the house shaking in fear for their lives. How would they ever fulfill Jesus' call if they remained paralyzed with fear of the Jewish authorities? Apparently, they could not think beyond their own worries. What had happened the previous few days was so beyond their expectations that anything could happen now! Even the news of the resurrection was too much to comprehend. So when Jesus appeared to them that Easter evening, it was important that his first words be, "Peace be with you." There was no peace to be found, and then Peace came and stood among them in person, wounded but alive.
Above all things, O Jesus, we long for your presence and the peace that you embody. Calm our deepest fears, and show us the way. Amen.
Carol A Solovitz
Pastor, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lakeland, Fla.
John 20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."(New Revised Standard Version)
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