https://app.dropwave.io/episode/910bed60-e2f6-4993-939d-9b755385c1ac/rogate-fifth-sunday-after-easter-ad-2025.mp3

note: transcribed by turboscribe.ai

Alleluia, Christ is risen. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace, in the world you have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world." Once again we hear Jesus talking about peace.

He desires peace for you. He desires peace for his children. We remember a few weeks ago Jesus used the same word when he appeared to the Apostles and to Thomas following his resurrection.

You recall from John chapter 20, on the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, peace be with you. When he had said this, he showed them his hands at his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit.

If you believe the sin, if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness for many, it is withheld. And then eight days later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them.

Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands. Put out your hand and place it into my side.

Do not disbelieve, but believe. Thomas answered him, my Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, you have believed because you have seen me.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Again, the peace that Jesus speaks about here is specifically the blessing that comes from peace. He speaks of wholeness, contentment, security, and all the blessings that come from peace.

It is the absence of conflict between God and man earned by his passion, death, and resurrection. He speaks of the blessing of peace that comes through the forgiveness of sins. Again, as your pastor stands before you and declares your sins forgiven, it's as if Christ himself were standing here.

He speaks of the blessing of peace that comes through faith in Christ. Although you have not seen with your eyes, you believe. Again, Jesus says, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

So once again, we see Jesus speaking of peace in our gospel reading. But this time, the emphasis is a little bit different. Rather than through faith and rather than through believing, although you do not see, this peace comes through prayer in the midst of tribulation.

Now contrary to what we hear from many others, tribulation is not some far-off supernatural event signaling the return of Christ. We are in the tribulation from the time of Jesus' incarnation until his return. Jesus speaks quite plainly, you will have tribulation in the world.

It's not something we should doubt or question, it's something all of us should expect. And it's something we should expect as long as we live in this world. And in fact, we should be surprised when we're not experiencing tribulation.

That should be the strange part, not when something bad happens. But in this discourse with the disciples, Jesus puts the most important thing last. That's quite often a feature of the Greek language.

We do that too, like when you go to visit with somebody and you say, I want to talk to you about something, and you talk about something else for like 20 minutes, and then in the last second you say, oh yeah, what I really wanted to talk to you was this. Happens in counseling all the time. But Jesus saves the last, the best thing for last.

He saves the most important thing for the very last. And he says you will experience tribulation in the world. However, he assures us that he has already overcome the world.

He has defeated the world. And more than that, we have prayer. We have the ability to speak with God as dear children speak with their dear father.

Now many of us, we've been taught that it's wrong to pray for your own needs. I don't know if you've heard that yourselves. I've heard it many times that you can't pray for yourself, you have to pray for other people.