Peace Be with You

Message shared in online worship for Ascension Lutheran Church in Towson, Maryland - April 19, 2020

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” – John 20:19-21

I don’t know about you, but I can certainly identify with the disciples of Jesus. Here they are, hiding out in the upper room together. Shut off from the world and everybody in it. Does that sound familiar? They are sheltering in place.

We learn that they’re hiding in fear.

Now, I know that the chance of me dying from the coronavirus is slight, especially since I haven’t been around anyone else for weeks now. But I confess that in the back of my mind, I still have this feeling of foreboding. I imagine anyone who’s died from this unpredictable disease never thought they were going to get it. So, the fear, no matter how irrational it is, remains.

But it’s not just a fear of catching a dreaded illness that holds me captive, any more than the fear of the Jewish leaders was holding Jesus’ disciples behind locked doors, in this safe place.

They had been traumatized. The reality they thought they knew from day-to-day was suddenly shattered. And they never saw it coming.

It’s like sailing along in a boat, taking in the sunshine, enjoying the placidness of the water. It’s so calm and peaceful that you even nod off a bit. And then, all of a sudden, you’re in the midst of a mighty storm. The waves crash into your boat and smash it to pieces. One minute you were being lulled to sleep and the next you’re in the water, fighting to survive, grabbing at anything you can to stay afloat.

When Jesus was arrested and crucified, the disciples didn’t see it coming. Perhaps they should have, if they really listened to what Jesus was telling them, but I suppose they couldn’t bring themselves to believe it because it was so… unbelievable.

Isn’t that what the trauma we’re experiencing is like, too? It’s surreal. Never in our wildest dreams could we ever have imagined this time. We went to sleep one night and thought we knew what the days ahead would look like for us. We thought they’d be much like the days we had experienced in the past. But we woke up to a different reality. We didn’t see it coming. It’s left us in a fearful place.

And now, we can’t foresee what’s coming next. We have no idea what this means for us and our larger world. Will it be a total reset for us once this has passed? It’s hard to imagine that our lives could return to the way they were before.

Like the disciples after Jesus’ death, we didn’t see it coming and now we can’t foresee what’s coming next. As a planet, we’re all suffering from a collective form of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome right now. So, we hunker down in our homes and wait for this to pass, uncertain of what comes next.

But as hard as we try to shut everything out, an intruder has entered all our homes. His name is Jesus. He’s right here in our homes. Uninvited.

We wouldn’t dare open our doors to him because Governor Hogan might sick the National Guard on us. But Jesus doesn’t care about any of that. He doesn’t care about coronavirus, or social distancing, or even the fears that hold us captive. He walks right through the walls of our homes and stands among us.

Can you feel his presence? Let me tell you that, whether you can feel it or not, he’s right there with you. You can’t shut him out. And here’s what he says to us.   “Peace be with you.”

Of all the things we need to hear, this is it, isn’t it? Peace be with you.

I know we’re living in a world you never could have imagined. I know we didn’t see it coming, and I know we’re anxious about what’s coming next. But you’ll get through this, Jesus says. I’m here. All will be well. Peace be with you.