A prayer for the peace of Christ by Andrea Herzer, read by Leah Martin.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together with the

doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said,

peace be with you, John 2019.

After Jesus' death, his disciples were taking shelter in a locked home, fearing for their

lives they were hiding from those who had just helped to execute Jesus.

I can't imagine the distress they faced, but as someone who's high risk for COVID-19,

I'm also locked inside my home.

With the disciples, I also fear potential harm from the outside world, but I've been

at home with my fears for far too long.

Have you been living in fear lately?

I have deep compassion for you, friend.

You are the reason I'm writing today.

Have you ever noticed that fear often travels hand in hand with other emotions?

Jesus' followers were afraid, but they were also grieving the violent death of their friend

and Savior.

Their dreams had been shattered.

They'd left everything to follow Jesus.

But now their work as his disciples seemed to be at an end.

And to top it off, they were afraid that if they ventured outdoors, they could face the

same death Jesus suffered.

Are you like the disciples grieving the death of a loved one?

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