The following piece was first written for the April 12, 2026 pew sheet at St Augustine’s Anglican Church. I share it here again in the hope that it may continue to encourage and bless.
On the evening of that first Easter Day, the disciples were not rejoicing – they were hiding. Behind locked doors, they cowered in fear, anxious that the authorities who crucified Jesus might come for them next. Their fear was not simple panic; it was tangled with grief, confusion and a deep sense of failure. Their Master was dead – or so they thought – and whatever hope they had once clung to seemed to have died with him. Even though the tomb was empty, even though Mary Magdalene had seen the risen Lord, fear still held them captive. How often is that true for us as well? We may know the truth of the resurrection, yet still find ourselves locked behind doors of anxiety – about our health, our finances, our future. Into that fearful room, Jesus came and stood among them. His first words were not rebuke but blessing: 'Peace be with you.' And then again, 'Peace be with you.' This was not merely a greeting but a gift – the peace of Christ spoken into troubled hearts. He showed them his wounds, assuring them that the crucified one now lives. Then he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit,' commissioning them: 'As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.' Thomas, absent at first, struggled to believe. Yet Jesus did not leave him in doubt. He came again, inviting Thomas to see and touch. In that moment, fear and unbelief gave way to faith, and Thomas confessed, 'My Lord and my God.' This passage reminds us that Jesus meets us where we are – even in fear, even in doubt. He does not abandon us there. He speaks peace, gives his Spirit, and calls us forward in faith. Whatever fears you carry today, know that Christ sees, knows and cares. May his Spirit move you from fear to faith, filling your heart with his peace.
