THE PEACE THAT EMPOWERS

HOMILY FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER (DIVINE MERCY), YEAR A

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

We are still in the Easter octave. Happy Easter again!!! No one desires to live in fear and to be molested. Every one of us needs peace. We want to experience comfort. During the weekends, many people rush to drinking bars and recreational places, all in the search for peace. Today, I introduce you to another type of peace that is the ultimate. It is the peace that Christ gives. It is one that no human being can remove from you. If you have this peace, you are good to go.

It is true that the disciples were at this time aware that their master, Jesus the Christ has risen from the dead and has even appeared to some of them. However, the experience of the recent brutal killing, the passion of Christ, most probably had not left them. From the knowledge we get from the Scripture, the apostles continued to meet in a particular place to pray together and break the bread together following the command of the master. The Gospel of today (John 20:19-31) is so clear about one of such meetings. Even when these apostles gathered and prayed together, they were in fear; fear resulting from such question: who will be the next to be killed. The Jews were most probably still in search of the followers of Jesus to make sure that the New Teaching is not sustained. This fear was manifested in their security consciousness. They always shut the doors. They knew the bitterness of the Jews against the New Teaching. So, they were in fear, listening for every step on the stair, and for every knock on the door, and even for an escape root in case there was a break-in.

As they sat there, Jesus was suddenly in their midst. The very words he uttered to them were: peace be to you. It is true that this greeting is a normal everyday greeting, but the Hebrew word shalom from where it comes means something much deeper and much wholeness than a normal greeting. Shalom means much more than peace. There are other terms which may make us to understand better the meaning. Such terms are harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquillity. This greeting is also not foreign to Christian liturgy. Shalom is not just a peaceful state of mind, of being or even affairs; it goes beyond that, especially when it is used in the Liturgy. It covers a reality of hope and wholeness, on the one hand, for the individual as he relates with others, and on the other hand for the entire world. To simply see shalom as meaning joy and peace where there is no dispute or war, does not begin to describe the sense of the term. Completeness seems to be at its centre. It means complete safety and happiness, complete health, prosperity and peace.

However, we must point out that the use of this term in the Bible always points to the divine action of wholeness. In the Old Testament, there are various usages of shalom.

1) It is used to crosscheck the well being of others. In Genesis 43:27, Joseph made an inquiry about the welfare of his father by asking the brothers who at that point had not recognized him. In Exodus 4:18, Moses sought permission from his father-in-law to go and check the welfare of his brothers. And Jethro said to him: go in peace.

2) It is used to refer to treaties between nations. In 1 Kings 5:12, w read that the wisdom God gave to Solomon made him to realize peace between Hiram and Himself, so such extent that they made a treaty.

3) It is used in prayer for the wellbeing of cities or nations. In Psalm 122:6, we are exhorted to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. In Jeremiah 29:7, the Lord exhorts the prophet to seek for the welfare of the city where he had been sent on exile. He should also pray to the Lord on its behalf for in its welfare you will find welfare.

4) It is used in relationship to truth and justice. The Psalmist links righteousness/justice and peace when he says: justice and peace have embraced (Ps. 85:10). In Isaiah 48:18, if we pay attention to the Lord, the peace we shall have is compared to a flowing river, and the righteousness like the waves of the sea. And in v. 22 of the same chapter, the Lord says it explicitly that there is no such peace for the wicked. In this context, the wicked are the unjust. In fact, in Isaiah 57, the Lord comforts the contrite. In v. 19, the Lord promises to heal him, lead him and to restore comfort to him and his mourners; he promises peace and healing. Here in also, peace is linked with injustice. The Lord repeats in v. 21, there is no peace for the wicked.

It is in this usage that the word receives its messianic and divine usage. This divine usage of shalom (linking it with truth and justice) is the foundation for the hope of the work expected to be done by the Messiah. It is this sort of peace that Christ who is the messiah wished his disciples. That is his work; to restore peace to the world through the planting of the seeds of truthfulness and justice in a world bereft of these virtues. Christ is the prince of peace (Is. 9:6). The ruler to be born in Bethlehem, according to Micah 5: 5a will be their peace. When this is done, peace reigns. In Haggai 2:7-9, we discover that after the stage of purification to get at justice and truth, the Lord will introduce peace through his divine acts of introducing a greater glory than the ones before.

