Peace is most important

Jesus must have felt that way, too. In this week's Gospel (John 20:19-31), He comes back to life at Easter and visits His friends -- and the first thing He does is remind them to be peaceful!

After Jesus died, the Apostles stayed in a room to talk about Him. They locked the door, but suddenly, Jesus came in anyway! "Peace be with you," He said, and gave them the power to forgive sins. One Apostle, Thomas, wasn't there -- and didn't believe the others saw Jesus. But later, Jesus came back when Thomas was there. "Peace be with you. And Thomas," He said, "believe in me." So Thomas did.

Jesus must have felt sick when His friends fought. In the Gospel story, He had died and they didn't know He came back to life. They were hiding, scared they'd be hurt like Jesus, and arguing over what to do. It must have been awful for Jesus to see them fighting!

Some kids get mad when their parents fight and yell at them to stop yelling at each other. Yelling isn't the best way to handle things, but it's good to remind people that when you love someone, you shouldn't fight or be mean to them.

That's what Jesus was doing when He said, "Peace be with you." If His friends didn't remember what else He said, they'd remember His first words to them. So He said to be peaceful and stick together!

Some parents think it's okay to argue if you're not watching. They forget you might be in another room and still hear them! Jesus is like that: Even when you can't see Him, He's around, watching and listening. So He told Thomas, "Believe in me!" Jesus knew that remembering God is there is a good way to stay peaceful!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me be peaceful -- and remind other people to do the same thing! Amen.