2nd Sunday after Easter

The Bible reading appointed for this week is the account of Jesus’ appearance to his disciples in the upper room, following his resurrection.  Let’s try and capture how they must have felt.  They must have been terrified about what would happen to them.  The Jews had crucified Jesus and the disciples had every reason to believe that they would be hunted down and crucified themselves.  It is for this reason that they had locked the doors and, no doubt, listened with fear to every knock on the door and every foot on the steps to the upper room where they were hiding.  Then, it happened.  Jesus appeared supernaturally in their midst and said, “Peace be with you”.  This means so much more than don’t worry.  It means, ‘may God give you every good thing’.  Today, Christians in the UK and all over the world are living in fear.  Fear for their (elderly) relatives, their jobs, their livelihoods and their futures.  It is precisely in this moment that Jesus wants to speak those words into our lives, “Peace be with you.”