In today’s Gospel, Jesus appeared to His disciples, who were overjoyed to see Him. Yet each one of them also saw that Jesus bore the wounds of the crucifixion. They saw the marks of the nails and spear in His hands and side. Most of them remembered their cowardice and desertion of Jesus at a time when He needed their friendship and support. However, Jesus did not blame and scold them. Instead, He wished them peace. What was past was past and could never be undone. He wanted His disciples to have peace of mind, to put their betrayals out of the way and to concentrate on the future. He did not want them so overwhelmed and crippled with their burden of guilt that they became useless to themselves and others. He knew that they bitterly regretted their actions and were ready to make a new start. Yet, as He gave them their mission to preach God’s love to the world, Jesus also knew that their learning process would involve suffering.
From the moment we were born, life has been a constant learning process. We have all had opportunities to learn new skills. We make allowances for mistakes – perhaps, for something such as learning to ride a bike, wearing extra layers of protective clothing. God knows that we are learners. Pentecost is the moment when Jesus tells us to be at peace, however battered and bruised we may feel. We are only learning to be like Him and God knows that, making allowances for us and sending us the Spirit of love and encouragement to help us to make a fresh start.