PEACE!

"While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and he said to them, 'Peace be with you.' They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost."

(Luke 24:36-37)

It was the resurrection day... only the disciples didn't know it. Well, that's not entirely true. They'd heard stories and rumors, but they didn't yet believe it themselves. They had seen their Lord and Master taken away. They knew he'd been condemned to death by crucifixion. His lifeless body was lain in a tomb. That was 3 days ago. Now some were saying that Jesus was alive. But they are cautious... and fearful... and trying not to be too gullible.

And then He appeared.

They were hiding away together - afraid that they'd be next on the Roman authorities' "hit list." But Jesus just showed up. In the flesh! And his first words to them, knowing they were fearful and afraid, were, "PEACE BE WITH YOU."

I love that phrase. In fact, I use it all the time as a greeting and salutation. It rolls off my tongue and from my pen. But as I read the story from Luke 24, it hit me just how powerful a statement it actually is. "Instead of the fear, uncertainty, and worry that you have... may the peace of God replace all of those other feelings." That's what Jesus was saying to them.

We ALL need that peace - especially today, and especially now. With the global pandemic still on the rise, and racial injustice & tension front and center in our nation (and world), we all need the peace that only God can provide. It's not a peace that ignores the world around us... far from it. Instead, it's a peace that removes fear and replaces it with the faith and trust that God is with us (Emmanuel!) and God is working for good in our lives and in the world at large. AMEN to that!