Sunday 04/14/24 – Bible Study (OCA)
Sermon Title: “Peace Be With You!”
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 4
New Testament Scripture: 1 John 3:1-7
Gospel Lesson: Luke 24:36b-48
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
Alleluia! Happy Third Sunday of Easter, as we will once again be in this season
of Easter until Pentecost Sunday, on Sunday May 19th! On this day, Jesus has
been risen from the dead for about two weeks now, and he has and had continued
to appear to his disciples and others. Today in the gospel of Luke lectionary
reading from Luke 24:36b-48 we hear this starting with 24:36b:
36 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have’ (Lk. 24:36b-39, NRSV).
Jesus appears to his disciples today,
and the first thing that Jesus says is “Peace be with you.” Jesus could have
said all manner of things, but he tells his disciples to have peace. Of all of
the things that Jesus could have told his disciples, why would he tell them to
have peace? Well, at this point in the narrative of the gospels, the disciples
are still not all in for the gospel and the church.
Last Sunday when we heard the “Doubting
Thomas” story in John 20:19-31,
Thomas did not see the risen Christ when he first appeared to the other
disciples, and as a result Thomas “doubted” if the other disciples saw the Risen
Christ. A week later Jesus appeared to Thomas, and Thomas believed. Even though
Thomas wasn’t there in our John 20:19-31 from last Sunday in the beginning, he then
believed when Jesus came back about week later, which would be about the time
of this Sunday. Thomas believed and had hope, faith, and trust in Jesus Christ.
What we also heard last Sunday was the
disciples were hiding out of fear. For the disciple’s faith was not strong
enough yet, to boldly go out at preach and live the gospel of Jesus Christ. For
in doing so, the disciples could be persecuted, arrested, tortured, and even killed.
To put it another way, the disciples clearly did not have peace, and were
afraid. Not until the day of Pentecost, which will be on Sunday May 19th
this year, did Jesus’ disciples truly “get it”. On the day of Pentecost, the
disciples of Jesus Christ, where filled with the Holy Spirit, and went out fearlessly
preaching and living the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Until the day of Pentecost however, it
seemed evident that Jesus’ 11 disciples, and Matthias, that would be added to replace
Judas Iscariot, did not have the courage and the faith to go forth preaching
and living the gospel. In part, they were afraid of the consequences of their faith
and preaching. Among many emotions that the disciples had at this point, it was
clear that they did not fully have peace. When we don’t have peace, we are not
fully connected to God. Due to this, in our post-resurrection appearance of
Christ this morning, he immediately tells his disciples “Peace Be With You!”
Over the centuries of the Christian Church, some churches as part of worship or
in other places have added the tradition and practice of “Passing the Peace of
Christ” to each other. Why? Is it just to copy what Jesus did in the gospels?
In part, yes, but beyond this, it is a reminder to have trust and peace in
Jesus Christ.
In the same way that the first
disciples didn’t fully trust and have peace in Christ until the day of
Pentecost, when pass the peace of Christ in church, for example, we are telling
each other, and ourselves to have trust and peace in Jesus Christ. Jesus
appeared this day to his original eleven disciples, minus Judas Iscariot, and
soon to be Matthias, knowing that did not have full peace and trust in Christ. In
many churches we passed the “Peace of Christ,” in part because Jesus passed to
peace, but remind us to seek to have peace and trust in Jesus. When we have
peace and trust in Christ, everything is better, and our lives seem more manageable.
This morning, Jesus is telling his disciples, to trust him, and to have faith
in him. “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus might say, but instead trust him. Trust him
with you lives, your soul, your possessions, your wealth, and everything you
are. For he is Lord of all, and the savior of the world. He is mighty to save,
and through him we can have “the peace that passes all understanding”. This
morning Jesus is telling his disciples to have the peace that only he can give,
even though they will not fully have this peace to the day of Pentecost, when
the Holy Spirit will move as of tongues of fire. The disciples will speak in
tongues, and on that day will have peace and trust in Jesus Christ. What will
take for us to have peace and trust in Jesus Christ? Further, what is
preventing us this day from having peace and trust in Jesus Christ? I mean the
disciples were with Jesus for his entire three ministry, and they saw and witnessed
everything he said and did. How could they then still have doubts, if there
were there to see it all?
I guess for me, this humbles me, as some
still have doubts and struggles today, even though none of us where with Jesus
in the flesh during his three-year public ministry on earth. What is robbing us
this day of our “Peace with Christ?” What is preventing us from fully trusting
Christ? Is it issue with our jobs? Is it relationship issues? Is it issues with
finances or our health? What is it the prevents us from having “The Peace of
Christ?” I think that our answers to this can be varied, and sometimes can
change with a new day. Yet, Jesus came this morning in our gospel of Luke
24:36b-48 reading telling us to have his peace be with us. Peace is an amazing
thing. Peace is that Sunday you are watching when all your stress is gone, and
the world seems in perfect harmony. Peace is the moment where everything seems
to make sense, and God seems every present.
