First Sunday after Easter 19/04/20

Theme: Peace be with you Bible reading: John 20:19-21 (a)

“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’”

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, Greetings in the risen Lord! Today is the first Sunday after Easter. We now know verily well that Jesus is alive. He already appeared to Mary Magdalene on the morning of the resurrection. After that, later that evening, he also appeared to the disciples (except Thomas) who were locked together in a room for the fear of the Jews – and their own safety. When Jesus entered the room he greeted the disciples by saying “Peace be with you”. Shalom, a Hebrew word which means ‘peace’, was a common greeting among the Jews and a phrase used to bless people prominently in the 1st century. And given the circumstances of the disciples, it was very appropriate that Jesus blessed them with ‘peace be with you’. Today, the world needs to hear Jesus’ words ‘peace be with you’.

As we all know, the force of the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic is weighing down heavily on all of us. And we all are experiencing the painful effect of this global pandemic which is fast destroying lives and people’s means of livelihood. Everyone is scared and fear grips us! We also are into lockdown just like Peter, James, and John and the other disciples of Jesus. But the good news is that just as Jesus could not be hindered by the locked doors when he visited the terrified disciples, in the same way, he cannot be prevented by the lockdown of the world today from coming into our lives. Today, as the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is important that we should be echoing our master’s words, ‘peace be with you’ to everyone. This is because we are called to live together in peace. And by this, the world will know that we are the disciples of Jesus. May Jesus send peace to our broken world and may that peace be your experience individually and collectively as a family.

Amen!

Rev. Confidence Bansah (Ph.D.) Minister of St. George’s and Christ Church