Gospel Reading: John 20:19-23
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Fear. A mere 4-letter word yet it seems to leave a very powerful impression towards every living thing. A 4-letter word that unmans even the strongest warrior that ever existed. Fear makes one vulnerable to the emotional hazards that surrounds the mind and the soul. It dispossesses us of the opportunity to experience the most wonderful things in life. Fear controls and consumes – like a monster that latches unto you and prevents you from living your best life. No one is immune to feeling afraid.
Fear resides in me and before I knew it, it already manipulates me – from building relationships with my friends and family, to pursuing what I want to do in life.
With that said, who do I surrender to when I’m afraid?
It’s God.
It’s kind of ironic that he’s the one I fear above all things, yet at the same time, he is the calm I seek when I’m trembling on my knees. He is the radiating glow I cast about while I’m lost at a thousand meters deep under the vast-sea of darkness. He is my peacemaker, and the PEACE himself.
I am a sinner, a person who constantly experiences storms in life and a young child with a clouded soul filled with anxiety, negativity and sadness. Like a rummaging train comes all the defeatist thoughts that fill my head every single day. But when I surrender to God, He gives me the peace I deserve within myself.
When I become extremely ashamed of myself from all the mistakes I’ve committed, God washes away the heavyweight of my guilt-filled conscience from all the sins I’ve done. And at the end, he still offers room of forgiveness – the same kind of peace we need to heal ourselves and let go and move on.
“What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled and when strivings cease. My Comforter, my All in All, here in the love of Christ I stand.” – In Christ Alone
These are words from my favorite worship song of all time. It reminds me that within the embrace of God, the storms will calm and the fears will melt away. Hearts will not be troubled, and I will not be afraid for he himself is the peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. Ephesians 2:14
-Mariz Cenojas
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Fear. A mere 4-letter word yet it seems to leave a very powerful impression towards every living thing. A 4-letter word that unmans even the strongest warrior that ever existed. Fear makes one vulnerable to the emotional hazards that surrounds the mind and the soul. It dispossesses us of the opportunity to experience the most wonderful things in life. Fear controls and consumes – like a monster that latches unto you and prevents you from living your best life. No one is immune to feeling afraid.
Fear resides in me and before I knew it, it already manipulates me – from building relationships with my friends and family, to pursuing what I want to do in life.
With that said, who do I surrender to when I’m afraid?
It’s God.
It’s kind of ironic that he’s the one I fear above all things, yet at the same time, he is the calm I seek when I’m trembling on my knees. He is the radiating glow I cast about while I’m lost at a thousand meters deep under the vast-sea of darkness. He is my peacemaker, and the PEACE himself.
I am a sinner, a person who constantly experiences storms in life and a young child with a clouded soul filled with anxiety, negativity and sadness. Like a rummaging train comes all the defeatist thoughts that fill my head every single day. But when I surrender to God, He gives me the peace I deserve within myself.
When I become extremely ashamed of myself from all the mistakes I’ve committed, God washes away the heavyweight of my guilt-filled conscience from all the sins I’ve done. And at the end, he still offers room of forgiveness – the same kind of peace we need to heal ourselves and let go and move on.
“What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled and when strivings cease. My Comforter, my All in All, here in the love of Christ I stand.” – In Christ Alone
These are words from my favorite worship song of all time. It reminds me that within the embrace of God, the storms will calm and the fears will melt away. Hearts will not be troubled, and I will not be afraid for he himself is the peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. Ephesians 2:14
-Mariz Cenojas
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