How do you define peace? Is it a sense of contentment in having our material and relational needs met? Nations may think of peace as the absence of war. But the peace of which Jesus Christ speaks is far deeper than any sense of well-being that we can create for ourselves personally or nationally. Before Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection, twice Jesus offered the disciples a future of peace. In John 14:27 we read, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.” Later, as Jesus ends His final discourse with His disciples, he proclaimed, “I have said this to you so that in me you may have peace.” (John 16:33). Peace, that genuine inner sense of well-being of the soul, is a gift from God through Jesus Christ.
In next Sunday’s gospel (John 20:19-31), Jesus, our Resurrected Lord, declared a message of peace to His disciples. Three times Jesus’ announced, “Peace be with you.” In the first half of the gospel, Jesus appeared to the disciples on the evening of the first day of the week, Sunday. Jesus entered their home although the physical doors were locked, symbolizing His power to break through the disciples’ and our inner fears. He showed them His wounds, proving that He was indeed the One crucified. They rejoiced in His presence and their belief in the Resurrected Lord blossomed. And just as God breathed the breath of life into humanity at creation, Jesus breathed His own breath, the breath of new life into them saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” They were commissioned to do God’s work in the world, infused with the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the second half of the gospel, the disciples excitedly relayed the message of Jesus’ resurrection to Thomas. Thomas expressed disbelief. Unable to open himself to the truth of their testimony, he desired tangible proof. He had to see and touch Jesus, in order to believe. Jesus, who discerns the thoughts of our hearts, meets Thomas at the point of his need. A week later, again as the doors to their abode were locked, Jesus entered and invited Thomas to see and touch His healed wounds. This encounter moved Thomas from unbelief to belief. His soul was opened to the truth, and he excitedly proclaimed his new-found faith, “My Lord and my God!” Not only are the disciples transformed, but Jesus leaves a blessing on all future believers for the basis of belief will transition from physical sight to interior vision. He declared, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Our souls encounter our Risen Lord in the sacred scriptures and the Holy Sacrament. And our encounters affirm our faith in the powerful presence of Christ’s Spirit at work in us and around us.
Christ’s blessing given to those who believe without seeing remains with us today and includes you and me and all who over time move from unbelief to belief and genuinely declare, “My Lord and my God!” As Christ’s children forever we have inner peace, inner quietness of heart, assured that even in the face of pain, sorrow, or other challenges, He never leaves nor forsakes us. We have the assurance that we are embraced in the unending mystery of His boundless, sacrificial love and power over all things, even over death itself. And filled with His Spirit we proclaim the good news to the world that we have been “given a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Thanks be to God!!!
