Fr. Sean's Easter I Sermon

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

This marvelous season of Easter has been matched with spring outside–it really does seem that the whole creation is helping to celebrate our Lord's resurrection. And after 40 days of fasting in Lent, we now feast for 50 days in this premier feast of the Church. And since Ascension and Pentecost fall within this season, it really becomes the season in which all other seasons of the church are fulfilled. And this week, I want to show how Easter fulfills our longings of Advent and Christmas through the theme of Peace which is present on this Low Sunday. 

I have never thought of Easter as a season of peace--that is a theme that I usually apply to Christmas or Advent. We started the liturgical year in Advent, awaiting the birth of our Lord, with the famous Advent hymn: O come, O Come Emmanuel. That hymn summarizes the O Antiphons used in last part of Advent, and the last verse goes:

O come, O King of nations, bind / in one the hearts of all mankind. / Bid all our sad divisions cease / and be yourself our King of Peace.

The Christmas carols then answer that expectation for the King of Peace. The angels declare that this little babe in a manger is actually the King who will usher in a kingdom of peace. Our Christmas carol puts it this way:

It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old,  from angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold: "Peace on the earth, good will to men, from heaven's all-gracious King." The world in solemn stillness lay, to hear the angels sing.

Charles Wesley ends his carol of the same scene, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, with this beautiful verse:

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness! Light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings. Mild he lays his glory by, born that we no more may die, born to raise us from the earth, born to give us second birth..

Already Wesley hints at Holy Week and the Easter Resurrection in which we join our Prince of Peace. The hope and expectation of peace that we pondered in Advent and Christmas has now come true in Easter, but the revelation of Our risen Lord helps us specify and understand the nature of that peace. 

The peace promised by the Angels to the shepherds has many layers. As the King of Peace, it does refer to Jesus who has ascended into Heaven and reigns over all the earth and at the end of the ages will judge all nations who will bow to him. At that time, all nations will find their peace in him. 

The peace also refers to the peace that the Resurrection brings to all humanity as Jesus conquered Satan and Death and reconciled sinners to God. This is the type of peace our hymn 94 refers to, which we sang last week. It was composed in the 8th century by St. John of Damascus: 

Neither might the gates of death, nor the tomb's dark portal, nor the watchers, nor the seal hold Thee as a mortal; but today amidst the twelve Thou didst stand, bestowing that Thy peace which evermore passeth human knowing.

Since Christ has broken the gates of death and brought out the souls waiting in Hell, and overcame all powers, now he bestows his peace as the King who reigns. But here let us turn to the Gospel to understand more:

Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.  

Jesus promised his Apostles in John 14 that he would send them the Holy Ghost, and now we understand that the peace of the King is His actual spirit. The word John uses for breathing, emphusao, is only used three times in the Bible. The first time it was used, I think you can guess, is in Genesis. And the LORD God formed man the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." This breath of life is something special when compared to all other creations--for only in man did God breath life. The second use of emphusao in the Bible comes to us in Ezekiel's vision which was one of the readings this week for Morning Prayer. In his vision, Ezekiel walks through a valley of scattered bones. He tells the bones, at God's command, to put themselves back together. Then God puts flesh back on the skeletons and finally, breathes new life into these bodies. It is a striking vision of resurrection, a new body and a new life. But today, in our Easter season, we are not looking at a prophecy but a historical account for the final use of emphusao comes in the Gospel account when Jesus breathes on the Apostles. We no longer hope in a vision, but look towards a person. We do not have a dream but a real body, the presence of Jesus Christ. And through Jesus Christ, we gain true peace because he breathes life back into us, his body. 

St. Paul puts it this way in his Epistle to the Ephesians: "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition ; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, the law of commandments in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: "

And notice how that peace is connected directly with our relationship with God. If our sin separates us from God and introduces disorder and darkness and eventually death, then forgiveness of sin reconciles us to God and brings us life and true peace again. This is why the peace of Christ is closely connected with the forgiveness of sins. When Jesus breathes his life into the Apostles and gives them peace, he also gives them the power of Absolution. Our Gospel passage concludes: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.  

This Apostolic power to forgive sins has been passed down in the Church through her bishops in order to continue offering humanity this peace of our King. When we sin, we must seek out confession so that we may be healed. But repentance is not just the feeling of remorse, but the act of confessing and receiving forgiveness of sins. Unlike baptism, where the baby does nothing, and God gives new life to him, in this sacrament of forgiveness, we must cooperate with God--we must confess in order to be forgiven.

The opportunity for confession comes in every Mass at the general confession. But the general confession is just that--general. That means it is for all people to be said together on behalf of the sins of the whole Body. The general confession is also conditional--in the introduction the priest calls upon those who "truly and earnestly" repent, and in the absolution, the priest those who "with hearty repentance and true faith" have turned to God. If it is hard for you to make that general confession in true faith, then you must seek out private confession. And there can be many reasons why it is hard for us to make the general confession in true faith. First, the service is often distracting and it is hard to prepare correctly and sincerely. Second, serious sins demand that we address them specifically, not generally. Third, we might not be sure of our own sincerity. Yes, we often avoid ourselves and it is easy to hide from our own consciences!

For all these reasons, and more, the Church has provided private confession, which we need to take advantage of. Private confession with a priest is not easy: scheduling and showing up to a private confession is part of true contrition! There, one may bare your soul with a freedom found nowhere else in the world. There one may receive the declaration of forgiveness and know it is sure. There one receives godly counsel from a priest trained in the spiritual life. There one receives a penance so that you may offer a specific act, usually a prayer or a meditation on a psalm, in thanksgiving for such a gift as forgiveness. There one experiences the love and comfort of our Savior in a profound manner. 

That experience is one of peace as you come back into the life of God. Through the humility of confession, of baring one’s sins before God and casting your hope on Him, you enter into the peace of God. It might not seem possible that we can experience such peace in our life presently. I hear so often how most people feel frantic, distracted, fearful, anxious, or even lost. Pay attention to those feelings–these will come and go throughout every stage of our lives. What is important to learn is what to do with such emotions.

The model of peace we see in the sacrament of Confession becomes a model to find peace in every aspect of our lives. Just as how in Confession we give all of ourselves to God in order to be healed by him, then only by abandoning ourselves to the will of God in every aspect of our lives do we find perfect peace. 

Our hymn, 436, Peace Perfect Peace, which we sing often, puts it well:

1 Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin?The blood of Jesus whispers peace within. 

2 Peace, perfect peace, by thronging duties pressed?To do the will of Jesus, this is rest. 

3 Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging round?On Jesus' bosom naught but calm is found. 

You see, the peace of Christ does not lessen our anxieties or sorrows or duties, rather it allows us to bear such sufferings as He did. This is a peace deeper than all of our life’s troubles for it is a divine peace. One of my favorite hymns, 437, They Cast Their Nets in Galilee says:

2 Contented, peaceful fishermen, Before they ever knewThe peace of God that filled their heartsBrimful, and broke them too,Brimful, and broke them too.

4 The peace of God, it is no peace, But strife closed in the sod.Yet, let us pray for but one thing:The marv’lous peace of God, The marv’lous peace of God.

It was the marvelous peace of God that bore our sins on the cross and forgave those who crucified him. And that peace, that life, is offered to you by your King. If you have never experienced this peace of God, start by confessing your sins and receiving the peace of Absolution. Our God is a forgiving God–he awaits your confession in order to forgive you. He is waiting for you to cooperate with him to experience his life and peace and join this Paschal joy.