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"The Things that Make for Peace"
The Traditional Advent themes that accompany the lighting of the Advent candles are Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Today we focus on peace. As Jesus came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:41-42) Ever since Cain murdered Abel, we have wept over violence and its tragedies, over wars of the spirit and wars of the body, over violent conflict between individuals and violent conflict between clans, tribes, nations, and alliances of nations. We have wept over wars diagnosed as “religious,” “ethnic,” or “racial.” We have wept over intense struggles between men and women, conservatives and liberals, poor and rich. We have wept because what makes for peace has been hidden from us, both from our eyes and from our hearts. We have not, for the most part, understood the message of peace well enough to make it the primary reality of our life together in this world. (Just Peacemaking, p. 5) There are, of course, many facets of peace: peace of mind, peace in families, peace between humans and God, peace among nations. It is this last—peace among nations—that I wish us to think together about today. This was not triggered by events of this past week. I had decided some months ago that on this second Sunday of Advent, with its emphasis on “peace,” that I would lead us in thinking together about this subject. (Now, one of our members at a Meet the Pastor event expressed the hope that I would not preach about politics, but would instead “stick to the Bible.” I gently asked, “Is it possible to preach the Bible without talking about politics?” That question is worth a sermon on its own, but for now let me just note that the Bible is perhaps the most radical book ever published. It contains over 2000 verses about how we treat the poor. The prophets were all about politics. Jesus himself was nailed to a cross as a political criminal. So if we are to be faithful to scripture and to our Lord—a political title—we need to bring biblical truths to the political issues of the day.) Ironically, “peacemaking” tends to be a very divisive word among people of faith. Let me just set some groundwork. Our Presbyterian Book of Order, quoting the Westminster Confession of Faith, says, “God alone is lord of the conscience.” Which means: you don’t have to agree with me. The Presbyterian Church does not teach “a single response to war (GA statement from 1969).” Sometime in the next year I hope to facilitate an adult ed. series of classes on the history of Christians and the use of violence. A varied history it is, from the complete pacifism of the first three centuries of the Church to Augustine’s just war theory to the far extreme of Crusades and Inquisition. Of course, each of us is profoundly influenced by the context in which we live. I have never served in the military. I am absolutely sure that if I had been a 20 year-old on December 7, 1941, the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, that I would have been down to the recruiting office on December 8. As it was, as a teen I gave serious thought to seeking an appointment to the US Naval Academy. Had I come of age a few years earlier I believe I would have done so. But the moral ambiguity of the Vietnam War led me in another direction. I have profound respect for those of you who have served in the military and those young men and women who currently serve and for the great sacrifices being made by their families as well. I love America very, very deeply. And I wish her to be the very best she can be. Peacemaking among nations is a huge subject which cannot be adequately addressed in one sermon. Today I offer some thinking points. Some signs of hope in a too-violent world. Most often when people talk about peace they mean simply the absence of war. Biblical “peace”—shalom—is a vastly richer word than simply the absence of war. Shalom is multi-faceted. It means no war, but also it means harmony with God, good relations with family and friends. Shalom means justice, being treated with dignity, economic opportunity and the resulting prosperity that occurs when all these are in play. As Jesus came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! What is the context for this? It comes immediately after his Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem in which the crowd calls “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” He knows what kind of king they expect and that they want. They want a military king to kill their Roman oppressors. As Jesus came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! Jesus had tried to show the people a different type of king. In his ministry Jesus spoke frequently on this subject: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Mt 5:9) “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Luke 6:31) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven…” (Mt 5:43-45a). Jesus had tried to show the people a different type of king. And he would continue to embody that different type of king right up through this Passion Week. In the Garden of Gethsemane, when the soldiers come to arrest him, one of those with Jesus draws a sword and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s slave. Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” Mt 26:51-53. Angels in scripture are fierce and terrifying creatures! Jesus could have called down twelve legions of angels to fight for him and I fear that had I been in his place that is what I would have done. But Jesus knew that true power is not through military might, but through suffering love. Jesus knew that true peace is not through crushing one’s enemies but through appeals to the heart. And the Resurrection was God’s giant “Yes” to the ways of Jesus. The heart of biblical peacemaking is this: Means and ends are inextricably linked. As Gandhi put it: “One cannot get to moral ends through immoral means.” As Pope Paul VI put it: “If you want peace, work for justice.” And as some anonymous person has noted, “Justice is the opposite of ‘just us.’” We often hear the phrase, “The end justifies the means.” But human history has shown that means and ends cannot be so easily separated. The end results inevitably grow out of the seeds planted in the means used. In a fallen world, conflict is inevitable. Too often, the nations of the world see only one way to respond: militarily. As has been wryly noted, “When the only tool n your toolbox is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” If military means brought lasting peace we would have had peace thousands of years ago. Means and ends. As A.J. Muste said, “There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.” Three Cups of Tea is the account of American Greg Mortenson’s efforts to build schools across the poverty-stricken reaches of Afghanistan. As you know, his mother, Jerene Mortenson, spoke at Oak Grove this fall. A very inspiring story. I thought one of the most fascinating things Jerene said was that in the villages where schools are built, the Taliban does not get a foothold. Schools produce a Taliban-free zone. I saw a wonderful bumper sticker this week: “Invest in Weapons of Mass Instruction.” The second fascinating—and hopeful—piece that Jerene shared is that the US folks responsible for our Afghanistan policy are now consulting with Greg Mortenson. The US military is on course to spend about $65 billion in Afghanistan this next year. That is more than the total military expenditures—not in Afghanistan—but total military budget of any other individual country in the world except China, who spends total about $85 billion on the military. How many schools, hospitals, clinics, microloans, wells--and good will--could $65 billion produce? As President Eisenhower, himself a five-star general, so famously noted, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” Terrorists feed off of ignorance, hunger, oppression, injustice. Let us go to root causes. “After all these years,” asks Erskine White, “are ‘the things that make for peace’ still a mystery to us? ‘Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8). Do not ‘oppress the poor’ (Amos 4:1) or ‘answer roughly the entreaties of the needy,’ (Proverbs 18:23) and do not acquire so much of God’s earth for ourselves that others are left without (Isaiah 5:8), for this bring resentment and rebellion.” Some of you have not liked this sermon at all. I hope that we can respectfully disagree with one another without it harming our personal relationship. Some of you did like it. You intend to shake my hand at the door and say, “Good sermon, Pastor!” But no sermon becomes good until the hearing of the word becomes the doing of the word. Don’t tell me it’s a good sermon unless you at the same time commit yourself to actively be a peacemaker, embodying God’s shalom: working to make peace with your family and your neighbors, writing letters to elected representatives, giving money--and your time--to organizations working for justice and peace, and finally, teaching your children and grandchildren to follow Jesus and not the ways of the world. Then and only then will this become a good sermon. To God be the honor and the glory and the praise, now and forever! Amen. |
