In John’s gospel, the first thing Jesus said to the apostles after the resurrection was “Peace be with you.” It’s an amazing greeting when we think about it, because John tells us the climate in the room that morning was one of fear. The apostles were afraid that what happened to Jesus might happen to them.
It’s in this atmosphere of fear and pulling inward—locking doors and shutting windows—that Jesus entered. Jesus entered darkness and fear to bring the light of truth and peace.
He entered, not just to show them that he was very much alive, but to give peace to their hearts. The scholars tell us the apostles had much to fear—not just from the crowds, but from Jesus, too.
In abandoning Jesus at the crucifixion, they abandoned God the Son. So, Jesus could have blamed them or chastised them. Instead, he forgave them just like he forgave those who crucified him: “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing” [Luke 23:34]. Through his divine mercy, he gave them peace—peace to move forward, because he gave them peace of mind.
In the act of giving them his peace, he sent them to unlock the door and go into the world to forgive others in his name. But he didn’t send them alone. He sent them with the Holy Spirit so they could unlock the doors and push themselves outside the room—outside themselves—and into the world.
The dynamic works in our life, too. Fear pulls us inward, it closes us off, and it isolates. But peace sets the heart free to engage, to forgive, and welcome others in. It’s no wonder right before Communion, we extend each other the greeting of the resurrected Christ: Peace be with you! These are words that open doors.
2020 Vision: The Survey Says… On page 9, you’ll find an Executive Summary of the feedback we received from you about our proposal for a capital campaign. It’s a plan that’s meant to tackle some of the things we need to address to bring us into the 2020s. Thank you again to everyone who completed surveys and for those who spent time talking more in depth about the proposal. Your input is valuable, needed, and is helping us plan the next steps.
The Body of Christ at Work In the first reading, we hear the Christian community was of one mind and one heart. They were focused on Christ. The same feeling came within me as we celebrated Holy Week from Palm Sunday, through the Triduum and into Easter Sunday. It was an incredible week. And what was truly amazing is that to make our worship what it was took over a hundred people to plan, execute, organize, develop and bring our liturgies to life.
It began with our Spring Cleaning Day to get the church ready for Palm Sunday. Thanks to the Stewards for organizing it, and for our 30+ spring cleaners for the elbow grease!
Thank you to our liturgy planning group, the art and environment creative team, our liturgical ministers and musicians, Mass Coordinators, sacristans, maintenance men, pastoral staff, deacons, RCIA/CMI support groups and our seminarians for your many, many hours and hard work. What we saw was the Body of Christ in our community come alive—ministering and worshipping God together. In other words, we were of one heart and one mind. And it had the power to touch our souls. So, thank you to everyone for your generosity of spirit. We are truly blessed.
In the words of St. Augustine, “We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song!” Happy Easter!