“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’”  [John 20:21]

What is this peace that Jesus declares to “be” with his disciples?

Cynthia Burgeault is a writer and teacher of contemplative living.  In her definition of peacemakers she asserts, “the inner being comes to rest, and that inner peaceableness flows into the outer world as harmony and compassion.”  The right actions of one who is at peace stem from “inner attunement.”  This inner attunement, she goes on to say, allows us to “discern what action is required of us to lovingly and effectively serve our hurting planet.”[1]  Peace -> Inner Attunement -> Right Action.

Jesus does not speak of peace as something we keep to ourselves.  This peace of inner attunement that only Jesus Christ can bring culminates in loving, effective serving of the world through the flow of harmony and compassion.  Jesus’ words are words of commissioning: “Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

From the beginning, peaceableness of Christians in the face of crisis has been most instrumental in conversions of non-believers.   This phenomenon was most present during the various plagues over the centuries, and specifically the 14^th century rampage of the Black Death/Bubonic Plague in Europe.  Throngs of frightened villagers fled more populated areas out of fear of contracting the disease.  Thus, the plague was spread across the continent of Europe, resulting in the deaths of one quarter of the population of Europe.  Over the next four hundred years as this pandemic reemerged in Asia and the Middle East, it is estimated that 140 million people died from the Bubonic Plague.

But, in contrast to the fleeing frightened villagers, Christians stayed in their hometowns, remaining calm and active in efforts to aid their gruesomely ill neighbors.  Moving about with non-anxious presence, Christians with certainty of mission fearlessly bathed and cared for the sick, and consoled the dying.  They joined with other Christians throughout Europe in providing nourishing meals for the stricken, giving them physical and spiritual strength in hopes of overcoming their horrible life-threatening condition.  Christians, who themselves had survived the plague, were now immune to the disease and most ardent in their efforts to serve their stricken brothers and sisters lovingly and effectively, whether religious or pagan wealthy or poverty-stricken, young or old.

The compassionate actions illuminating the peaceableness of the Christian faith impressed even the most skeptical rulers who had been effectively paralyzed by fear and hopelessness of The Plague.  Rulers and peasants witnessed the Christian faith expressed not just in ritualistic worship, but also in active earthly deeds of compassion – fearless, selfless actions in the face of the grave threat of death.

The clearsightedness of these Christians demonstrated in these fearless acts of compassion fueled the desires of non-believers to seek the Good News of the peace of Jesus Christ.  Non-believers wanted this peaceableness and certainty of mission for themselves; they desired this same sense of peace in the face of crisis.  Thus, the Bubonic Plague became the catalyst for the prolific spread of Christianity throughout Medieval Europe.  Those who survived found their lives drastically changed by the peace of Christ; those who died died in the peace of Christ.

As we read in our Gospel lesson this morning, Jesus called his disciples to peaceableness as he breathed the Holy Spirit upon them.  Jesus returned to these closest followers periodically over the 40 days between the Resurrection and Ascension.  Penetrating their locked doors of fear and confusion and doubt, Jesus prepared them for their mission in the world by calling them into peaceableness.

Jesus calls us to be at peace – to present our fears and doubts to him openly where he can breathe on us His peace.  Jesus BREATHES peace into us – just as he did Thomas and the other disciples – just as God breathed the world into creation and breathed life into Adam and Eve.

The word for peace in Hebrew is shalom – we have no accurate translation of the word.  Shalom is peace that is an inter-meshing of inner peace of the heart with outward peace in our relationships with others.  Shalom produces a rich and fruitful quality of life that can bring peace to the entire world if only we do our part in spreading that peace.  This peace of Christ is not something we can keep for ourselves; it’s not about us; shalom is expressed in our non-anxious approach to the little incidents and great crises of our everyday lives.

I don’t have any formula for finding peace in your life; I know that that peace comes through our faith in Jesus Christ, that being at peace requires daily discernment and prayer.  It requires keeping our voices low and our hearts open.

I know that the absence of peace is a signal of unaddressed anger; anger, like acid, eats its container from the inside out.  Anger causes us to lash out irrationally, heaping unjust criticism on those who innocently land in our crossfire.  Anger can destroy our world.  The world is looking to Christians for peace.

Jesus breathed peace into the hearts of the disciples in response to their expressions of fear and Thomas’ expressions of doubts.  The disciples were now prepared to pursue their missions without doubtfulness; they would take the peace of Christ to the world.

Perhaps, Cynthia Burgeault expresses it best in her phrase “inner attunement” – being attuned with God, attuned with the world, and attuned with ourselves.  For the peacemaker, “the inner being comes to rest, and that inner peaceableness flows into the outer world as harmony and compassion.”

It is our tradition always to exchange the peace of Christ with one another in preparation for the Holy Eucharist.  We, then, come together in peace to receive the holy food and renew our certainty of mission.  In a few moments, as you offer that peace of Christ, let your inner peacebleness flow toward your fellow worshiper in harmony and compassion.  Then, come in peace, to share the victory of our Resurrected Lord.