I have not participated in corporate worship for the past three weeks. This is very unusual for me. I miss one or occasionally even two Sundays in a row every now and then, but it has literally been years since I was not in corporate worship for three Sundays in a row.
Now, on one hand, I confess to have needed the break. As a pastor, it is helpful to take off the mantle of congregational leadership for a time. It is helpful to get out of town and spend quality time with family. For me, it is renewing to take long walks in the woods, go for morning runs on the beach, and read just for the enjoyment. I find it helpful to have unscheduled time, time for Sabbath rest, time simply “to be” for a while instead of “to do”.
And yet, for me, I do not need to stay away from the habit of corporate worship for long. Worship forms who I am, what I think, what garners my focus. With all that has been happening in the world, with the shootings and the bombings and racial tensions and hate-filled rhetoric from all sides, I needed to be here this morning. I needed to be with you, gathered around this table of unity and of love singing that wonderful opening hymn, “When Morning Guilds the Skies, my heart awaking cries: May Jesus Christ be praised!”
Did you notice the words of the second verse? “Does sadness fill my mind? A solace here I find: may Jesus Christ be praised! Or fades my earthly bliss? My comfort still is this: may Jesus Christ be praised!”
The news of the past weeks, even in the midst of my vacation, faded my earthly bliss. But in worship I am reminded that whatever momentary afflictions we face as a nation or as a world, no matter how troubling or disheartening they may seem, they are not the end of the story. The trials and tribulations of the summer of 2016, and they are many, are but one small part of God’s much larger story, and these too will soon pass away, but the worship of God will remain forever.
In the midst of strife, and grief, and fear, and mistrust, we hear the encouraging words of Jesus: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.”
Blessed are those who seek and pursue shalom for all, for those are the ones participating in the work of God in the world. The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, always refers to more than the absence of trouble. Shalom connotes a positive state of being, not just the absence of evil but the presence of good. Shalom entails health and well-being, harmony, and unity. The presence of shalom means that that which has been divided and torn asunder has been restored to unity.
Jesus did not say, “blessed are the peace lovers.” Jesus said, “blessed are the peacemakers.” It is one thing to keep the peace. It is quite another to make the peace. It is one thing to refuse to disturb the relative peace of the few; it is quite another to extend oneself to work for real peace, for shalom, for all. There are state and county laws about not disturbing the peace, but the only law that demands making the peace, seeking peace and pursuing it, is one that cannot be enforced – the Christian law that demands that we love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
There is a “silver rule” which says do no harm. Live your life and don’t harm your neighbor. But the “golden rule” says “do unto others”. Extend yourself by feeding the hungry, healing the sick, serving the poor, welcoming the homeless, visiting the imprisoned. The golden rule says reach across any barriers of race or clan or economy or class. Seek peace, pursue it. Do good on behalf of your neighbor.
The first letter of Peter, quoting Psalm 34, commands:
“Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse;
but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing.
It is for this that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing.
For ‘Those who desire life and desire to see good days,
let them keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit;
let them turn away from evil and do good; let them seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’”
Being a peacemaker means turning away from evil, turning from the temptation for revenge, turning from words or actions or even attitudes that break instead of mend relationships. But more than that, peacemaking is making the positive effort. Seeking peace is not simply burying the hatchet, and then going our separate ways. Making peace is continuing to seek and promote the highest good of the other, even at the risk of personal loss or danger.
To promote world peace and friendship, the United States Peace Corps was established in 1961 with the idea that serving the needs of others would build bridges of intercultural understanding. In the biblical tradition of loving our neighbor, volunteers like our own Blake Candler leave home and country to live among and serve the poor of the world for 26 months at a time, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. In their time of service, Peace Corps volunteers often witness firsthand some of root causes of the lack of peace in the world.
In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the prophets remind us that peace is never simply the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice. Without justice, basic human rights will be trampled. Without justice, there will be no fairness in the courts or fairness in wages. Without justice, oppressors will not be held accountable nor will the violent be restrained. Without justice, the “needy will be sold (for the cost of) a pair of sandals”, Jeremiah claims, and the widow and orphan will constantly be in distress. Only with some sense of justice for all will peace arise in the land; and without justice, any absence of conflict will not last very long. It is very intentional and aspirational that our nation’s pledge of allegiance ends: “One nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”
Blessed are the peacemakers, happy are they. Open to God’s transforming grace are they. This happiness, or blessedness, of course, depends more on inward condition than upon outward circumstance. Peace of mind and heart is critical in order for there to be peace in the home. Peace in the home is critical for there to be peace in the nation. Peace in the nation is critical for any hope of world peace.
