Wishing Never Works

The Rev. Joseph Winston

March 30, 2008

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
There seems to be something almost magical about the appearance of the first
sparkling object in the night sky. As it slowly grows darker, a faint light gradually
appears on the horizon. It seems unsure of its place in life. Can it really bring in
all the others in the heavens? Its confidence in itself soon becomes visible. Bright
now, it shows the way for the millions upon millions of other lights to follow in
its path.
A line that many parents taught their sons and daughters to say when their
child saw that first star twinkling in the twilight beautifully captures the apparent
power of this first night object. “Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I
wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.”
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

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 Night after night, the child hears the same words from their parents. “Star
light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish
I wish tonight.” Over the weeks and the months, the child is finally able to say the
words all by themselves. “Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I
may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.”
It is not hard to imagine what happens next. The child slowly starts to believe
the story that the words tell and feels that there must be something special about
that first star.
The first wishes out of the mouths of the child might be for a puppy or a
pony, or it might even be for candy. When the child does not receive what they
deeply desire, they naturally believe that something is wrong with them. Maybe
they missed the first star and actually wished on the second or third star. This new
idea will focus the child’s complete attention on searching out and finding the first
object in the night sky. It does not take a rocket scientist to know that the child
will be disappointed again. No matter how hard the child searches the heavens for
that first star, nothing happens. No pets have appeared nor have any tasty treats
come their way.
A mature child might catch on to what is happening but most time they will
move on to the next stage in the game. They know for sure that they are always
finding the first object in the night sky. The problem must be with how they are
wishing. In their mind, it is clear that they are not sincere enough in their efforts.
Once again, we adults know that their hopes will be dashed. No matter how hard
the child tries to make the wish come true, nothing happens.

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 After trying to find the first twinkling object at twilight and wishing with all
their might, the child finally realizes that it cannot be their fault why the pony or
the puppy never appeared. The child may never know it, but they have been taught
an invaluable lesson by their parents. Wishing never gets anything done.
Now if we could only teach this important lesson to the translators of today’s
Gospel lesson.
From the text that we have before us, it seems as if Jesus says to the disciples
three different times, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19; 20:21; 20:26). When the
original text is translated in this fashion, Jesus is making a wish. It appears that
He is telling us, “May peace be with you.”2
As we all know from personal experience, wishing never accomplishes any-
thing.
If all that Jesus can do in the middle of the scared disciples is to image that a
sense of well-being might come to them, then we all realize that God’s peace will
never really be with them (John 20:19). If Jesus is only able to wish God’s love on
the disciples before sending them out into the word, then every one understands
that they will never have true peace (John 20:21). When we use the idea that Jesus
can only hope for peace, it is completely understandable why He must wish once
again that peace might come to the disciples (John 20:26). Jesus is just like the
2
The Greek εἰρήνη ὑμῖν does not have a verb. Normally when this occurs, the indicative
form of “to be” is used as in “Peace is with you.” Brian P. Stoffregen, 2nd Sunday of Easter -
Years ABC John 20.19-31, http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/john20x19e2.htm
Instead, the translators of the NRSV used the subjunctive form and had Jesus say, “Peace be with
you.” The implied but mising word in this translation found in the NRSV is “May peace be with
you.” ibid..

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child that wishes on a star but never has received anything for His efforts.
Fortunately for us, Jesus does much more than simply hoping for God’s peace.
What He really says in the original language is a statement of fact, “Peace to you.”3
Because in English we like our sentences to contain verbs, we normally add the
verb “to be” and Jesus’ declaration of reality is, “Peace is to you.” A more elegant
way of saying Christ’s promise of peace is “Peace is yours.”4
This is what Jesus tells us three times in today’s Gospel lesson, “Peace is
yours.”
When Jesus comes into the scared group that had assembled together on Sun-
day behind locked doors, He comes with God’s peace (John 20:19). Jesus gives us
the exact same gift today. We all have been given God’s peace of knowing that our
Redeemer lives and because He is alive, we also will live. Next, Jesus promises
His disciples that God’s peace goes with them as they go into the world (John
20:21). This assurance is for us too. Every journey that we take, we go with the
knowledge that God loves us. What occurs next is the final time that Jesus speaks
to us about peace in the Gospel according to St. John. It has been a week since the
disciples saw Jesus. This time, Thomas is with them and Thomas has told every
one that he has no faith in their stories. 5 Despite the locked doors, Jesus appears
bringing peace (John 20:26). We know that Jesus has already given Peter and all
3
S.D.B. Francis J. Moloney; S.J. Daniel J. Harrington, editor, The Gospel of John, Volume 4,
Sacra Pagina Series, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1998), p. 534.
4
Stoffregen, ‘2nd Sunday of Easter - Years ABC John 20.19-31’.
5
Some authors consider the verb ἔλεγον from λέγω to be a “conative imperfect,” which means
that the others tried to tell him. Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John, p. 539. Additionally, the
Greek ἄπιστος used here contains the negative prefix so the word means without faith and not
doubt.

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the other disciples who abandoned Jesus is His time of need peace. Now, Jesus
gives peace to the one disciple that does not have any faith. Jesus does the same
for you and I. Even when we leave Jesus or when we have no faith in Him, Jesus
still gives peace to us so that we can see that He is the way, the truth, and the life.
The translators of today’s Gospel lesson who believe that Jesus can only hope
to bring peace are not the only ones who think that nothing in this world will ever
change. Pessimists and all those who feel that God is powerless against everything
that is happening in this world also hold this opinion.
And this idea is completely wrong.
We all know the stories of how God has transformed people. I used to be one
of those individuals who thought that God was not all that interested in our normal
everyday lives. God came into my life and changed me. I now know that while I
continue to disappoint God, others, and even myself, God still loves me.
Jesus has given me this peace.
You need to be told the same thing that I had to learn the hard way. Jesus loves
you. His love does not end when you abandon Him nor does He leave you when
you loose faith in Him. Instead, He stays with you and give you His peace.
This unconditional acceptance by God that brings us peace of mind did not
happen because of anything on our part nor did the welcoming of you and I into
God’s family occur because Jesus hoped that this would give us peace. Instead,
Jesus did whatever it took to make this happen.
The culmination of this work happend two weeks ago. He chose death so that
we would live.

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 The beautiful light from the first star of the night makes young children think
that something magical is happening when it pops into view. Parents, having been
schooled in harsh the reality of life, know otherwise. They teach their children the
hollowness of this way of thinking through the use of phrases like, “Star light, star
bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish
tonight.”
God did not give us a Savior that wished for things to change. Rather, Jesus
took everything upon Himself to transform the world.
It is very obvious that you have learned this lesson from your previous pastors.
Instead of wishing that something would happen, you have gone out and done it.

• Thank you for the countless hours of prayer that you have spoken on the
behalf of others and yourself.

• Than you for the innumerable amount of time you spent in enabling the
worship of God.

• Thank you for the classes you attended so that the faith given you would be
deepened.

• Thank you for the coins you collected to help the less fortunate.

• Thank you for the years of ministry that you have done in Christ’s name.

“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”6
6
Philippians 4:7.

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References

Francis J. Moloney, S.D.B.; Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., editor, The Gospel of John,
Volume 4, Sacra Pagina Series, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical
Press, 1998).

Stoffregen, Brian P., 2nd Sunday of Easter - Years ABC John 20.19-31, http:
//www.crossmarks.com/brian/john20x19e2.htm.