The scene is the Middle East.  A foreign force occupies the country.  They bring unfamiliar laws and different religious customs.  A small group of men are huddled in a house. The doors are locked.  Darkness is approaching.  Someone moves across the floor to light a solitary candle.  The men gathered in the room speak in hushed tones as the candlelight begins to dance on their young faces.  Their eyes dart back and forth with each sound outside on the street.  Fear permeates the atmosphere as they question one another regarding the events of day.  What had they heard?  Did they see anything?  Did the authorities contact any of them?  Would they be next?

Their leader had been seized from them and taken away.  He was brought to court, found guilty and put to death.  Fear beats in their hearts; a knock at the door could mean trouble.  Would the authorities find them guilty of treason?  Would they be thought to be insurgents, taken off to prison and not be seen again? Fear floats through their minds and saturates the room as thick as the creeping darkness.

Then from a corner of the room out of the shadows a figure moves toward them.  The doors were locked, no one opened them.  Where did he come form?  Fear seizes them all.  Peace be with you! Jesus said.   Then he stretched out his hands and turned to show them his side. 

Furrowed brows and darkened eyes melted away as smiles grew across the faces of the disciples as they recognized their teacher.  Jesus said again Peace be with You!  As the father has sent me, so I send you.  They were to be ambassadors of peace!  They were to move beyond their present fear to experience peace. 

William Sloane Coffin makes an intriguing observation regarding peace and love.  He says: too often the churches have taught that the opposite of love is hate, just as they have taught the opposite of peace is conflict.  What the opposite of peace is I am not sure.  I know it is not conflict, maybe not even violence; perhaps it is injustice.  But as regards love, I am sure the Bible is right: the opposite of love is not hate but fear.  “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” unquote (Credo, page 27)

The reason for the disciple’s joy is, of course, because they thought he was dead – now he is alive!  Our own radios and TV s have been filled with talk regarding death and life and honoring the sanctity of both.  The death yesterday of John Paul II allows us to feel some of what the disciples had been experiencing.  We have seen the gathering of people together for mutual support and the tears that come with the deep sense of loss.  This must have been going on inside this house where the disciples had gathered.

Another death this week, that of Terri Schiavo, gives us another look at death and dying.  Whether the reason for the long litigious battles between parents and the daughter and son-in-law were legally correct or not, is not to be argued at this time.  One could wonder whether much of it was driven by the fear of having to do the right thing.  In the debates by those taking sides in this case, it is almost impossible to feel love permeating the discussions.  Love  surely  was not flowing between family members.  And the acrimony continues.  So does the absence of peace.

The battle over doing the right thing will be debated for weeks to come, but it may also teach us some important lessons.  Not the least, of course, is the importance of putting into writing your wishes regarding the sanctity of dying.  Another lesson may be in determining what is the most important principle for you to live by.  Too many people (and I may be included in this) make faith their aim.  They think, “the greatest of these is faith.”  And faith is here defined as doctrine or dogma.  But we are reminded that the greatest of these is love. 

As we note the disciple’s fear, we, of course, can not discount the fear of death itself.  We only look back at the story of the garden to hear that death has been given in place of eating from the tree in the middle of the garden.  We all have had our “bites of the apple,” and hence our fear that we too deserve to die.  If we can only stay alive, we may avoid what is coming.  So it is imperative that we remind ourselves of the generous love of Jesus.  The passing of the peace each Sunday is not just a feel good time during worship.  But a time to celebrate “yes” to remind one another of the truth that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ – neither death, nor life.  THIS IS A LOVE THAT STICKS!!  To claim the PEACE of Christ is to know the LOVE of Christ.  When we breathe in that love, fear disappears.  This is also what we profess when we come to the table of the Lord.  We again remember this love that makes us whole!

But Fear is a driving force in our culture.

We have been barraged with fear of weapons of mass destruction that never existed.  Thousands of lives have been drastically changed because of fearing what now we admit to be a mistake. 

Fear is alive and well.  Fear continues to influence our city politics.  We now have a city operating under Federal Court order to attempt to bring sides together that were resisting cooperation partly out of fear of losing some power or control.  Consequently, many are continuing to live in fear of being able to get fair and just treatment in our community. 

Fear certainly has been present in our own congregation.  Accusations and administrative commissions put us on edge.  Would we survive?  Will justice prevail?  If so, when?  The real awareness that what is right does not always carry the day, makes us uncertain about the future.  And there is the uncertainty about who the next pastor may be.  Will she or he be the right person for us? Are there better days ahead?  

The disciple’s fear turned to joy, not only because their leader was alive, but also because he was the source of love as they had never experienced before in their lives, and now they could enjoy it once again.  Fear blocks love.  It drives it away.  And one of the things we fear the most is not being loved.  We are made for love.  And when Jesus breathed on his disciples, and they received the Holy Spirit, they were receiving the spirit of love that drives out fear.  Just witness the change in the disciples after they experienced the Spirit of Jesus.  Fear was gone.  We can almost hear them say: “Throw us in prison or kill us, it didn’t matter.”    They  no  longer  huddled   in   fear   behind locked doors.  They demonstrated the love they received by healing and teaching in spite of the threats of the authorities.  Tradition has it that few of the disciples died a natural death, most died because of their radical love.

And what made this love so radical is that it is a love that goes beyond our own natural responses.  As Jesus entered the midst of those trembling men behind locked doors he, who could have vowed revenge for the mistreatment he received just days before, said: If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.  The peace that Jesus was offering them was one of deep reconciling love.  We have been given the ability to be agents of reconciliation, or we can continue to carry a grudge.  We can seek revenge, fail to forgive, and peace will flee away. 

Jesus, who had been mocked, falsely charged, and then beaten and killed, did not come back to build walls of division or take legal action against his accusers.  He did not encourage his followers to overcome by the use of arms.  The most powerful weapon he had is what he gave them – The Spirit of love and forgiveness.

Now I know this all seems too good to be true.  Peace, love, forgiveness.  It doesn’t seem real.  That is just what Thomas thought too.  Jesus alive?  Jesus giving His spirit to empower us to new ways of living?  I don’t believe it.  But a week later Thomas hears Jesus say to him Peace be with you!  And Jesus was vulnerable with Thomas as he invited him to touch and see.  That was enough for Thomas - My Lord and my God, He responded!

Thomas received the peace that Jesus offered.  Love is a powerful force.  It can drive out fear and offer a life that is rich and full.  Thomas’s faith came alive when he experienced the peace that was to stay with him.  That peace that comes from knowing the love of the resurrected Christ.  It is that love which enables us to move beyond fear, that in receiving the breath of Jesus, we take in new life.  Take a deep breath!  Go ahead, I’ll wait.  Breathe in the Spirit, that same spirit that created life out of nothing, that same spirit that brought peace to the fearful, that same spirit that enlivens our love so that reconciliation may occur.  We have a chance to create things new.  We have a chance to make things different.  We have a chance to LIVE, AND LIVE ABUNDANTLY.  THANKS TO THE RISEN LORD, WE CAN MOVE BEYOND FEAR TO RECONCILIATION, LOVE AND PEACE.