Peace and Spirit

Last Sunday we heard the resurrection account from the Gospel of Luke, the women going to anoint the body, the stone rolled away, the men in shining clothes telling the women he is risen. Then the story of the Cleopas and friend walking towards Emmaus, and how they recognised Jesus in the breaking of bread.

This week we hear from the Gospel of John. John has a conversation between Mary and Jesus on the Sunday morning. When Jesus calls Mary by name, she recognises him.

This passage we heard this morning, starts that evening. The evening of the first resurrection Sunday, the disciples inside, the doors locked, because they feared what might happen to them.

This passage is usually thought of as being about ‘doubting Thomas’, which I think is somewhat unfair. The other disciples had seen the risen crucified Jesus. Thomas hadn't. I wonder why Thomas wasn't with the disciples on the evening of the first resurrection day.

And there is nothing wrong with having questions about God and faith and life. I mean none of us has all the answers about why some people are born into poverty, why some people live with pain, why God created mosquitoes … and I am sure there are many other questions.

But this passage is about much more than seeing, believing or questioning.

When Jesus appeared to them, he said to them, "Peace be with you."

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

"Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

And a week later: Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

The disciples, obviously scared, not sure what to do next, and Jesus comes and says: ‘Peace be with you”

Not

• Why don’t you understand what I told you, or
• here is a blueprint for running a church or
• this is the doctrinal statement you have to sign to be part of the church or
• here is the definitive list groups to have in each congregation.

Jesus said:Peace be with you.Receive the Holy Spirit.

John records Jesus breathing the Holy Spirit onto the disciples on the evening of resurrection day. We have heard of breath being blown into people before, in the story of creation back in Genesis 2.  God breathed life into the clay he had moulded and people became living beings.  Now we have Jesus breathing the Holy Spirit into the disciples, and they are reborn, re-created, and commissioned to go and share the good news.

Now they are together in the same room a week later, so not really sure if anything else happened that week.

John and Luke have differing versions of the gifting of the Holy Spirit. For John it is here on the evening of resurrection day; for Luke, the author of Acts, the coming of the Holy Spirit is after the ascension of Jesus, which is a few chapters before the section we heard this morning.   

Either way, the difference in these people is amazing. Even though they knew Jesus was alive, resurrected, even though they had seen him with their own eyes, they were in a closed room.

A few months later, they are teaching, healing, being arrested, and speaking as witnesses to the resurrection.

In the book of Acts we read about the early church. Just before the passage we heard read this morning, Peter and the apostles were put in prison because they were teaching and healing. During the night the prison doors were opened and the apostles went to the temple and started teaching again.

Again the apostles are brought before the Council: Didn't we tell you to stop teaching about Jesus?

And Peter replied: "We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

I wonder what happened that moved the group from being disciples behind closed doors, to apostles teaching and healing, and being arrested.

Some of you may remember seeing images of Christians from various denominations praying in the offices of members of Parliament with a group called ‘Love Makes a Way’. Some are Ministers within the Uniting Church. They have been arrested, and in some cases charged, but they continue to pray for politicians, and asylum seekers. They know that at some point in time they may be put in prison, but for them it is a price they are prepared to pay.

The apostles were imprisoned, flogged and killed for proclaiming the resurrection, for healing in the name of Jesus.

Christians in Australia have been arrested over the years for:

• standing with indigenous people;
• blocking access to CSG exploration on farms;
• as well as prayer sit-ins in Government offices

• and in the USA in 2014, Christians were arrested for offering food to homeless people in violation of a heavy limits on the  location of feeding places.

I wonder what we might be arrested for.

• Demanding affordable housing in new building developments
• Marching for penalty rates for weekend and shift workers
• Advocating for the rights of asylum seekers to be treated as humans.
• Standing with farmers to protect their property from mining
• ????????

A quote from Clarence Jordan, [20th century]
"The proof that God raised Jesus from the dead
is not the empty tomb,
but the full hearts of his transformed disciples.
The crowning evidence that he lives
is not a vacant grave,
but a spirit-filled fellowship.
Not a rolled-away stone,
but a carried-away church."

In what ways is your life proof that Jesus is alive?
A life transformed?
Spirit-filled church?

Jesus said:
Peace be with you.
Receive the Holy Spirit.

Let us take some time to reflect.