So, Jesus is risen from the dead only a matter of hours
(not even a whole day)
and here he is appearing to his unfaithful friends,
the very ones who deserted him when he needed them the most.
And his first words to this motley crew are
words of forgiveness, words of peace, words of mercy.
No judgment. No condemnation.
Huddled in fear in this locked room are these friends of Jesus
who, after the Last Supper,
could not stay awake one hour to pray with him,
and who ran away when the Roman guards came to arrest him;
friends who spoke not a word in his defense at his trial
- except for Peter who three times denied he even knew Jesus.
Here are the closest disciples of Christ
who were nowhere to be found
when Jesus needed help carrying his cross.
They were counted among the absent at the foot of the cross.
They were afraid to go with the women to the tomb on Easter morning.
And to such as these
Jesus offers words of forgiveness, peace and mercy.
Not a word of judgment.
Not a word of condemnation.
