Mission Continues

John 20:19-31

Our human experience is that people do not come back from graves. When we go to a funeral or memorial service, we grieve and we seek comfort. But when we leave the place, we are not greeted at the door with the deceased person.

Last Sunday we rejoiced for the fact that the cross and the tomb were empty and the tomb was useless. Now what? Where do we go from here?

The disciples had not seen the resurrected Jesus yet. Some of them had seen the empty tomb. They had been told by the angel not to seek Jesus in the empty tomb. He was alive.

It was Sunday night. All the disciples except for Thomas gathered in a locked room not knowing what to do. They were fearful and confused. Most likely, they were asking, “What is next?”

Knowing them a little, we expect that they were arguing about many issues. Some were probably remembering that Jesus had told them that these things were going to happen. Suddenly Jesus appears in their midst. “Peace be with you”. This is a standard Middle Eastern greeting. But it is more than that. In their fears and doubts, the best thing they can hear and experience is the peace that Jesus can give them.

Most likely, they remembered the words of Jesus as we read in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Next he proves to them he is not just spirit or ghost. He shows them his hands and his side. He is real.

My first point of this sermon starts from this view. When you are lost in doubts, confusion and uncertainties, the best solution is to ask God for His peace. I have experienced this many times in my life. Lebanon’s Civil War was destructive and frightening. Only through God’s peace, I could continue living day by day.

My friend Rev. Vicken in Greece is in confusion and turmoil because of his wife’s six weeks in coma. He did not stop preaching. Every Sunday God is giving him a message to share with his congregation. How? Through the peace given by Jesus.

When Jesus declared peace to his disciples, he meant to say, “May you be saved from trouble.” “May God bless you and keep you.” We need these blessings everyday.

Next Jesus moves towards action. The mission will continue, and here is the challenge for the disciples and for the future church.

"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."(21)

It is interesting that Jesus stressed peace again only a little while later. I think the disciples need his peace to move on to the next challenge – to be sent with a mission.

The Gospel of John is full of sentences where Jesus saying he came to obey his Father. John’s Gospel has 21 chapters; only in four chapters there are no references about Jesus being sent by his Father. He came to do the will of his Father. The Father sent him with a mission and he obeyed his Father.

Now we move to the next dimension. If the Father sent him with a mission, now he is sending the disciples, the church, and us for a mission. The mission continues. If the first message of Jesus was comfort and peace, the next message is, move on, there are things to be done. The Armenian word for apostle is Arakyal. It means someone sent for a mission. “As the Father sent me, I am sending you.” Jesus is giving an important responsibility to the church.

We will continue in English.