the Risen Christ Brings Peace
Evidently our Lord was clothed in the spiritual body of which the Apostle speaks, not subject to the laws governing physical life. Twice He uttered the salutation, Peace be unto you. The first time He accompanied His words with the indication of His wounds: He showed unto them His hands and His side. This was the peace of forgiveness, falling on conscience-stricken hearts as the dew distils on the parched herbage. “Look at the wounds of Jesus!” cried Staupitz to Luther, and there is, indeed, no other sign which can give rest to the penitent. This is the peace of the evening hour, when we come back from the soil and fret of the world, and need to have our feet washed and our heart quieted.
The second time the message of peace was accompanied by an injunction to go forth into the world, as He was sent from the Father, on the great errand of world evangelization. Then He breathed on them and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost, which shortly after was to descend as a rushing, mighty wind. There is no way of remitting sin but by preaching the gospel of reconciliation, with the Holy Spirit accompanying our message. This is the peace of the morning, when we go forth to our post of duty or danger.