Passing Peace (John 20:19-31)
Jesus didn't say, "I've overthrown Rome! Now we'll have peace!" He simply said, "Peace be with you," while showing them his wounds. His peace bears the marks of suffering. It doesn’t deny pain; it transforms it. It doesn’t require the elimination of enemies; it embraces them.
This is why passing the peace is indeed a political act. Every time we say to one another, "Peace be with you," we’re rejecting the peace of empires. We’re declaring our allegiance to a different realm with a different sovereign who rules in a different way. After Easter, we acknowledge that true peace, God’s peace, can’t come through domination or be secured through violence.
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