John 20:19-31. This piece of scripture offers a tantalizing one-liner at the end: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe…”

The last few years have left many of us shaken: war threatens again in Europe, COVID rates rise and fall, economic uncertainties continue to nip at our heels. We want reassurance: we want to touch the promised miracle, like Thomas was able to touch the resurrected body of Christ. We believe, but we struggle to find that peace that Jesus promised his followers when he appeared to him after the resurrection.

However, this passage shows us that our bodies matter: Jesus appeared to his friends enfleshed. Perhaps his body was not the same after his crucifixion and resurrection, but the fact he came embodied is not just coincidence: it’s a mark of our Incarnational theology. With his body, Jesus breathes on his disciples and touches them. He brings with his body his peace. As his modern disciples, it is our job to embody Christ’s peace and bring it to the world.

Where do you find the embodiment of Christ’s peace in your life? Where do you embody it for others? Where can you seek it out in places you haven’t before?

By: Kristen Ostendorf, The Episcopal Church.