Peace Be Unto You
THE 1ST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER
"Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ or Lord" (Roman 6:9)
Amen and again I say, Amen! Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of them that sleep. This is the glorious song of an empty tomb, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Divine triumph over sin and death which our Lord accomplished just seven days ago on Easter morning. And today, the church in all of her glory rejoices in the resurrection of Him whom death could not hold, of He who was impervious to death's sting.
And from the beginning, the church has celebrated the Easter feast with tremendous energy and great joy. The magnitude of God's final victory over the forces of evil and death is such that the church couldn't contain the Easter Eucharistic feast to just one Sunday. Like Jesus in the grave, the Easter feast simply couldn't be contained, and so the church carries on for two more days, celebrating the Holy Eucharist on Easter Monday and Tuesday. In fact, this past week has been one continual party celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and will continue for nearly fifty more days until we get to celebrate another feast: the receiving of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost. Good Friday is a fading memory, and its goodness is becoming more and more apparent. Lenten sorrows have passed away. In our prayer book, the themes of eternal life, hope, and joy permeate the daily appointed scripture readings and psalms. You see, Christ is not dead; he is alive! Even this, our eucharistic liturgy is re-infused with joyful praise as we once again sing the Gloria in response to communing with our risen Lord, "Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will towards men!" The empty tomb means that Jesus has secured and bestowed every good and perfect gift upon all who believe in Him.
Now, consider the account of St. John, which was read as today's appointed Gospel. The very first Easter was a much different experience for Jesus' disciples. No parties. No feasts. No all-night celebrations. Nothing but fear. For Peter, the apostles, and disciples of our Lord, the first Easter was a day of terror, anxiety, and hopelessness. The Apostle John tells us they were shut up behind locked doors, hiding from fear of the Jews and other authorities. Fearful for their lives. Bewildered by the events of the last forty-eight hours. Wondering how a man to whom they had entrusted their lives and a movement to which they had given their lives could have come to such an end. And why Jesus had left them in such a distressing situation. The first Easter evening is one marked more by grief than by time. An evening darkened by the dark cloud of grief and sadness because although the report of the resurrection had come to apostles by Mary Magdalene (Jn 20:18), they do not believe. They are shut up in a room and shut up in their hearts from fear and disbelief. And, as the sun sets on that first Easter Sunday, the risen Lord comes into the midst.
St. John writes, "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." See how concerned Christ is for those he loves. He enters into their fear. He comes into their midst. Jesus stands among them as true God with death's power banished from his body. He brings the full weight of resurrection-reality into their presence; he comes in the flesh for he was raised a spiritual body. Jesus Christ is the resurrection. Did he not testify to this saying, "I am the resurrection and the life?" In Him, says St. John is life. And the life which comes by the resurrection of the Lord far exceeds the life given to all who are born of the flesh. For the resurrection-life is life eternal! Friends, the miracle of Jesus' bodily resurrection can in no way be confused with the raising of the widow's Son, or Jairus' daughter, or even Lazarus, who lay wrapped in a tomb for some four days. Though these were divinely revivified and returned to their normal lives, they all, at a later time, died again.
But our Lord was raised to new life, no longer subject to the law of death but raised supernaturally, a supernaturally charged body, unto a new and never-before-experienced human existence. The raising of Christ from the grave is unique in every imaginable way, which is why St. Paul proclaims that "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." Jesus is the first to overcome death. He is the firstfruit of the resurrection who has broken open the gates of eternal life to all who believe, "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ, all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ the first fruits; then at His coming, those who belong to him" (1 Cor 15:23). Friends, life burst forth from that tomb, not life as we know and experience it now, but eternal life, life everlasting: he that was raised was raised unto life and shall never again taste the harrows of death. And this is what everyone desperately longs for, isn't it: to never die. The sense of our mortality and the shadow of death looms upon the souls of men; we can't shake it. This present life will have its end, all shall taste the bitterness of death, "for it is appointed to every man once to die," says the Apostle. We don't need more of this life, or an extension of earthly time, what we need and must attain is life eternal: that which never ends.
