John 20,19-23, 2026
Spirit of God, at Pentecost you created new understanding among Jesus’ gathered
disciples, filling them with your Spirit to witness to your love in ways all those who
were gathered could hear and understand. On Healing and Reconciliation Sunday,
this Pentecost Day, we ask to be filled with your Spirit again, that we may be
transformed by new understanding of your love and of what is required of us,
through the breath of your Word. Breathe your energy and understanding into
the work of healing and reconciliation to which we are called, and enliven us to
act faithfully in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today we are considering the story of Jesus appearing to the disciples and the
giving of the gift of the Spirit
This story of the giving of the Spirt is a quieter and more intimate telling than the
one we usually hear at this time of year
When we speak of the gift of the Holy Spirit, we usually think of the story in Acts
Of the day that the Spirit of God came upon the followers of Jesus who were
gathered in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost
It is the story of a dramatic giving of the Spirit in tongues of fire and rushing wind
It is adventurous and exciting
In John’s telling of the giving of the Holy Spirit the Spirit is given in a quieter way
We are told that on the evening of the first day of the week that the disciples
were in a house where the doors were locked
When I read this story I usually have the mental image of the 11 remaining
disciples of the 12 disciples that Jesus had chosen
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Those who study the scriptures extensively say there is no reason to believe that
the gathering of disciples was only the eleven
The group of disciples may well have included others who had chosen to become
disciples of Jesus
Regardless of who was in that group of disciples, or how many there were, we
know that the disciples feared those who were on the other side of the doors of
the house
And as the gathered there, afraid because Jesus had been put to death by the
authorities
Jesus came and stood among them
His first words were “Peace be with you”
Many commentators make a lot of these words
If Jesus begins by giving peace, he must know that state in which the disciples find
themselves
They are not feeling peace
The are afraid
Their loved leader and teacher had been publicly executed
They are afraid for their own safety
They may be unsure of who they can trust
This is day two after Jesus’ death, and they are locked up in a house, but they
must know they can not stay here for a long time
They have families to care for, jobs that need to be done, they need to grow food
or buy it, they need to pay taxes and support the work of the synagogue or
temple
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Hiding in a house may work for a day or two, but they all know that they will have
to face the outside world soon
As well as all the fears and worries about material things, and about the reaction
of the community authorities, these disciples would be facing the sadness that
came as their hopes that Jesus would be the one to redeem Israel were shattered
These disciples had followed Jesus because of the message he had preached, they
saw that he healed the sick that the blind had their sight restored, and so they
had hope
But on the sixth day of the previous week, they had seen Jesus die on a cross
Jesus had then been taken down and laid in a tomb
And here it was the first day of a new week, and their hopes were as dashed on
this first day as they had been the day before
What might it have been like to be there with those early disciples?
To feel as if there was little reason the have hope?
To fear the authorities of the community?
To wonder if it would be safe to return to your occupation?
And then in the midst of that fear and worry to have Jesus appears and say
“Peace be with you.”
And when you hear those words you know that you are not alone
You may remember other times that Jesus spoke of peace
When he said “Peace to you.” and then he reminded you and the others followers
that Jesus gives peace not “as the world gives” (14:27); [but] he gives peace that
provides solace in the face of persecution, a promise of new possibilities, and
confidence in his ability to overcome “the world” (16:33). (Matt Skinner. Working
Preacher 2020)
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When Jesus appeared in that locked house he witnessed the grief and fear of the
disciples, and he twice speaks to them the words “Peace be with you.” These
words harken back to an earlier scene in the Gospel, where Jesus tells the
disciples that God will give them “another Advocate,” the “Spirit of truth”
(14:16–17, 26), and says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (14:27).
It’s easy to imagine that “peace be with you” was a familiar and comforting
refrain that the disciples received from the lips of Jesus many times when they
needed it most, as he spoke words of peace into hearts gripped by fear.
(Cody J Sanders. Working Preacher, 2026)
After Jesus gives the comforting message, peace be with you, he shows the
disciples his hands and his side.
Jesus meets the fear of the disciples by laying bare the marks that death has
carved into his body. The one who was dead now lives, but the signs of death are
not erased. “He showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced
when they saw the Lord” (20:20).
In this singular verse is the Gospel encapsulated: Christ has died, Christ is risen,
Christ will come again. In this moment of witnessing death unambiguous and
resurrection life unmistakable, Jesus comes again to them.
In their grief, he gathers with them. Into their fear, he speaks words of peace. In
his body, he gives them a glimpse of resurrection life in the living body of one
crucified.