If world peace depends first upon peace in my own heart, then how and where do find peace in my own heart? Mother Theresa was known to give out a little card with the following message. Smiling all the while, of course, she called this her business card. It read:
“The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is faith.
The fruit of faith is love.
The fruit of love is service.
The fruit of service is peace.”
Silence can lead to prayer, which can engender faith, whose fruit is love, which leads to service, which, ultimately, can bring a person to a sense of inner peace. And I propose that inner peace is requisite, ultimately, to peace between nations.
Vernon Gramling, in this week’s Faith in Real Life blog, reminded us that it is difficult to seek peace when you’re under threat personally or socially. We generally cannot listen to and respect others – which is required for peacemaking – unless we feel grounded, unless we are standing on solid ground ourselves. So many people in the world today seem to be standing on shaky ground, on fearful footings, genuinely afraid, afraid of losing their place or position or privilege, and concerned for their own personal safety.
I received an email from a friend last week that basically said: Don’t you wish there was some international ideology which taught that the way to peace and security is to love one’s neighbor as you love yourself? Don’t you wish there was some ideology which taught that one should do unto others as you would have them do unto you? Don’t you wish that there was an ideology in the world that taught all the people of the world to love even our enemies, and to seek their good? What if there was an ideology that taught pure religion is to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves? What if there was such an ideology? What would we do, what would we give, to make it known throughout our city, our nation, our world?
Our text from Proverbs 3 for today reminds us that when we trust in the Lord, when we lean not on our own understanding or own agendas, but seek God’s will, we gain wisdom, happiness, blessedness, and the prosperity of the nation will follow. But Jeremiah 8 reminds us that those who reject the word of the Lord lose their wisdom and will be judged for self-centered behavior. Jeremiah claims that when people become greedy for unjust gain, they forget how to blush. They begin treat the wounds of the people carelessly and cry out, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. For their failure to seek peace for all and pursue it, Jeremiah’s nation was overthrown and sent into exile.
In 1946, in the chaos of the post-war era, Ernest Trice Thompson wrote:
“Many Christians believe that Jesus’s teachings, particularly those included on the Sermon on the Mount, present beautiful ideals which cannot be possibly realized in real life; many others think that they have value in ordinary times but should be forgotten until after the present emergency. (I believe) that (Jesus’ teachings) present a practicable way of life not only for individuals but also for society, a way to peace and happiness in this world as well as in the world to come, and that (following these teachings has never been) more necessary than now.”
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. “The blessedness which the world cannot give and which the world cannot take away depends on inward condition rather than on outward circumstances. It (begins in silence and prayer and culminates) comes from participation in some unselfish activity; it is found by the peacemakers, by those who are willing to suffer for righteousness’ sake, and above all for Christ’s sake.”
The blessed see the world differently. The see the world like children see the world, or like those who are dying see the world. They are blessed by the way they interact with world, which is not necessarily the common way.
Let the commitment to seek peace and pursue it begin with me.
Let this commitment be present in my family and in my church.
Let this commitment take root within our schools and places of work.
Let the commitment to seek peace and pursue it be realized within this fine state, and even throughout our beloved nation.
If we want world peace, let it begin here, with you and with me, with our commitment to turn from evil, turn from revenge, turn from attitudes of division, and seek what makes for peace and pursue it diligently.
If we want to make peace, then must be willing to upset the status quo, because none can fully be at peace until all are at peace. If we’re willing to upset the status quo, we must be prepared to face opposition. True peacemakers must often disturb the status quo and face persecution in order to seek the greater good for all. There is no coincidence in the ordering of these beatitudes. Notice what comes next week, after peacemaking – blessed are those who are persecuted.
I will close with a prayer by a follower of Ghandi who lived in London in the 1950’s, during the tremendously difficult and tenuous rebuilding after World War II. Satish Kumar wrote this prayer for world peace:
“Lead (us) from death to life, from falsehood to truth,
lead (us) from despair to hope, from fear to trust,
lead (us) from hate to love, from war to peace,
let peace fill our hearts, our world, our universe.
Peace, peace, peace.”
So be it. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Todd Speed
Decatur Presbyterian Church
Decatur, Georgia
July 24, 2016
