Third Sunday of Easter

Third Sunday of Easter
April 30, 2006

The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead..." (Acts 3: 13-19). "... He stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you" (Luke 24: 35 48)

Peter speaks to his own Jewish people about all that had happened recently, scolding them for being a party to his death even if it was done out of ignorance Until only very recently we Christians have taken this to refer to "them" (the Jews) instead of "us" (the people). This has allowed "us" to persecute "them" as the perpetrators and scapegoats. Not exactly what Peter or Jesus had in mind. We are all persecutors and all victims. As long as we project all the responsibility onto others, we perpetuate the situation which led to Jesus' death.

Peter also says something that would have astounded those who heard him, referring to Jesus as the "author of life". It was one thing to claim that he was the Messiah promised by the prophets but quite another to suggest his divinity. This would have been a very difficult idea for his audience to accept. If we really think about it, it is just as difficult for us. Nevertheless in the same breath he says that it was God who raised him from the dead.

The gospel again takes us into the midst of apostles who were dazed and confused by all these events of Jesus' death and resurrection. He appears to them with a blessing: "Peace be with you". They are terrified and think they are seeing a ghost of a dead man. It is not much different for us whenever we are threatened with the loss of someone or something precious. For example, I have discovered recently, as it requires more effort to speak, that there is some peace in letting go of my compulsion to have a verbal response to everything. Another friendly gift of ALS. We all have fears and terrors, resentments and hurts, which can be transformed by God's peace offering when we decide to accept it.

We exchange the sign of peace at mass, offering to each other a blessing extended from the altar, praying to be freed from anxiety. I wonder if the significance of these actions sometimes gets lost in the repetition, always a challenge in our liturgical tradition. Peace and anxiety are both contagious. Anxiety accompanies doubt and ambiguity. We want the certainty of definitive answers which sometimes do not exist. Like the one about whose fault is this or that, or who is right or wrong. The quest for this certitude often as not drives us further into blaming and violence. Peace follows acceptance of our human condition of fear, confusion and uncertainty about our future. When we receive and cultivate this gift of the Holy Spirit within our own hearts, we are able to pass it on as a blessing to one another.