"His greeting, 'Peace be with you,' is more than a social salutation, it is an absolution for the disciples' sin of desertion, a gentle pardon of their failure to love boldly."
Fr. Ed Hays, "The Pilgrimage Way of the Cross"
Imagine the disciples that first Easter night, huddled in fear and hopelessness. Jesus was dead and buried and they had really failed him in their scattering at his arrest. What to do now? And then Jesus appears and says, "Peace be with you!" Incredible, isn't it? I love the way Fr. Ed phrases this too...it was not just a greeting--it was an absolution. And they needed an absolution in the worst way. They could do nothing in their state of despair. Their feelings of failure and regret paralyzed them and they were stuck in the upper room, immobile. Jesus, knowing this, absolves them and gives them the breath of the Holy Spirit that very visit. Jesus knew right where they were and gave them what they needed. And, Jesus knows where we are too. While working yesterday, I was filled with harsh judgments about the place where this fellow lived, and him, too, for that matter. The judgments made me giggle to myself. Then, suddenly, I realized what I was doing. I felt a gentle nudge as I listened to a playback of the judgments in my own head. "Forgive me, Lord" I recognized. "I sound horrible, even if just to myself." I felt the gentle pardon. "It's OK; you recognized it; peace be with you." The Risen Jesus is alive and well in our world...in our homes...in my car. And Jesus wants to give us peace. Love, heidi
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