“Peace to you.” These are the words of Jesus to his disciples as he appears to them. They
have heard of his resurrection, but the sight of Jesus still startles and frightens them. Jesus consoles and reassures them.
What is peace? On a more superficial level, peace can be considered an absence of conflict. Emotionally, it may mean the absence of worries and anxieties. But the word also has a deeper meaning, especially in how it was used in Hebrew, Shalom.
Shalom peace means
having the right relationship with God, yourself, others and creation. It is all-encompassing. It means that there is love and due respect for the other. It means that our intentions and actions are aligned and ordered towards what is best for ourselves and others.
The risen Lord comes to bring us this Shalom peace. We may have messed up our relationships. We may have
hurt others. We may have forgotten to love ourselves. We may have gotten too lazy to care for our common home. But Jesus is always there, always ready to return to our hearts and bring us reconciliation. The risen Lord, alive in each of us today, gives us peace.
This morning, take some time to reflect on your relationships with God, yourself, others and creation. Can you see the Risen Lord present and active in these, bringing life and joy? Are there relationships in which Jesus seems absent? Can you invite him to return there?
