May 28, 2023- Peace Be With You
Every year we celebrate Pentecost as a time of the Holy Spirit coming down to dwell in and amongst humanity. In John 20, Jesus visits the disciples and breathes upon them a gift through just four words: “Peace be with you.” Today, we dig into how these words impact our lives – words that we ought to shape our lives around as followers of Jesus.
John 20:19-23 NRSV
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”