A Family Reunion

John 20:19-22

This past weekend, we had a family reunion in Blowing Rock, NC. Our time together was a lot of fun that included going to the Mystery Hill where my grandkids loved seeing a ball roll uphill. They also went panning for gem stones and visited The Blowing Rock.

However, some of our most enjoyable times together were spent sitting on the deck of our mountain rental house with Grandfather’s Mountain in the distance. Talking, laughing and crying while we relaxed together on the deck was memorable.

The verses in John 20 also tell a story of a reunion. But this reunion, was under far different circumstances than the one my family had in Blowing Rock.

The disciples didn’t know what to expect. Jesus had recently been crucified by the Jews, so they were understandably afraid of them. But then, some had claimed to see Jesus. If that was true, why hadn’t he appeared to all of them? Was he angry with them? Was he really even alive? If so, what should they do?

When Jesus did appear, he could have shamed them for rejecting him in his time of greatest need. He could have let them suffer a little longer before appearing to them. He could have chewed them out for sitting around afraid, doing nothing. He could have laid out their strategy for world evangelism. He could have given them a big pep talk. Instead, he did none of these.

²¹ Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.           NIV

The crucifixion had dealt a great shock to the disciples. They were heading in one direction when the crucifixion stopped them dead in their tracks. Their family reunion was the jump start they needed to get them off the couch and onto the playing field moving in the right direction.

John’s words ring out over the millennia to us. Like the disciples, Jesus gives us peace no matter what is happening in our lives; he sends us into the world to share his Good

News; and gives us the power of the Holy Spirit to achieve his mission.

We have been sent with peace and power.