The disciples were gathered in a house…in the upper room… behind locked and closed doors.
They were afraid…they were very afraid. They were still afraid. Afraid that the Judean elite would come after them next…No, they were sure of it. The knock at the door and the soldiers would be there any time.
That’s when Jesus came …and stood among them…and said … “Peace be with you.”
Jesus came …and he was in their midst. He showed them his hands and his side.
He breathed on them, giving them new life.
I believe …This is the essence of our Christian faith …”Jesus in the midst” …or at least I have always thought so.
And God’s word proclaims… that Jesus was in the midst … of all Creation.
Daniel saw the Lord … with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego… in the midst …of the fiery furnace.
Jesus is in the midst … of his people…
That is the reason …the only reason that the Gospel is always proclaimed to you in the center aisle…or it should be… The Word…Jesus…is in your midst…It is not kept separate from you…it is not read from some high lofty lectern, someplace…but in your midst.
It is because he is here, present…in the word…in the sacrament…in this house of worship…in our lives…in this building.
For….when two or three are gathered together in my name … there am I …in the midst of them.
At Calvary, Jesus was in the midst of sinners…but then of course, we realize Jesus was always in the midst of sinners…
And this time – on this occasion… they crucified him…with two others, one on either side… Jesus in the midst again…yet!
As the Lamb of God in the Book of Revelation… Jesus is in the midst …of the throne of Heaven.
He is there…present. With the father. With the spirit… In their midst…
As our resurrected Lord…Jesus is in the midst …of his body, the Church.
And our Gospel lesson informs us that …on the evening of that first Easter Sunday…Jesus “stood in the midst” …of his very scared and frightened disciples.
Why is this theme repeated …so often …in the Scriptures? It is there…obviously for a purpose.
Why? Because very simply it is one of the keys …to the Christian life!
As we assemble in this place tonight… in this house of worship…as always, our deepest desire is … that Jesus …will be … and is…in our midst!
That he will be present in and through – over and around the auspices of the bread and the wine. Real presence. Truly present. With us always, even to the end of the age.
As followers of the Rabbi from Galilee…we are called to let Jesus be Lord over our lives… To be …In the midst …of every aspect …of our life. There is no place that he is not. And definitely no place that he should not be welcomed!
He is in the midst ……of all that we do, think and say…or should be. A part of our every conversation…
Now this word translated “midst” from the Greek…comes from the root word… meaning “middle”.
Jesus should be in the midst …in the middle …of all that we do … Jesus should be at the hub… the center…. of our life.
We are to center our lives on God.
We all have different “compartments” …that make up our lives… work, school, hobbies, family, church, sports.
Many mistakenly make Jesus… just another compartment…another spoke …in the wheel of life.
They pull him out only as needed and then safely tuck him away – until the next time – that he is needed.
But Jesus should be … Jesus needs to be… at the very hub of our lives …connecting every spoke, every aspect together. No Christian … No follower of Jesus ….can be spiritual…powerful…and maturing in the faith …unless …Jesus is in their midst.
And When Jesus is in the midst of our life… He promises us that…… we will have peace…his peace.
Hear God’s promises to us: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Peace that passeth all understanding. “Passeth” doesn’t mean “giveth”. Rather, it is short for … “sur-pass-eth”.
In other words…God’s peace goes far beyond …what we can …fully comprehend…what we can fully understand!
For God’s peace … passes all understanding. Remember who is in your midst this week! And not just today, but everyday!