My Peace I give to you
Sermon by Manfred Schreyer
Visitor:
“My peace I give to you / Ma paix je vous donne” (John 14:27)
Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father
will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear
is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the
Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach
you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 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.
You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you
loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the
Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so
that when it does occur, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with
you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; but I
do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love
the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.” (New Revised Standard Version)
Pastor:
We seldom pray for that which does not involve us; and we pray most
fervently for that which concerns us deeply, that which touches upon the
people and the world we know. And yet prayer also expands the human heart.
Saint Isaac the Syrian speaks of the merciful heart as one which burns with
great compassion for all people, for every created thing. Gripped by a
“strong and vehement mercy”, a compassion “without measure in the likeness
of God”, such a heart offers up prayer from the midst of all suffering,
offers up prayer even for those who do one harm, for “enemies of the truth”
(Homily 81).Today’s world needs such expansive merciful hearts, such prayer
rising from the midst of the groans of humanity, of the whole created world.
May our ministry of prayer during this special week spill over into a life
of common ministry and service, and a year-long spiritual journey towards
that unity which only the Holy Spirit can give.
"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."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
April 16, 1953
• To have Unity Sunday and pray about peace is a reminder of our current
situation we face daily with Iraq.
• The issue has brought division among the people of this nation. Some take
political advantage of the current satiation, some economic, some even take
theological advantage of the situation.
• I have preached about war and the consequences numerous times in this
church. And if there was ever a foundation of our denomination, it was the
understanding that we, The Church of the Brethren” stand for peace and we
will make ourselves strong for peace. We are indeed one of the two
historical peace churches in the World . . . and unfortunately they (we)
remain the only two in the world.
• We believe that any sort of violence is a great sin. That it is a
separation from us and God and we do not accept that there is a ‘just war’
under any circumstances.
• But we are also faced with the dilemma of how to deal with tyrants like
Saddam and others. Do we allow those individuals to continue to kill and
abuse human life?
• In my conversations with other church leaders it becomes clear that all of
them want peace. Every human being wants peace in their life, because only
peace seems to be the state which we know feels right. When I talk to other
parishioners of other denominations and I explain to them who the Church of
the Brethren is, that we stand for peace, they always reply:. . .”we do to.”
• But to tell you the truth, only the Church of the Brethren has survived
and has made a stand for peace since the early 18th century. Some of our
Brothers and Sisters in the world have denounced war by personal sacrifice,
they have given their life for peace because the words of Jesus Christ
reminded them of Truth. Christ said:
Blessed are the peace makers,
they will be called sons and daughters of God.
• Why is it so hard to keep the peace and to be strong for peace?
• Plato once told the story of a caveman who sits tied up with his hand in a
cave facing the cave wall. He is not able to see beside him, he is not able
to look behind him, he is just able to look straight ahead. Behind the man
is the opening of the cave where light shines in and on occasion someone is
walking behind him and the cave opening. The man only sees the shadow on the
cave wall and therefore believes that that is the reality . . . name it the
truth. But really that is not so. If he would be able to look behind him, he
would recognize the person who is walking . . . and would realize that that
indeed is the truth.
• It is almost similar with war. We as the human race have become so custom
to the idea that if we are not able to get what we want we use violence as a
resource to get what we want.
• And when we do so and it works, then we keep this experience and it is
manifested within humanity as a successful, valuable resource.
• Now, this may work for a good and moral cause the argument may be, but the
fact is that violence is also used by the other side (the side which maybe
immoral, who does not hold the ‘truth”) and they may also win . . . and then
the story looks a little different.
• So you see, to reach true peace in life is never achieved by oppressing
others to “make them believe” because we are stronger.
• But we cannot get the idea out of our mind that war is the only way to
reach “our truth”
• Allow me to give you an example: I would like to close your eyes. I would
like for you to think of an elephant. Think of a large elephant . . . very
large. Please think of a white elephant. A large white elephant. (Pause) Now
I would like for you to think that this elephant has pink dots. Can you see
him in your mind? And now I would like for you to think that the elephant is
passing through a large river. . . .Can you imagine it?
• Open your eyes. If I would now ask you to forget the mental image I just
painted for you, you would be unable to do so. This image will always be
with you. I gave it to you. Even if I tell you to forget the image NOW . . .
you would not be able to do so. If I would tell you this story every day and
reinforce the picture I gave you in your mind, that image would always be in
front of you and you would claim it.
• You see that is exactly what happened with the issue of war and the way we
think of it. We have claimed it! We have claimed it as a method to truth!
• We have not tried any other way. We think we have, but deep in our mind is
the white elephant . . . knowing that we can utilize the means of war to
reach our agenda. We meaning the human race.
• Imagine just for a second if we would NOT know about the resource of
violence as a means to seek the upper hand. Can you imagine in what way we
could further our understanding?
• Let me hear from you right now, what would be the possibilities, if we
would not have the resource of war?
• What do you believe would have changed in your life?
• (congregation members will give
responses)
• So we know the possibilities. And in a way we are slowly trying to look
behind us as we sit in the cave. And we can see a person walking behind us .
. . referencing the story of Plato.
• I am not naive to believe that the world will take hold of the idea that
we can live a life of peace. But we as the Church of the Brethren have made
an historical stand of the possibilities that Jesus Christ Himself has
offered us.
• I like the words from Luke as he recorded the arriving of Jesus, our
Savior:
(Luke 1:76-79 NIV) And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the
Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
{77} to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness
of their sins, {78} because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the
rising sun will come to us from heaven {79} to shine on those living in
darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of
peace."
(Mat 5:3-14 NIV)
"Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. {4} Blessed are those who
mourn, for they will be comforted. {5} Blessed are the meek, for they will
inherit the earth. {6} Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled. {7} Blessed are the merciful, for
they will be shown mercy. {8} Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will
see God. {9} Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of
God. {10} Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. {11} "Blessed are you when people insult
you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of
me. {12} Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in
the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. {13} "You are
the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be
made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out
and trampled by men. {14} "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill
cannot be hidden.
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