Jesus offers peace – No matter what!
Sermon text: John 20: 19-31; Second Sunday of Easter
“Peace be with you!” These are the first words Jesus has for his disciples when he appears to them after his resurrection. They are afraid for their lives. They had fled when he was arrested. Peter had denied him three times. Judas had betrayed him.
Yet Jesus’ first words for them — and for us, too — carry a message of reconciliation. Peace! In the broken places of our lives. Anyplace where we feel hurt, betrayed, humiliated, guilty, ashamed, less-than. Jesus arrives right there, passing through the barriers of this world. He brings one word: “Peace!”
We have the privilege today of hearing from Pastor Katy Grindberg. She’s the assistant to the bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod, based in Sacramento. That’s our local organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Our region covers northern California and northern Nevada.