What Is Peace?

Proper 15C; Luke 12:49-56; St. Paul’s, Smithfield, NC, 8/18/2019 

Jim Melnyk: “What is Peace?”

As I’ve mentioned on other occasions, sometimes Jesus gives me theological whiplash! We call him “Prince of Peace” and talk a lot about mercy, grace, and forgiveness. But every now and then we have to stop and ask, “Wait a minute. What’s all this talk about Jesus bringing us peace? Look at what Jesus tells his disciples in today’s Gospel lesson, ‘Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!’ (Luke 12:51). Good grief! Jesus even says he comes to pit a son against his father and a daughter against her mother (Luke 12:53). What’s that all about?” In fact, in Matthew’s account of this exchange Jesus actually says he comes to bring a sword!

But Jesus also said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (John 14:27). In fact, I counted the use of the word “peace” in relationship to the mission and message of Jesus twenty-three times in the Gospels, and only twice did it refer to a lack of peace for God’s people; that being Luke’s and Matthew’s versions of Jesus proclaiming his coming with either fire or a sword. But that doesn’t mean we can ignore the two passages from Luke and Matthew.

I believe the question of peace or no peace comes down to, as many questions do, context. Did Jesus really come to set children against parents and in-laws against one another – and doesn’t that happen too often on its own without any need for help from Jesus? Or was Jesus using some form of “Holy Hyperbole” in those instances, never meaning to be taken literally but always meaning to be taken seriously? Considering figures of speech, perhaps Jesus’ purpose wasn’t to bring division or a sword, but Jesus certainly understood there’s no getting around the fact that living into his purpose – living into the Good News – will do just that.

It’s as if Jesus were saying to us, “If you follow me and my message of compassion and grace, my message of forgiveness and love, the world will be against you. If you follow my message of peace, you will not always experience peace in the way you might hope for – not because you’re a terrible sinner, but because this world is broken and it will fight any message of hope and love.” The peace of God, or, the Shalom of God –isn’t about absence of conflict. Rather, the Shalom of God – the peace of God – is about wholeness and hope even in the midst of conflict and trouble.

Contrary to a lot of modern-day evangelical Christianity, following Jesus was never meant to be about who gets into heaven and who doesn’t – or even about getting into heaven ourselves. Following Jesus is about bringing heaven to earth – here – now. Even the image painted by the author of Revelation doesn't proclaim a kingdom of God off in some distant heavenly realm. The heavenly city descends to this world – and all are welcome to enter through the gates!  The Kingdom of heaven is near! The Kingdom of heaven is upon you! The Kingdom of heaven is within you!

Truth be told: Christianity is a faith that’s meant to be lived out in the ditches of life. It is meant to be lived on the edges of society and with a willingness to challenge society when Gospel prerogatives are ignored by the people of God – and by “Gospel prerogatives” I mean loving God and loving our neighbor. Christianity is meant to be a “get down and dirty” expression of God’s love for humanity – of God’s love for all of creation. It’s true: following Jesus is meant to be a loving, caring way of life – that’s not news. But following Jesus isn’t necessarily meant to be a polite, excuse me please, response to the world.

St. Augustine described following Jesus as “one loving soul [setting] another on fire” (Synthesis, citation lost). Another theologian says, “Discipleship as outlined in [the] Gospel entails hearing the call of Jesus, and following him (9:9)…. But in today’s reading it is clear that the fallout from such obedience will not only turn the world upside down – it will also shatter familial loyalties and intimate connections in excruciating and threatening ways” (ibid). “I have not come to bring peace, but division – a sword.”

Billy Graham once said, “It is unnatural for Christianity to be popular.” I think he was right. When we’re actively living out our Baptismal Calling – worship and prayer, confession and repentance, living and proclaiming, seeking and serving, working for justice and peace, respecting the dignity of EVERY human being – when we’re actively living out these vows, there is bound to be a world of discomfort around us – and sometimes – probably many times – even within us.

When we choose to take vocal and active stands for justice, mercy, compassion, and human dignity as did Jesus, life will most likely take a challenging turn. There’s a different sense of fulfillment that comes from standing in the trench, from thinking outside the box, or from coloring outside the lines – and that fulfillment is called by some the peace of God which passes all human understanding.

Jesus calls it a sword that divides. The Hymnist proclaims, “The peace of God it is no peace, but strife closed in the sod” (William Alexander Percy, hymn 661, The Hymnal 1982). And still the hymnist insists, “Yet let us pray for but one thing – the marvelous peace of God!” As Christians – as those who claim the name of Christ – we are to pray for just such a peace in our lives – as crazy as that sounds. This is what it means to take up the cross and follow Christ – realizing that in doing so we may well find ourselves separated from family and friends, from those who hold political power over us, or even from members of our own faith communities – not because Jesus wants us to be separated, but because there are people who want to see those who are different from them excluded from the kingdom. The hard truth is that not everyone welcomes Good News if it involves letting go of ourselves and letting God step into our midst.

Author and theologian C.S. Lewis offers an insight about Christ through one of his fictional characters, the Great Lion Aslan. When the children in his tale ask if Aslan is safe the reply startles them. “Course he isn’t safe, he’s a lion! But he’s good.” Aslan, Lewis loves to point out, is never safe – he’s not a tame lion by any means. Likewise, Lewis tells us, Jesus is not a tame Messiah – nor a safe Messiah for that matter – but he’s good.

When we share in the mission of Jesus – whether by standing up to racism and hatred, crying out against gun violence in places like Dayton, El Paso, or Philadelphia, fighting the root causes of poverty, denouncing children kept in cages, or giving a cup of cold water to a little one in the name of Jesus – whether it’s in our own community or in the wastelands at our southern border – when we share in the mission of Jesus, we share in the cross – which is anything but safe.  It also means that we choose to face with Christ and challenge anything which would rob the world of God’s love.

That world – and sometimes even the church – tries to bend the cross to its own purpose: to separate, to punish, to label, and to cast out – even to kill and destroy in the name of God. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., echoing many times the words of 19th century abolitionist and Unitarian minister Theodore Parker, preached: “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. The arc is a long one. My eye reaches but little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by experience of sight. I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure [that while the arc of the moral universe is long] it bends toward justice.” (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129609461).

In other words, Jesus – the Christ of God whom the world can never tame – has bent the cross to God’s purpose: To stand against hatred and oppression – to stand for justice, to stand for truth, and to stand for mercy – to stand for righteousness, for hope, and for grace. If the cross of Christ does not proclaim the love of God, it has been corrupted! If the cross of Christ does not proclaim forgiveness, freedom, and hope – if it does not proclaim the promised dream of God – if it does not proclaim the mercy and love of God for all people – it is not the cross of Christ!

Is following Christ a safe, comfortable, or entertaining proposition? Hardly – if we are true to the call. “Do not think I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but division – a sword.” Is this Jesus we read about and hope to follow safe? Of course he isn’t safe – he’s the Son of the Living God. But he is good. And that’s what makes him worth following.