From Fear to Sending

As I write this, the day-old, shaky ceasefire between US and Israeli war against Iran seems to be holding. Israel continues to bomb Lebanon mercilessly. Russia’s war on Ukraine continues into its fifth year unabated.

Gas and food prices have increased nationally and globally. People are suffering immensely all around. These are unsettling days. The drumbeat of war, the strain of global instability, and a pervasive sense of anxiety seems to press in from every side.

Many at Mission Presbytery and beyond are carrying quiet fears about the future, while others feel overwhelmed by the sheer weight of it all. It is not hard to imagine why hearts feel troubled, and why so many, like the first disciples, might be tempted to retreat behind locked doors.

It is into just such a moment that the risen Christ appears in John 20:19–31. The disciples are gathered in fear, unsure of what comes next, when Jesus comes among them and speaks a simple, powerful word: “Peace be with you.”

Reminds me of my childhood church’s greeting, “Kgotso e be le lona,” “Peace be with you!” My folks proclaimed peace in the midst of violent oppression by the Apartheid state.

Here, Jesus proclaims peace in the midst of fear and anxiety. Naturally, it makes no sense judging by human standards. Yet, this is not denial of their reality, nor is it toxic positivity.

It is God’s response to these terrifying times. Christ meets them exactly where they are, not to shame their fear, but to transform it.

And then, remarkably, Jesus sends them, as he sends us today: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The peace of Christ is not meant to soothe us into withdrawal, but to steady us for engagement. Even in uncertain and frightening times, we are called outward as bearers of that same peace.

Thomas’s honest doubt reminds us that faith in anxious times is not about having everything figured out. It is about staying open to the presence of Christ, who continues to meet us, wounds and all, and invite us into deeper trust.

In this Easter season, in the midst of these anxious and uncertain times, we at Mission Presbytery are reminded that resurrection does not remove us from the world’s pain. It sends us into it, grounded in a peace that the world cannot give, and cannot take away.

Kgotso e be le lona!

Bobby

Rev. Bobby Musengwa

Transitional General Presbyter

Mission Presbytery