Sixth Sunday of Easter – Year C

Welcome to the Sixth Sunday of Easter. We are nearing the end of the 50-day celebration called Eastertide. Jesus has been preparing his disciples for his “going away.” His ascension makes room for a new kind of Presence made possible by the pouring out of his Spirit. What was once revealed through the sign of one body, in a specific time and place, is now revealed through the sign of the collective. Jesus is preparing the disciples to become what they have received — the Body of Christ.

This week’s text centers on the gift of peace that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection make real. He offers his own peace — with a qualifier: “Not as the world gives.” In fairness to the disciples, there was no way to understand this at the time. It would take Easter eyes.

And what do Easter eyes see? The possibility of peace that isn’t caught up in the cycle of violence. The world offers a fragile peace maintained by scapegoating and the expulsion of the other. Jesus offers a lasting peace, sustained through the giving and receiving of forgiveness. This is how he breaks the cycle of violence.

When we allow ourselves to undergo the One in whom there is no violence and who is in rivalry with nothing, not even death, the peace that emerges passes all understanding. This is resurrection peace — the kind that doesn’t run from wounds but transforms them.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.” This isn’t just comfort. It’s a commissioning. Peace isn’t the prize at the end of the path. It is the path — opening us to a new kind of Presence, seen in the faces of friends and enemies alike.