The Day Of Pentecost
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
-- John 20:22-23
When the disciples were locked away in fear, Jesus came and was present to them offering them peace. Their fear was a fear of the violence that those in power could afflict on them. Jesus showed them his wounds, the signs of what the world had done to him. He revealed to them that when the world had done its worst, the world had not conquered him. He again offered them peace. He was the proof of God's triumph over evil. The disciples did not need to be afraid, but to receive the peace of God was also to receive the mandate of God to spread that peace to others who are fearful in this world. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." So Jesus breathed on them just as God had breathed on Adam in the first creation (Genesis 2:7). The breath that gave Jesus life, Jesus gave to his disciples. Jesus empowered them to offer peace to others who are fearful.
The visible sign of peace was the power to forgive. It is the incredible power and responsibility of the church to be God's agent of forgiveness. Consider the implications. What if marriages broke up because the church had failed to convey forgiveness? What if wars happened because the sins of people were retained? What if the history of racism, greed, and violence awaited the church's resolution? Do we believe that the central message of the church to the world is a message of forgiveness? To offer forgiveness is not to ignore the sin of another but to heal it. Jesus' power to heal this troubled world, which he has given to the church, is to be God's agent of forgiveness. When people experience forgiveness, they know the peace of God.
-- John 20:22-23
When the disciples were locked away in fear, Jesus came and was present to them offering them peace. Their fear was a fear of the violence that those in power could afflict on them. Jesus showed them his wounds, the signs of what the world had done to him. He revealed to them that when the world had done its worst, the world had not conquered him. He again offered them peace. He was the proof of God's triumph over evil. The disciples did not need to be afraid, but to receive the peace of God was also to receive the mandate of God to spread that peace to others who are fearful in this world. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." So Jesus breathed on them just as God had breathed on Adam in the first creation (Genesis 2:7). The breath that gave Jesus life, Jesus gave to his disciples. Jesus empowered them to offer peace to others who are fearful.
The visible sign of peace was the power to forgive. It is the incredible power and responsibility of the church to be God's agent of forgiveness. Consider the implications. What if marriages broke up because the church had failed to convey forgiveness? What if wars happened because the sins of people were retained? What if the history of racism, greed, and violence awaited the church's resolution? Do we believe that the central message of the church to the world is a message of forgiveness? To offer forgiveness is not to ignore the sin of another but to heal it. Jesus' power to heal this troubled world, which he has given to the church, is to be God's agent of forgiveness. When people experience forgiveness, they know the peace of God.
