The Peace of the Risen Christ | Monday Invocation

He showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
John 20:21-21 NRSVUE

From our perspective some 2,000 years later, the triumph of Easter can feel almost inevitable. Holy Week has a familiar rhythm, from Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem to the institution of Communion, to his prayer in the garden, his betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion. Even as we observe these days with somber gratitude, we know what awaits us come Sunday.

As you may have been reminded at some point in the past few days, this was certainly not the case from the perspective of Jesus’s closest friends, family, and followers.

Despite Jesus’s frequent references to his own death, the events of Friday were not inevitable to those disciples who found him the colt he would ride as the crowds shouted Hosanna! A cross was not foremost on their minds as they listened to him teach and watched him perform miracles. And in the midst of his suffering and death, scattered and afraid, the splendor of an empty tomb was unimaginable.

Cowering in fear in a locked upper room, they considered what might happen to them. Stripped of their community, purpose, and belonging, they were left to their own worry: Were they next? What would they do now? Where could they go? Was this all for nothing?

It’s not difficult to empathize with them, their extreme circumstances notwithstanding. On that Sunday morning, having just been met by Mary Magdelene with word of resurrection, there was a pervasive doubt. Thomas, as the story goes, insisted on feeling the wounds in Jesus’s flesh before he would be willing to believe. (He got his chance.)

Jesus was nothing if not consistent. Rather than a grandiose display of power and might—he’d just conquered sin, death, and the power of the grave, for starters—he appears to them quietly, standing among them, and offers peace.

Peace.

Far removed from the disciples’ experiences and the trauma of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, they are met with a gentle greeting from their teacher.

Peace.

In the midst of struggle, when the outcome is far from inevitable, Christ is speaking the simplest greeting.

Peace.

As we celebrate the risen Christ, may you also know God’s presence, in and with you, offering you peace. You are not alone, beloved. May the risen Christ’s peace and presence go with you.