Acts 5:12-16; Rev 1:9-13, 17-19; John 20:19-31
After the death of Jesus, for fear of the Jews the
Apostles confined themselves to a closed room. They received the news of the
resurrection of Jesus from many sources. He was seen by the women
who visited the tomb. Peter saw the empty tomb. He appeared to the apostles
themselves. But these testimonies did not give them enough courage to come
out and proclaim the reality of resurrection.
They remained behind the closed doors. Again Jesus appeared to them
and greeted them, “Peace be with you.”
“Peace” is the first word that came from the
lips of Jesus on meeting his Apostles. “Peace be with you. (Jn 20:19).
Then Jesus gave them the power to forgive sins. Jesus knew man’s
weakness and the havoc sin causes in man’s heart. It destroys the peace
and joy of every man.
One of the famous tragedies of William
Shakespeare is Macbeth. When Macbeth was returning after a victory, he
was met by three witches. The first witch greeted him, “Thane of
Glamis”. The second witch greeted him “Thane of Cawdor”, and the third
witch greeted him, “King hereafter”. As they disappeared messengers reached
with the good news that he was appointed as the Thane of Glamis and Thane of
Cawdor. Macbeth went home and shared this strange experience with his
wife. She enkindled his hopes, and persuaded him to Murder Duncan, the king,
who came to his house as his guest. As Macbeth thrust the dagger into the heart
of Duncan he heard a voice, “Macbeth Sleep no more.” And “Macbeth has
murdered sleep.” Thereafter Macbeth never had peace in his life. His
life became miserable. In his frantic attempt to get peace he committed murder
again and again.
When Macbeth sinned against the king he lost his
peace. Jesus was aware that sins destroy the peace of man. So when he
wished them “peace” he also granted them the power to destroy
sin. To destroy a powerful enemy we need a powerful weapon. Jesus put this
weapon in the hands of the church when communicating to his Apostles the power
to forgive sins through the sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus said to the
apostles
“Those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven:
Those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.”
Jesus knew well that the disobedience of man, the
excessive desire of man for wealth, the selfishness of man, the hatred that
brews up in the heart of man, causes separation from God. And this separation
destroys the peace of man. Isaiah warned the Israelites, “Your iniquities
have separated you from your God.”(Is 59:2) And this separation from God
is unbearable. David, the chosen king of Israel, experienced it when
he broke the command of the Lord and he Lamented, “Do not withhold your
tender mercies from me, O Lord” (Ps 40:1). God commanded Adam and Eve, “Do not
eat the fruit of this tree.” But when they disobeyed him they were estranged
from God and they wanted to hide. This separation was miserable. And they
lost their peace.
As sin destroys internal peace Jesus strictly
commanded his disciples to love their enemies, and to return good for evil
(Mt 5:44). Jesus ratified his teaching with his own example as he hung on
the cross. He prayed, “Father forgive them” (Lk 23:24).
The estrangement that happened because of sin is
bridged by Jesus (Eph 2:14) and Jesus gave the power to his Apostles
to forgive sins and re-establish peace. St Paul wrote to the Romans
affirming this message that God has called us to peace. God expects us to keep
His commandment, and in return He gives us his peace. Proverbs tells us “When a
man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with
him.” (Prov.16:7)
For peace and joy to prevail in the Christian
community, unity should be maintained. That is the message of the First Reading
taken from the Acts of the Apostles. The Apostles taught the early
Christians that three things are necessary to foster unity.
So they gathered regularly in the Portico of
Solomon. The early Christians came together regularly under the leadership of
the apostles. And today we should gather in the church, the house of God
regularly. And this communion will certainly give us power and strength to
remain united, forgetting all the differences.
Secondly, they listened to the teaching of the
Apostles. We, too, must listen to the word of God and reflect
over it. It will give us courage to fight our ego.
When the early Christians remained united
under the leadership of the Apostles they worked wonders. The sick were
even taken out into the streets and laid on beds and sleeping mats, in
the hope that at least the shadow of Peter might fall across.
Today the risen Lord stands in our midst and greets
us too, “Peace be with You.” Let’s translate this message into action and pass
on to our brothers and sisters. When you take initiative in patching up an
estranged relationship with your friend, when you forgive a dishonest act
of your friend, when you show kindness to someone, when you appease the
anger of your friend, when you find time to re-establish a broken
relationship, when you persuade someone to give up some evil
habits you are giving the message, “Peace be with you”. And the
peace that you radiate will come back to you manifold.
Satish