By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
A, i a raua e korero ana i enei mea, na tera ia tu ana i waenganui o ratou, mea ana ki a ratou, Kia tau te rangimarie ki a koutou.
A o tautala atu i lā‘ua i ia mea, a ‘ua tu fa‘afuase‘i atu Iesu i o latou luma, ma fetalai atu ‘iā te i latou, “ ‘Ia ‘outou manuia.”
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
Luke 24:36
Executed dead men don’t usually stand in front of you and offer you peace.
Three days previously, Jesus was hanging nailed and naked on a tree. Now it’s evening on the third day. The disciples are together in Jerusalem. They are excitedly piecing the story together from Mary, Peter, Cleopas, and Simon. Could it really be true that he is alive?
Then the risen Jesus appears. “Peace be with you”.
These are words of greeting, but they are more. God’s words do what they say. When Jesus says to his confused disciples, “Peace be with you”, Peace himself was with them.
The one who won peace between them and God stood in front of them. The one who made peace between us and God is still by our sides. Peace is a person, and he is with you.
Peace may not be the word you’d use to describe the space you are in. Juggling church leadership, work responsibilities, and family commitments is not easy at the best of times. Throw in a cost-of-living crisis and rising geo-political tension, and peace may not describe the state of our hearts.
Into all this, Jesus says: “Peace be with you”.
Jesus says to them, “Look at me, my hands and feet”. He says, “Look at me, touch me”. He tells them to fix their eyes on him to show them what really matters. In this moment, they need to see that Jesus is risen. He has defeated the power of death. He has defeated the power of sin. He has defeated the power of evil.
In rising bodily from the dead, he has shown his power over every other power; in nature, in society, and in the spiritual realm.
It’s almost like one of those movie scenes where a character is going into shock and someone grabs them, stares into their eyes and says, “Just look at me; focus on me”.
In the midst of the chaos around us, the risen Jesus says, “Look at me, focus on me. See where I once was dead and now am alive. See how I have won peace with God for you. You won’t find the peace you seek unless you look at me."
Jesus’ first words to his disciples after his death make me ask myself: Am I keeping my eyes fixed on the one who gives me peace?
