[Salvation]

April 18, 2005

The Greeting of Peace

In both Luke and John, the first words of the risen Jesus to the disciples are: “Peace be with you.”

This became a greeting among Christians and is used often in the New Testament letters. Some samples:

• Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [The beginning of Paul’s letter to the Romans]

• The God of peace be with all of you. Amen. [The end of Paul’s letter to the Romans]

• Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:3) [This same formula appears in eight other letters of Paul.]

• May grace and peace be yours in abundance through knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Peter 1:2)

• Peace be with you. (3 John 1:15)

These are the words used in the Sign of Peace at Mass. It’s a prayer, a blessing on one another, and can be exchanged sincerely even by two people who have their differences. They have a bond in Christ that goes far deeper than any differences.

[Salvation]

Monday, Fourth Week of Easter

While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

Luke 24:36

We come to the last of the appearances of the risen Lord in Luke’s Gospel, all of which took place on Easter Sunday. This one comes directly on the heels of the celebration after the two disciples returned from Emmaus.

The fist words of Jesus in this scene are the same as in John’s Gospel when he first appeared to the disciples” “Peace be with you.”

That’s a striking touch of kindness to a group that had abandoned him when he was arrested…a group whose leader had denied him three times.

Those are his first words to us every time we come before him to confess our sins: “Peace be with you.”

Jesus did not come to the disciples “to get even.” He came to help them…and most of all, to help them believe He always, always comes to us the same way.

This is the same Jesus who ate and drank with sinners, cured the sick, raised the dead, blessed children, told his disciples at the Last Supper that he longed to share this meal with them.

This is the same Jesus who longs to share this meal with me every Sunday.

This is the same Jesus who is with me now, and says, “Peace be with you.”

Spend some quiet time with the Risen Lord.