It is hard therefore, to have “The Peace
of Christ” every moment of every day, but this is why Jesus came to his disciples
this morning, two weeks after Easter, and said to them “Peace Be With You”.
This is also why many churches, whether in worship or in other places “pass the
peace” with each other. In our service today, we took time to “Pass the Peace
of Christ” with each other, prompting us to have more trust and peace in Jesus
Christ our Lord. In our Old Testament or Hebrew Bible reading for this morning
from Psalm 4, it ends with 4:8 saying, once again:
8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety (Ps. 4:8, NRSV).
How
many of us have gone to bed some night with no peace? How many of us have lost some or all sleep,
due to a lack of peace? How many of us have lost our peace sometimes in our daily
lives? Why did Jesus tell his disciples “Peace Be With You” this morning? Why
do some churches “Pass the Peace of Christ” with each other in
worship, or in other times? It is because we hope to always, in all things,
have “The peace that passes all understanding.” Unfortunately, though,
sometimes we allow things to rob us of our peace in Christ. So, in some worship
services like this one we “Pass the Peace of Christ” with each other to remind
ourselves to trust Christ, and to seek the peace of Christ with each other.
In
our reading for today from 1 John 3:1-7, we are reminded starting 1 John 3:1,
this:
3 1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are (1 Jn. 3:1, NRSV).
God’s children know the love of God,
and we should strive to have the peace of God through Jesus Christ. Picking up
in 1 John 3:5, it says, once again of Jesus:
5 You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous (I Jn. 3:5-7, NRSV).
In Jesus Christ our Lord is the forgiveness
of sin, is righteousness, is hope, and yes is peace. What robs us of our peace
in Christ? How can be more connected to Christ, so that we might have more
peace in and through Jesus Christ?
In looking at our gospel of Luke
24:36b-48 lectionary reading for this morning, Jesus appears to his disciples,
post-resurrection, telling them to have peace. They clearly as of this point in
the gospel narrative don’t have full trust and peace in him. Do we have full trust
and peace in Christ? If not, what is preventing us from having these things?
In looking at our gospel of Luke
24:36b-48 reading for this morning, the gospel lesson starts once again in Luke
24:36b, saying of seeing the risen Christ:
36b Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet (Lk. 24:36b-40, NRSV).
I guess on some level it is amazing to
me that the disciples need so much convincing, but are we any different? Why we
are robbed of our peace of Christ sometimes? Why do we stress or lose sleep
sometimes? What is preventing us from fully trusting in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Maybe this is in part one of the reasons that some churches in worship or in
other places “Pass the Peace
of Christ” with each other to remind ourselves to trust Christ, and to seek the
peace of Christ with each other. We need to continually seek the peace, the
hope, and the trust that we find only in Jesus Christ. This world and devil
will constantly want to rob us from the peace of Christ, but we must
continually turn to Jesus, and seek his peace, his love, and his hope.
Jesus also wants to care for people’s
bodily needs as well. Our gospel of Luke 24:36b-48 picks up this morning in
24:41, saying, once again:
41 While
in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, ‘Have
you anything here to eat?’ 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it
and ate in their presence. 44 Then
he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with
you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the
psalms must be fulfilled.’ 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the
scriptures, 46 and
he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah
is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that
repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all
nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses
of these things (Lk. 24:41-48,
NRSV).
In Luke 24:41, we hear of Jesus’
disciples, once again:
41 While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ (Lk. 24:41, NRSV).
Luke 21:41, once again, tells us that
Jesus’ words and presence gave the disciples joy, but yet they were still disbelieving
and still wondering. This is amazing to me! I mean what else did they need to
see, hear, and experience, to believe in and have peace in Christ? Once again,
the disciples where with Jesus for three years, and say and experienced everything
that he did and spoke. What else did they need to have faith, trust, and hope
in Jesus. I mean, Jesus appeared to them this morning, and even fed them broiled
fish, and this was still not enough!
While this all seems insane to me,
that the disciples where with Jesus for three years, and saw and experience all
that Jesus did and said, and then saw him resurrected and still didn’t believe,
what does this say about us? We never walked this earth with Jesus for three
years, we never have seen Jesus physically resurrected and showing his nailed
and spear wounds. We have never seen Jesus resurrected say to us “Peace Be With
You!” Even so, it seems that some of us who have never physically walked with
Jesus, and have never seen him resurrected, have more faith than his disciples
that saw and experienced all of these things.
What the point?
This point is this, we “Pass the Peace
of Christ” with each other to remind ourselves to trust Christ, and to seek the
peace of Christ with each other. Sometimes we lose the peace of Christ, but
like Thomas doubted for a time, and like the disciples didn’t get it for a
time, eventually the did. I pray that on this day and always that we may put
our full trust, hope, and faith on Jesus Christ our Lord. This way the next time
that we “Pass the Peace of Christ” with each other to remind ourselves to trust
Christ, and to seek the peace of Christ with each other, we will have it all
the more. God bless and amen.
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