A reading from the Gospel of John,
Chapter 20, verses 19 through 23:
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were, for
fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had
said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." And
when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the
sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld."
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
When asked to speak for today,
on the topic from the book,
On Our Way,
titled,
Emissaries of peace and reconciliation through the Spirit,
and after contemplating this story from John for this topic,
it was easy to notice the many mentions of Peace.
For Christ mentions it,
not once,
but twice.
He even shows it in His resurrected hands and side.
It is also apparent in the reading,
however,
the responsibility given to those disciples standing there,
those who were shown,
those who were sent,
those who,
then and there,
became emissaries.
The emitted ones,
of that same Peace he grants to them in that locked room.
This seems to be a perfect text
for us sitting here this morning,
reflecting upon our responsibilities
of peacemaking and nonviolence.
But there is a strange moment in this story from John.
It occurs after Jesus grants them peace,
and shows them His wounds.
It occurs after He grants them peace,
for the second time,
and sends them out,
as His Father has sent Him.
But before He bestows upon them the Holy Spirit,
and explains their call to forgiveness,
He does something strange
to our contemporary ears:
He breathes on them.
Now Jesus is no stranger
to doing strange things.
He spoke in a radical way,
of radical things.
He shared meals with outcasts.
He even rubbed His saliva
on the tongues of the mute
and in the ears of the deaf.
But when he breathes on His disciples,
I am suddenly taken aback, for some reason.
(Not just at the thought of Jesus' potential halitosis
after spending three days in the tomb.)
But because of the simplicity
and intimacy of that act.
But we have seen the Lord breathing before.
We saw it in Genesis,
as the Lord God breathed into the dust formed
nostrils of Adam,
the breath of life.
"And the man became a living creature."
We saw it in Mark,
as Jesus hung upon the cross.
Mark writes,
"And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last."
John, however,
puts that moment this way:
"When Jesus had received the sour wine,
he said, 'It is finished,'
and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."
It seems that whenever the Lord is breathing,
He is also giving up something to someone.
He breathes, and gives the spirit of life to Adam.
He breathes and gives the Holy Spirit to the disciples.
He breathes out and gives up his spirit of life on the cross,
not just emptying it,
uselessly into the air,
signifying his death.
But he empties himself of His Spirit into us,
//
The Catholic priest and spiritual writer,
Henri Nouwen,
in his daily book of meditations, "Bread for the Journey"
writes of the Holy Spirit in this way:
“When we speak about the Holy Spirit, we speak about the breath of God breathing in us. The
Greek word for "spirit" is pneuma, which means "breath." (think of the word, pneumonia) We are seldom
aware of our breathing. It is so essential for life that we only think about it when something is wrong with
it.
The Spirit of God is like our breath. God's spirit is more intimate to us than we are to ourselves.
We might not often be aware of it, but without it we cannot live a "spiritual life." It is the Holy Spirit of
God who prays in us, who offers us the gifts of love, forgiveness, kindness, goodness, gentleness, peace
and joy.”
Often when we think about reacting to violent situations,
we think about our conscience,
"What should I do? What is the way of peace?"
We think we must choose what to do,
that we must choose how to act rightly.
But perhaps if we think about conscience,
not as right and wrong,
angel and demon,
sitting on our shoulders,
but as the Holy Spirit breathing in us,
often unconsciously,
we begin to see ourselves as emissaries of peace and reconciliation.
And as emissaries,
we are the emitted,
that is, the sent out,
the breathed out.
For whenever the Lord speaks to us,
He puts words onto our lips.
Whenever He breathes out life,
he breathes life into us,
to become breathers of the Spirit, of life, and of peace and nonviolence.
So what does it look like to be breathers of peace?
It may not be with with radical words,
or picket signs,
or even choosing correct sides.
But with the sometimes wordless words of love,
in a touch,
an embrace,
a rub of the back,
a kind action,
or a gentle smile, through exhaling lips.
It may be,
that it begins right here, in this place,
in just a few moments,
in the same way it happened in that locked room,
on that first day,
that Resurrection day.
For remember, the disciples, too, feared the violence outside that room.
But Jesus chose to give his Holy Spirit,
to grant Peace,
to his close friends,
to his scared friends,
in the same way we will in a moment.
So before we leave this space,
as emissaries
and as we shake the hands of our neighbors,
or perhaps share a hug,
and enter into a world of possible violence,
we will breathe those same words Christ breathed into His disciples.
"Peace be with you."
Amen.