Peace Be with You:  Alleluia, Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

Easter is the unearned gift of grace. The reflective season of “going in” that Lent provided (no matter what disciplines we undertook, nor even how well we attended to them) explodes on Easter. Of course, we cannot “figure it out.” How comforting, then, to have these scriptures, showing first how the disciples struggled to grasp what had happened and then stories of Jesus before the crucifixion, which are written in the light of the Resurrection.

As Easter people we know, as Paul said, that nothing, not even death, shall separate us from the love of God. We are people who expect life out of death. And so, in Eastertide we celebrate the wonder and prepare ourselves to take the awesome message out into the world of love, hope and finally victory.

In fear, the disciples huddled behind locked doors – an obvious response to the crucifixion. (“Are we next?”) Suddenly, Jesus is right there, sensitively inviting the disciples to convince themselves that it is he – showing them the marks on his body. “Peace be with you,” Jesus says. The disciples are now to carry on the work Jesus had begun. Jesus breathes the power of the Holy Spirit upon them. As God sent Jesus, now the disciples are sent out. Their message is handed on to us, the torch of peace, so we can hand it on to those who come after us.

Easter, which was last Sunday, we celebrated that Good News. Easter is not just a day – it is a whole season. We are still celebrating Easter and will be for seven weeks.

Prayer: O God, our beginning and our end: accept our doubts, heal our desire for certainty and, by your Spirit’s gentle touch, make us a people forgiven and forgiving; through Jesus Christ, the Giver of Peace. Amen.  Prayers for an Inclusive Church (2009) alt.