Acts 4:32-35; 1 Jn 5:1-6; Jn 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."
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 sin destroys 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