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Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter
(Apr 15, 2007)

intro: The other day something greatly disturbed me and it is still is running around inside of my mind and body, I have felt very troubled. So I really need to hear Jesus words in today’s Gospel:                           Peace be with you.  My peace I give to you.  Wow do I need that peace.
            .But then I realize our whole world really needs peace. 

I)                   True peace is a gift of God
  a) Peace is not the absence of conflict. As long as there are sinful human beings there will be conflict. Peace is not the absence of conflict. Peace is the presence of the Spirit of God.
  b) Jesus said “peace be with you” and then Jesus breathed on them and said “receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive will be forgiven.”  Peace comes as a gift from the mercy of God who forgives us and calls us to forgive one another.

III)  But  peace is not easy or cheap. Jesus paid an awesome price to bring the gift of peace to the world. Though he is Risen, we can still see the price Christ paid in the nail marks in his hands and the wound in his side.
          Peace will always be a very expensive gift. It cost Jesus everything including his life.
          If we are to forgive those who have injured us, we must swallow our pride and invite Jesus to enter our locked rooms. He can open us up from the inside by the gift of his Spirit.

Story: When pastor Walter Everett’s oldest son Scott was murdered in l987, he found that over the next few months his anger intensified and began to eat away at his emotional health. He found others who were frozen in their anger 15 to 20 years after the death of their loved ones. He began to realize that he could not go on like this for the rest of his life. So he prayed to God for release of his anger. He finally found some relief when the murderer stood to say: I am sorry that I killed Scott Everett. I wish I could undo it. These probably sound like empty words, but I am sorry.
     He found the will to write Mike the murderer, and tell of his anger, grief and devastation during the year since Scott’s death. And then added: “As hard as these words are to write: I forgive you.” Over time he even developed a relationship with Mike.  Pastor Everett says that Mike has been given a new life by God, and I too have been given a new life.” 

I think that what he is talking about is that before he forgave Mike, Walter was just as much trapped in his anger as Mike was in prison. When by God’s mercy Walter forgave Mike, they both had been set free by Jesus Christ. They both were able to find peace. 

Conc: As a reminder of Risen Christ’s gift of peace the Pastoral Council and Parish Staff decided to erect a peace pole in front of St. Aloysius. I invite you to join me after mass for the blessing of our peace pole