Four simple words. That is how our risen Savior greets his disciples after those tumultuous days which followed their deserting him in the garden and courtyard of the high priests. They were, in many respects, a common greeting of his day. But spoken by the one who was betrayed and abandoned by those very disciples, what a profound gift they had to offer the disciples.
Peace be with you.
He had lots of other choices, didn’t he? “Where were you? How come you were so slow to believe? Why did you leave?” He had so many choices, and yet, like one of those seven last words spoken from the cross – “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” – this greeting conveys that same message. You are forgiven. And you are free.
Peace be with you.
Like the words spoken to the woman caught in adultery when all her accusers had walked away, “Neither do I condemn you” – this greeting conveys the heart of God’s heart toward us. The stance, the desire, the deepest wish in the heart of God is not that we be stuck in our past mistakes and sins, but rather that we be free to love anew. As John 3:15-17 says so eloquently, setting the scene for the whole gospel message, and the heart of the resurrection mes-sage: “For God so loved the world, that He gave us His only begotten Son… not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” The risen Jesus does not want a relationship marked by retribution, vengeance or anger. All he wants for us is to be at peace with Him. And in that peace, to know we can begin anew.
Peace be with you.
To Thomas, he gives the offer of the exact proof he needed to believe in that message – “Put your fingers into the nail marks and your hand into my side.” To Peter, he gives him three chances to say “I love you, Lord,” not because Jesus needed to hear it three times, but because Peter needed to say it three times before he would trust it. To the incredulous disciples, he breathes upon them the gift of the Spirit who empowers them with THE mission of the resurrection: “Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them.”
Peace be with you.
It is an amazing gospel summary in four words. May it be the prayer we let the Lord whisper to us at the end of each day this Easter season – an expression of the desire of God for us to always come home to the love that frees us.
Peace be with you, indeed!