Back on that sabbath day, the day after Jesus had been executed, the disciples must have felt lonely and afraid. Jesus was dead, it seemed, and not only were they afraid of the Romans who might have wondered about their association with the self-proclaimed King of the Jews and the religious authorities who denounced the followers of the man claiming to be the messiah, but they were probably afraid of their own people, too. Others who had heard Jesus' message, maybe even been followers, had deserted them, much as they had deserted Jesus when he was arrested. Some might even have been angry and vengeful because what had been promised, the messiah who would free them, turned out to be a such a disappointment.
Can’t blame them if they thought they should hide, like the Gospel of John says they do.
But the next day, the gospel says that Jesus appeared to them and said "peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you" (John 20:21). He breathed on them and said this is the spirit of life, go and live. He told them to not be afraid, to go into the world and do that thing he'd been teaching them: to go and love one another as Jesus had showed them to love, in relationship with all around them, to love even the hardest to love, to live with care and compassion and justice and equality (John 15:9-12).
It's no wonder the authors of the Gospel of John recorded the story that way. Context is important here. Many contemporary bible scholars think that the Gospel of John probably dates from the late 1st century, later than the others and much later than the story it conveys. The author - or authors, we’re not sure - didn’t just have the story, they had how the people had been, and were, interpreting it. And now, they were relating it to the people at a very difficult time.
The followers of Jesus, the People of the Way, were fearful and doubting. This was a community fending off the oppression of the Romans and the alienation of Jews (the first followers of Jesus, as good Jews, had continued to attend synagogue as well as practice their own "christ-centred" rituals until they were expelled from the Jewish community). They were also being challenged by their expansion into non-Jewish communities. And, of course, Jesus said he’d return and he hadn’t yet. Some people were beginning to question the story and wonder about the faith they were putting in it. It would have been very easy to lock themselves away from the rest of the world.
And Jesus say don't do that. Don't hide behind walls. Don't separate yourself from the rest of the world. Go and love. Love yourself, love people, love the world. Love God. Go and love.
So: are we going out and loving the world? Or are we building more walls, locking more doors and finding more ways - we even try to make them “reasons,” as if they were reasonable - to exclude and ignore? Are we trying to love each other and share in relationships with each other, or are we making more rules to protect ourselves and constantly seeking more power to control our lives and the lives of others, especially the ones who don’t agree with us? Are we speaking out or keeping silent? Are we living Jesus?