So, when Christ offered the apostles peace, he offers what actually he can give. He is the peace himself. This peace goes hand in hand with truth, righteousness and justice. This sought of peace is the one that subtracts so as to recreate. It totally removes fear, agony, sorrow, rancour, quarrel; it restores to wholesomeness, complete joy, complete harmony and total peace. This is the type of peace that is offered when used in our liturgical celebrations.  

It does not only restore to completeness. It empowers for agility and alacrity. The gospel of today was so clear about the actions and words that followed this great wish of peace of Jesus to his apostles.

1) This peace opens up the way for revelation. Christ showed them his hands and his side. When we have this peace, we stand on a better plane to have spiritual vision, and understand them better. When this peace is in us, God is quick to reveal himself in our conditions, our situations, our worries and our joys. This revelation brings about joy. No one encounters the Lord and remains the same. The disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So too, we are glad when we see Christ in our situations. Peace is a condition for revelation

2) This peace opens up the way for mission. Mission simply means to be sent out to witness to Christ. Christ repeats the same word again: shalom. When we have this peace, mission becomes joyful and courageous (onye nna ya dunyere ozi na-eji ukwu abuo agbawa uzo). We need this peace for witnessing to Christ by our words and actions. We all have been sent to witness to Christ in our specific areas, but we need this peace for the success of this mission. Peace is a condition for mission.

3) Peace makes us fertile for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus breathed into them and gave them the Holy Spirit. This re-enacts the story of the second account of creation (Gen 2:7), and the oracle of dry bones in Ezekiel 37:9. The Holy Spirit is like the wakening of life from the dead. When he comes upon the Christian, he/she is recreated for the task ahead. This same Holy Spirit dwelling in us (and in the Church) makes us so powerful as to forgive sins. This implies that we have the duty to convey the forgiveness of God to the penitent in heart and to warn the impenitent against the danger of forfeiting the mercy of God. Forgiveness creates inner peace in the Christian.

4) This peace clears doubts. Thomas was absent from the fold and doubted the testimony of the other apostles. But when Christ came back to Him, he regained a much more solid faith. Christ still came back with the greeting: shalom. Thomas heralded after Jesus spoke: my Lord and my God. I see some virtues in Thomas. His doubt was an honest doubt. He refused to say that he understood what he did not understand, or that he believed what he did not believe. He never pretended. There is more ultimate faith, says Barclay, in the man who insists on being sure than in the man who glibly repeats things which he has never thought out, and which he may not really believe. This is the doubt that is done for certainty, and not for criticism. Thomas gave us an expression which till today is used in out liturgical celebration. He totally expressed his faith having confirmed his doubts. There is no halfway in him. When we fight our way though doubts to the conviction that Jesus Christ is the Lord, we attain to the certainty that the person who unthinkably accepts things can never reach. This peace leads to faith certainty.

5) Lastly, this peace leads to togetherness and communal living. In the First Reading (Acts 2:42-47), we encounter the consequence of this peace. The followers of Christ maintained the teaching of the apostles, to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the life of prayer. That peace that was giving to them when they were together in fear was the one that bound them together all the more after so many years. It still binds us together. This togetherness and unity attracted many others, and their number kept on increasing. When we are in unity, we attract both God and human beings. Where love is genuine, God is there. Where love is genuine, human beings desire to enter. We must continue to strive for this peace that is a condition for our Christian unity.

In all, we must at this juncture thank God for the gift of his peace on us. We must herald with St. Peter who recognized the power in the resurrection of Christ, and the consequences of the righteousness and peace brought by the Holy Spirit. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... (cf. Second Reading, 1 Peter 1:3-9). These are words of thanksgiving which we too must pronounce for what God has done. Jesus not only rose and went back to the Father. He also has given us his peace which has many positive consequences for our livelihood here on earth. I wish you this peace and a splendid week ahead. Happy Divine mercy sunsunday. In fact, PEACE BE WITH YOU.