St. Aidan's Anglican Church, Kansas City - Weekly Talks

This morning we have followed some of Jesus’ disciples to an upper room. There’s a deep sense of emptiness. They are still perplexed by the empty tomb, and now, as the night closes in, they are gathered in an empty room. The room is full of failure and fear. Rightly so, for Rome’s most effective tool for keeping order throughout the empire has been exercised on their Master. Despite the locked doors, the failures and the fears, Jesus breaks through. God’s grace expressed now in Jesus raised from the dead, can break through our fear and failures. “Peace be with you.” The Gospel is in the person of the crucified and risen Lord. By this one word, Peace, Jesus is announcing that the cosmic war is over. How is this peace given and received? “He showed them his hands and side.” His scars are the results of a darkened, sin sick world. The author of life came and we killed him. He took all that we could sling at him, Jew and Gentile … the horrors of Rome’s most intimidating instrument … hanging naked on a c