For Sunday
Easter 2B

Collect

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Reading

From John 20:19-31

“Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.””

Reflection

When Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room, he comes with an offering of peace. One that should be very familiar to us since it is a greeting we offer one another every Sunday: “Peace be with you.”

It shouldn’t surprise us that the practice we know simply as “The Peace” leads us to argue over how best to offer it. We were doing this long before the pandemic. Some like to hug. Others prefer a stately, quiet head nod. Some want the thing to go on for a long time and others would prefer we skip over it all and get on with the liturgy of the table. In any case, I suspect we’ll be wrestling with The Peace for quite a long time more.

This story plays with what it means to offer the peace of God: individually and corporately. The group receives the greeting, but Thomas personally misses it. Many of us know what it is like to not be offered the peace—to miss what others receive and long to have it, too.

This longing personified by Thomas is not likely the central point of the story, however. Far more likely the point is that there is a resurrection, the disciples are witness to it, and they are able to offer that witness in the sign of the peace to those who wish to receive that peace.

In that first appearance, there are few things said: the initial offering of peace, then “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Jesus is sending them to offer the peace they have just received. Then he offers the spirit and the forgiveness of sins.

In this story, which we so often center around belief and doubt, is actually a story of sharing in the Peace of God. And smack-dab in the heart of all of it is the idea that we don’t just receive it, but receive it with the command to share it.

If it helps, think of it like a bucket of popcorn at a movie theater. You get the biggest one because you know you’re going to have to share it anyway. And that’s part of the fun.