Feast of Pentecost
June 4, 2006
Christ Church, Covington
“Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you’” (Jo. 20:19).
Beside I-10 somewhere around Mobile a fishing boat has rested since this Summer,
in a place where no fishing boat belongs, beached and useless. It was there in
December, and still there when I passed by again in April. Perhaps it’s been
re-claimed by now, or perhaps it hasn’t. In any case, it was out of place, like
those cars caught in the branches of trees in the wake of flooding from
Hurricane Katrina, or those fascinating stumps by the side of the road in our
own community.
One way to define “peace”, the sort of peace that Jesus talks about in our
Gospel today, is “everything in its place”, a contrast with the topsy-turvy
images I’ve just mentioned. Peace is about repose, about rest that speaks of
fulfillment. The topsy-turvy images are a challenge to peace, a reminder of
stress and tension and incompleteness. We’re not alone, of course, in
discovering things are out of place: it’s just more visible, obvious, and acute
to us. Things are “out of place” for human beings, a good deal of the time;
rest, repose, and fulfillment are precious, scarce commodities.
In the face of this, Jesus’ Resurrection brings peace. Everything is in its
place once again. For Jesus, peace brings no denial that things have been out of
place; in fact, he invites the disciples to view the marks of the wounds of
crucifixion. Jesus gives peace in the face of death and dissolution; his peace
comes with new life that brings fulfillment. In the face of disruption, Jesus
invites the disciples to rest and repose. What was out of place finds its place
once again as Jesus stands in their midst.
Everybody needs a center, a point where things come together and we are at
peace. We seek fulfillment and repose, the gift of God that places us where we
belong. It’s the place we long for, the point for which we search, the center
from which we begin and to which we return. Like people in a maze or labyrinth,
we’re trying to come to the center, because it’s the way that leads home. This
peace is an interior gift of location and belonging. It is the peace that Jesus
gives.
“And this we might indeed call peace – the fact of recognizing an affirmative
and immoveable centre. Part of the experience of trust is to feel yourself to be
the object of faithfulness: someone or something is dependable” (Rowan Williams,
The Truce of God).
“An affirmative and immoveable centre”, “someone or something is dependable”: in
fact, Jesus himself is our peace, that center or point where everything begins
and comes together, and we all find our place. Jesus invites us to stand with
him, and to find that point at which we are restored and at rest. Where the
resurrected Christ stands is at the center. The peace he gives is the gift of
the Spirit. This peace is where we begin, the still point of repose from which
we move out into the world and respond to God.
God knows that these are days that challenge our peace. But my challenge to you
is to discover within yourself the peace that Christ gives, even if it is hard
to imagine at times. We might put ourselves in the place of these baptismal
families, where at least for today, things are falling into place. You can
almost hear the “click”. And for all of us, coming to this altar rail, our
Communion with Christ represents that same point where things fall into place.
God is blessing and giving his grace. God is giving us this peace, this rest and
repose, that will allow us to move ahead once again. We find this peace in the
place where Jesus stands. It’s the place where things come together and we are
fulfilled.
John Bauerschmidt is Rector of Christ Church, Covington.
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