So last week in the Gospel of John we considered the story of Jesus giving Thomas what he needed to believe and that and we talked about how this is a story of promise and hope.
Now today's reading is from the Gospel of Luke so we don't have Thomas singled out but all the disciples are there standing talking and Jesus comes among them.
So there are two things today that I want to ponder with you in this reading and the verses in verse 36 when Jesus says to these disciples who are terrified peace be with you and the second thing is in verse 41 while in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering.
So before digging into that let's take a moment just to review a few events that have happened up until this point in the story.
You remember that when the disciples were traveling with Jesus he predicted his death and resurrection to them three times.
A group of women went to the tomb and they found it empty and they were reminded about Jesus' prediction of being raised and they were told that he was gone that he had been raised.
Two of the disciples had met Jesus on the road to a mass where Jesus opened their mind to scriptures and Jesus had also appeared to Simon Peter.
Now while they were talking about all this the two people who met Jesus on the road to a mass of Simon Peter the women they're all talking about these things and then Jesus appears right in front of them right among them.
He speaks to them to calm their fears and he shows them his hands and feet and the marks left by the nails and the very first thing that he says to his disciples is peace be with you.
Now Jesus doesn't say I forgive you for denying and deserting me.
He doesn't say I told you so after all I predicted my death and resurrection many times but you weren't listening he doesn't say that.
He doesn't tell them about his time in the grave and what that was about.
He doesn't chart out the future of the church.
He doesn't start giving them an mission assignments and he doesn't promise them promise them that now all their earthly needs will be met and life is going to just run smoothly.
Smoothly.
Jesus doesn't read him with words of victory or comfort or promise for a lack of worry.
He doesn't do any of this instead.
He blesses them with his peace.
Peace be with you.
Now if you noticed just ahead of this Luke uses a whole bunch of adjectives in this one-short sentence that the the disciples are startled.
They're terrified.
They're frightened, disbelieving, wondering and joyful.
So many mixed emotions while in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering even after all they had heard and seen the disciples still disbelieve and have doubt.
Like the disciples we struggle with disbelief and to accept that God's promises are for us too.
I don't know about you but I can really identify with the disciples.
It's challenging to see and experience all the things that are going on in the world to experience the limitations of death and pain and scarcity and we know with absolute certainty that all things in this world must end and at the same time to find hope in the new life that Christ promises even when it's standing right there in front of us.
It's just hard to take in to think about this man, your teacher, your friend, being suffering and being beaten and murdered and buried and then rising from the dead.
It's hard to take that in to accept it and to believe that Jesus died for us, for you and for me.
It's not hard to have moments of skepticism that Jesus was resurrected on that first Easter morning.
It's just challenging.
It's challenging not to doubt God's promise of abundant life and unconditional love and like the disciples in the midst of all that disbelief and doubt we can still experience joy.
Don't disbelieve and doubt do not have to be limiting factors and they do not preclude joy.
Joy does not come from knowledge or from certainty.
We can experience it even in the midst of doubt and wonder and fear.
Joy is a gift given by the Lord and at times we encounter it when we think that we are incapable of feeling such an emotion.
So if you are discouraged or doubting or grieving or fearful or worrying you may still experience joy and remember joy is not a prize to be one or something that we can accomplish or gain or we earn a right to experience.
It is a gift and it comes amid all the other human emotions.
Any and all that we might experience and joy it often surprises us.
It's neither created by our faith nor limited by our doubt but it always comes as a gift.
Joy is a precious gift from God as are this world and this life our lives.
They are all beautiful precious gifts from God.
Now the resurrected Jesus he does not promise to take us out of this beautiful difficult world but he promises peace in the midst of it.
Peace that focuses our attention and stills our hearts.
Peace that enables us to endure and even flourish.
Peace that empowers us to reach out in compassion and mercy and love and yes even joy.
Peace that invites us to commit ourselves to sharing Jesus grace and peace with others.
In the midst of our uncertainty disbelief skepticism Jesus still offers us peace peace be with you.
No one ever said the Christian life was meant to be easy or comfortable or be some kind of an accomplishment or to be free from from disbelief and doubt.
Jesus's peace might not always be what we want but it is definitely what we need.
So this morning I say to you peace be with you.
