Another picture of Friday's glorious sunset. This is one of the first pictures I took that evening. I came back in the house, but the sunset wouldn't quit. I put on a coat and went back out. That's when I got the picture I used Saturday. That time I stayed out until the sky faded into darkness.
I've been reading about John 20:19-31 and meditating on it.
Father Raymond Brown says that Jesus' saying "Peace to you" goes beyond a greeting. It is rather a statement that Jesus' Resurrection has brought them peace. At the Last Supper he had said to the disciples, "Peace is my farewell to you; my peace is my gift to you; and I do not give it to you as the world gives it. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27)" Jesus repeats, "Peace," as he sends the disciples as the Father has sent him.
The peace that Jesus is talking about is not the absence of war or conflict. His Easter gift to the disciples and to us is an abiding sense of well being, a deep contentment that springs from our conviction that the Risen Jesus lives within us and is caring for us, looking out for us, protecting us. We have no reason to be troubled or afraid. We experience profound rest in his love for us and our love for him. Our peace in the Risen Jesus is enlarged by our awareness that all others are experiencing the same deep contentment. As faith deepens peace blossoms.
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