Peace be with you…

In these weeks of Easter you will hear and read scripture texts that emphasize Jesus post-resurrection ministry of forgiveness. You will not always hear or see the word “forgiveness” but you will hear Jesus saying “peace be with you,” to his disciples. In those words he is saying, “I forgive you, even though you abandoned me.” In Jesus’ post-resurrection encounter with Peter he asks him three times if he loves him. Peter assures Jesus that he does. These three times are equal to the three times Peter denied that he knew Jesus. Jesus, the Risen Christ, gives Peter the chance to move beyond the denial to affirmation. In this exchange Jesus is saying, “I forgive you.”

I often ask myself and others, “What difference does the Resurrection of Jesus make?” And the answer is, “It makes all the difference in the world.” The resurrection of Jesus from the dead has changed everything. Therefore, we must LIVE by the power of the resurrection. This is best demonstrated by preparing ourselves to forgive, by desiring forgiveness, and by the act of forgiving ourselves and others. Jesus came into the world showing to us that God is a forgiving and merciful God.

We worship God and celebrate our salvation in Christ in a church when we celebrate the Eucharist at Mass and in other forms of prayer. However, we must go out and interact with others with Easter faith and Easter power and Easter humility. We rejoice in God’s gift of eternal life, but we must live our life right now, as loving and forgiving imitators of Jesus the Christ.

The “church” in which we live our daily lives is found in our homes with our families, at our workplace with our coworkers, and in every other place where we encounter other people. In those places we must remember Jesus teaching and example about forgiveness. We must not forget or refuse to execute the faith we claim in “the church” as we interact with the “Church” (the People of God) in our daily lives.

What difference does the Resurrection of Jesus the Christ make in our lives?

It changes EVERYTHING! May we become the Christ-centered people we are called to be!

Peace, Fr. Andy