Shalom

One of my favorite things about reading familiar passages in the scriptures is how they grow deeper as we grow into Christ. We learn one thing, or maybe a handful of things, and then the scriptures open up all over again.

That happened for me this Easter. 

One of the things I've learned in the last few years is a fuller meaning of the word Shalom. Of course we know it means peace, and we know it is a traditional greeting among Jews. It has been for millenia.

But as the Jews in Jesus day understood it, Shalom was much deeper than peace. It was to bless someone with the peace of God, to wish upon them that they would find their steps, their very heartbeat, in rhythm with God's. Shalom is not the absence of conflict, but the fullness of God's presence. It is the world of humans before the fall, before sin entered the world. It is--at the same time--a vision of what heaven will be. 

Shalom is the peace that comes when all is right with your world.

And that's why, as our pastor read the story from John 20--casually mentioning that Jesus said "Shalom" to the disciples, I found myself so astounded.

Read it for yourself: "Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said.."

You guessed it. Shalom.

The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ has made possible the Shalom the Jews had been anticipating for centuries. He didn't simply greet them in the traditional manner, He blessed them with "the way God wants things to be for you" with that single word.

The same Shalom that Jesus gave Thomas and the other disciples is available to us. What an incredible gift of the resurrection. 

Shalom, my friends.