Now, by a mysterious appearing, Jesus Christ, who is the Resurrection life, stands before his frightened disciples. And the very first words the risen Lord speaks to them is "peace." "Peace be unto you." You see, the empty tomb speaks life, and it speaks peace! The Risen One brings comfort. He brings assuredness. "Peace be unto you." He speaks peace into their fear of the Jews, peace to pacify any fear from His ghostly appearing. He speaks peace unto Peter, who denied Him not once but three times. Peace to those who scattered and fled on the night of his arrest and wrongful conviction. And peace to the doubting Thomas.
By these words, Jesus reorients their fear of the outside world and the inward fear of the power of sin and of judgment. He comes into their midst and speaks words of peace and comfort just as he had done before when he walked upon the waters and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." The resurrection of Jesus Christ speaks peace, real, true, and substantial peace. Because Jesus Christ is our peace, and his presence brings tranquility into every sphere of our being. Christ is the peace with one another. The resurrected Lord has broken down the barriers between us all, and by his death, he has opened the door of reconciliation between men. Therefore, St. Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians tells us that "Christ is our peace, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us" (Eph 2:14-16).
By the cross, we who were once at odds with others, who saw neighbour and other as obstacles in our way have now been ushered into a higher unity and placed upon a platform of equal privilege, thereby obliterating all the old causes of division. In Christ, humanity can and is being restored, reunited. Salvation life has come to those who believe and with it every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Grace and mercy are poured out equally upon all who believe, whether hired in the first hour or the last, for the love of God knows no partiality. You see, the reconciling power of the cross spills over in and through the hard divisions between us. The person of Christ crucified has become the great center of unity and love, where indifferences and differences are swallowed up by a peace that overcomes the hardest of hearts.
Christ is our peace, not merely as Peacemaker between men, but he is our peace in relation to God. We who were alienated by our rebellion from the Father have been reconciled back to our Father by Jesus Christ, for in the words of St. Paul, "we were enemies of God and reconciled to Him through the death of His Son" (Rom 5:10). And again, from St. Peter, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit" (1 Pt 3:18). Jesus suffered and died for our sins to bring us to God. Christ is our peace in that he made it possible for rebellious sinners like you and me to be at peace with our Creator. True and lasting peace is offered to any and all who place their faith in the risen Christ. No faith, no peace. Hear the Apostle Paul again, who says, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:1). The resurrected Lord comes to us, offering both life and peace. And these are ours to possess if we will believe.
In today's epistle, St. John testifies that "Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 Jn 5:14). Faith overcomes the locked door of the heart, and belief welcomes the risen Christ into its midst. He speaks peace to faith and gives life to those who believe. And these St. John calls 'overcomers': all who by faith which have already overcome the world and all of its uncertainties, trials, and sufferings, even death.
Faith believes that the heavenly man, Jesus Christ, has conquered death and the systems of this world. It rejoices in the truth that Christ has risen from the grave to live forever; Christ has overcome the world, the flesh, and the Devil. And we who believe in this Divine victory are victors as well! In a real sense, we have already won, for "If we have died with him, we will also live with him" (2 Tim 2:11). For if death could not hold our Lord, then neither shall it hold those who enter the belly of death, believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. All who believe that Jesus was sent into the world to save sinners and are born again, who by faith are reborn by the power of the Holy Spirit, the very same spirit which brought Jesus back from the depths of Hades, he who believes already possess eternal life! Isn't this the hope and reality to which St. John testifies, writing, "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."
Beloved, when you suffer, remember this: you by faith have received eternal life, life beyond the grave, life beyond this material world, life beyond the dirt in which we all shall one day be buried. This is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the message of life and peace. Peace made possible through the all-sufficient sacrifice of the Son for your sins and mine. And if we are at peace with God and have overcome all things, then what harm can this world, or the host of demonic principalities, yes, even the Devil himself bring upon the children of the Almighty?
Friends, "Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 8:36-39). Beloved, today, the Lord has come into our midst, and he soon he will mysteriously appear to us in the breaking of the bread and in the cup. And through the holy eucharist, he shall speak to your soul, "Peace. Peace be unto you." Amen+
