Gtpministries.org – We will read together God’s Word taken from John 20:19-23 which reads as follows:
“When it was evening on the first day of the week, the disciples of Jesus gathered in a place with the doors locked because they were afraid of the Jews. At that time Jesus came and stood in the midst of them and said: “Peace be with you!” And after saying this, He showed them His hands and His stomach. The disciples rejoiced when they saw God. Then Jesus said again: “Peace be with you! Just as the Father sent me, so now I send you.” And after saying this, He breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive people’s sins, their sins are forgiven, and if you declare that people’s sins remain, their sins remain.”
My brothers and sisters, as Christians, we are still in the atmosphere of Easter celebrations and specifically the moments of Jesus’ appearance. In celebrating Easter, we remember the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the cross or death. Resurrection is the strength of our hope in the midst of difficult situations that we may still experience.
We live in increasingly difficult times with various problems that come and go. The Covid-19 pandemic, increasingly high prices of goods, fuel that is increasingly scarce and increasingly difficult to reach, agricultural problems and so on. In other words, in the midst of all existing struggles, we remain faithful to Christ and face all existing challenges with hope because of the risen Christ.
With the resurrection, we must say that the Christian faith is not centered on death or suffering, the Christian faith does not glorify suffering. The suffering that Jesus went through through the terrible cross was the reality that Jesus had to face. Likewise, the suffering we experience is a reality that we must face, but the Christian faith does not glorify suffering. That cross, that suffering is a sign of God’s love for us.
My brothers, this emphasis is important. Because we often witness extraordinary acts of violence that occur in our lives. It’s so easy for people to commit violence for whatever reason. It could be said that we are in a culture of death. In a culture of death, human life is not valued. Violence was even enthusiastically welcomed as a solution.
Isn’t that what we saw when Jesus was crucified? When the crowds cry crucify him, crucify him. The roar of cheers seemed to welcome the death of a human being as a collective victory. The culture of death produces dehumanizing lives, which deliberately use suffering to create trauma. Thus the scene of the horror of the cross succeeded in creating trauma, causing the gripping fear experienced by the disciples.
Brothers and sisters, it must be acknowledged that the culture of death continues to penetrate our lives to this day. Various forms of humanitarian violations continue to occur everywhere. In fact, we consider it as something normal. That’s precisely why the Easter story moves us. Through the resurrection of Jesus, God invites us to bring the spirit of life, the spirit of life is a humanizing spirit, a spirit of compassion, a spirit of peace. Even on the cross, Jesus echoed the spirit of life. For example, Jesus said: Father, forgive them because they do not know what they are doing. The word forgive is a sign of the spirit of life, this spirit is further strengthened by the narrative of the resurrection and appearance of the Lord Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, the spirit of life that is central to Christian life can be read from the testimony of the Gospel of John, in the story of Jesus’ appearance to His disciples (John 20:19-23). We know that the atmosphere that enveloped the disciples was an atmosphere of fear because of the events that preceded it, namely the crucifixion of Jesus.
This atmosphere of fear and terror is clearly described by John in verse 19, where the disciples gathered with the doors locked because of their fear of the Jews. It could be said that an atmosphere of fear truly dominated the lives of Jesus’ disciples. With the atmosphere that enveloped them at that time, they could hardly do anything, in front of them there was the shadow of fear, the shadow of death or other bad things that could happen. This is an example of what is called the culture of death, where a person’s life is shackled by a certain situation that is surrounding them. Life in the midst of war, for example hostility, violence, ignorance are examples of life where humans are shackled by their lives.
In such a situation, Jesus appeared to them. He appeared among them with words of peace. These words are an expression of greeting that Jesus conveyed to His disciples. This greeting is a Jewish custom which contains goodwill in relations between fellow humans. Greetings are a manifestation of dignified relations between fellow humans. Greetings also contain the meaning of blessings conveyed to other people. So with greetings, there is an expression of relationship, there is an expression of dignified human relations from one party to another. Thus, with this greeting, Jesus wanted to express His love and mercy and that God is always in relationship with His infinite people.
In verse 19, the greeting spoken by Jesus means peace to you. Peace is a condition where a person finds a state of inner calm, joy of brotherhood. Meanwhile, prosperity is a form of life that is full of joy, prosperity and happiness.
Brothers and sisters. From the story of Jesus’ appearance which is an inseparable part of Jesus’ resurrection, we find the spirit of life that shapes life or the culture of life. In the story of Jesus’ appearance, we find the culture of life defeating the culture of death. Or greetings of peace that defeat fear. Therefore, brothers and sisters, the Christian faith is a faith that is pro-life and not pro-death. The Christian faith is a faith that carries the values of life and not death.
The Easter story is one of the proofs of Jesus’ resurrection, not the suffering and cross, which are the pinnacle of Christian faith. Suffering and the cross are proof of love which is a sign of the spirit of life. As a community that believes in the resurrection of Jesus, believers are also called to live a culture of life in all believers’ lives. Therefore, let’s together carry the spirit of life by offering greetings of peace and brotherhood to others without distinction between ethnicity, religion, race and class.
As a church, we must see humans and each other in the same position as God’s creation. As a church, we treat people in a spirit of love without making distinctions between one another. Therefore, with the story of Jesus’ appearance, let us look in the mirror to continuously reflect on ourselves, whether as a church the culture of life has been present in the midst of our lives? In the midst of family, church and society? If we believe in the risen Jesus then we are called to bring the spirit of life and principles of life into our lives.
Brothers and sisters. Christians are at the center of national and state life in our beloved Republic of Indonesia. Our nation is a great nation and the differences that exist are proof of the greatness of this nation. These existing differences can lead us into division and disintegration. The culture of death which is manifested in a culture of violence in the form of intolerance, coercion and so on can lead us to destruction, but the spirit of life which is manifested in the culture of life will bring us all together as one nation.
Let us take care of our human relationships as fellow creatures of God. To be a bringer of peace, to be a fighter for a life full of peace in this country that we love, Indonesia. Enjoy the resurrection of Jesus Christ and peace to all of us. Amen