Cody J Sanders. Working Preacher, 2026)
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With very few words and one gesture Jesus is able to touch the hearts and spirits
of the disciples who had been hiding in fear, and to give them reason for hope
and joy
We are told the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord
The disciples went from fear that kept them hidden to a state of rejoicing
We assume they were expressing and feeling great joy, happiness or celebration
The disciples were no longer motivated by terror, but by joy in the presence of
the risen Jesus
The amazing truth that had been made known to them was so deep and real that
they are no longer controlled by fear
Now that the disciples are no longer controlled by fear Jesus again says peace be
with you, this time he goes on to say “As the Father has sent me, so send I you”
Those disciples, and we disciples who are here today, are sent just as Jesus was
sent
We see that the Father sent Jesus to minister to the lost people of the earth and
that Jesus responded with complete obedience
Jesus sent those early disciples, and Jesus sends us as the Father sent him
We as the disciples of Jesus are to follow his example, to go in complete
obedience and to follow his example
Jesus talked to people who were lonely and ill
He healed the sick and spent time with the overlooked
He also talked to those who were powerful, who were educated, who were
Roman citizens, even those who disagreed with him
Jesus brought the gospel to everyone who needed it
In the same way we are to bring the gospel to our world
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Jesus then breathed on the disciples and they received the Holy Spirit
To some of us that act of breathing on the disciples is evocative of the Spirit of
God breathing life into creation in Genesis
Recalling the moment when God breathed life into the original earth person in
Genesis 2:7 (cf. Ezekiel 37:9), Jesus breathes the Spirit of life into (not merely
“on”) his followers in John 20:22. A new creation is afoot. This creation does not
replace “the world.” It engages it.
(Matt Skinner. Working Preacher. 2020)
The act of Jesus breathing the Spirit upon the disciples reminds us of creation, and
it is also a commissioning
One writer that I read this week suggested that the quiet giving of the spirit in
John’s gospel was closer to his experience than the story in Acts
He was baptized as a baby, and the spirt came upon him like a heaven descended
dove
The Spirit has come to him in more times in his life
Often the presence of the Spirit is in a quiet way
It is reminiscent of the hymn like the murmur of the dove’s song
Like the murmur of the dove’s song, … come Holy Spirit come
And then goes on to say
With the healing of division, with the ceaseless voice of prayer,
With the power to love and witness,
With the peace beyond compare
Come Holy Spirit, come
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God enables us to act in his name, and to share the gospel by the breath of the
Spirit given to believers
This can motivate us to ask, why if God sends the Spirit do we experience the
Spirit so little?
It may be because we miss the Spirit
That is to say, the Spirit is present, but we are preoccupied with other things and
miss what God is giving
There is an ancient tale that tells of a young monk coming to the abbot of his
order for spiritual direction. The young man asks his superior: “Where shall I look
for peace?”
“Here,” the abbot said.
“When will it happen?”
“It is happening right now,” the abbot said.
“They why don’t I experience it?”
“Because you do not look,” the abbot said.
“What should I look for?”
“Nothing,” the abbot said, “Just look.”
“At what?”
“Anything your eyes alight upon,” the abbot said.
“Must I look in a special kind of way?”
“No,” the abbot said, “You don’t.”
“Why ever not?!” the monk demanded.
“Because to look you must be here,” said the abbot, “And you’re mostly
somewhere else.”
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(Day1. Come O Holy Spirit Come, A Pentecost Sermon. Rev Dr Russell J Levinson
(r.)
For most of us the introduction to faith was not dramatic
When we were baptized we know God sent the Spirit because God is true to
promises made
There was no wind or flame
But there were promises made
Our parents were asked if they confessed their faith in God as Heavenly Father, in
Jesus Christ as Saviour and the Holy Spirit as their sanctifier.
They promised to rely on divine grace to teach the truth and duties of the
Christian faith, and by prayer, precept and example to bring their children up in
the knowledge and love of Christ and his church.
In later years we would come to make our own profession of faith and many of us
brought our own children for baptism
These times may have been more planned and public than the giving of the Spirit
we read of in John’s gospel today
These occasions are alike in that they depend upon the grace and love of God
God who is true to us
God who guides us
God who commissions us as disciples
Today, take a moment and hold these questions in your heart
Do you believe in God as your heavenly Father, in Jesus Christ as your Saviour and
the Holy Spirit as your sanctifier?
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Do you promise to rely on divine grace to enable you to continue to grow in faith
and to serve God faithfully in your day to day life?
PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING AND INTERCESSION
Teach response: Spirit of Power and Promise,
Move within us and renew our faith
Wind of the Spirit, blow through us on this day of Pentecost and renew our faith.
Re-awaken our love for you and give us energy to serve you in Christ’s
Church.
Help us recognize needs for ministry and mission,
and equip us to meet new challenges in ways we haven’t dared before.
Help us discern and enact the transformation needed to heal the harms
your church has caused, working for truth, healing and right relations with
Indigenous peoples.
Give us strength for the tasks to which we are called,
both collectively and individually,
and breathe through us in prayer and praise.
Spirit of Power and Promise,
Move within us and renew our faith.
Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and give us understanding
for the challenges facing our communities and your creation
in these complex times.
We pray too for renewed commitment and your guidance
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to work for the truth, healing, reconciliation and repentance that we are
called to do
for the church’s role in colonization and residential schools.
Transform us as disciples who give faithful witness to you and your love.
Spirit of Power and Promise,
Move within us and renew our faith.
Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and bring healing
for all who face pain or illness, discouragement or disappointment,
for all who know sorrow, sadness or grief,
and for those who face pressures coping with the cost of living.
We ask you to bring healing to the earth, to places of upheaval and to
ecosystems at risk.
Spirit of Power and Promise,
Move within us and renew our faith.
Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and bring us the compassion we see in
Christ Jesus.
Blow through us and refresh us as your faithful followers,
equipped to serve the world you love in his name,
warm our hearts with trust in Jesus Christ
and dare us to live lives of loving service in his name
as together we pray in his name, Amen. the words he taught us:
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COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION
Go in the strength of the Spirit, to greet those we meet with understanding,
loving service and care. And may the God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy
Spirit and the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ.