Sermon on July 11th, 2021 at Stockbridge Presbyterian Church
Psalm 85:8-13
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.[a]
9
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
11
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12
The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13
Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
When we think of peace it might bring us to serene and quiet times at a body of water or a mountaintop. Peace feels like something that is still and steady.
Scripture talks about that kind of peace, that is in creation, that is in ourselves, and that is in situations. I wonder, however, does peace look a little bit different in the kingdom of God? Is is still and steady? Is it slow?
God’s peace seems to be beyond a simple peace that in moments of serenity.
In 2 Kings Jehu kept offering peace and asked others to follow him but they were wary because of the destruction before him.
In Joshua a peace treaty and protection was made to the people.
In Job 22:21 it says, “Get along well with God and be at peace, from this something good will come to you.”
Then in the Gospels Luke is filled with greetings of peace. With Zechariah’s speech in Luke
With the angels proclaiming “Peace on Earth and Good will to humans.” When Jesus was guiding the disciples about entering homes of hospitality as they spread the word of Jesus is a blessing of Peace upon the house.” and at the Resurrection account of Jesus entering the house of scared disciples Jesus said, Peace be with you.”
And Paul proclaims in Romans that peace with God is through Jesus. In Colossians that peace is made with the world through the cross. And Phillippians 4:7 that we are granted through the Spirit a peace that surpasses all understanding.
We are a people that long for peace so it’s hard to think about Thanking God for Peace when it feels like we are experiencing anything but peace in the world.
My heart is broken once more for the people of Haiti. A good friend of mine is a mission co-worker there and has not been able to return to the country for the last 3 years for her safety. The unrest is wearing on the minds, bodies, and spirits of the people. Yet again all these factions are trying to gain power and the people are hurting.
What is peace for a people when their world is shattered?
We look to scripture to piece together our brokenness and see that peace has come, is coming, and will come through Jesus.
It is not something we attain on our own. It is slow moving and not steady.
There is the prospect of peace and there is hope for peace amongst nations, people groups, communities, families, homes, and even within self.
God’s peace might feel fleeting at times. It may feel next to impossible to feel peace in the midst of pain, suffering, doubt, fear in so many of our situations.
How many times have we thought like those who heard Jehu’s words of peace and followed only to have things pulled from under us.
How many times have leaders agreed on peace but it seems like only for a moment before tensions rise again.
How many times have our own bodies given us some moments of peace only to be hit hard again with the pain that feels like it is pulling us under.
I posted on the church’s facebook page a sticky note quote that I think holds true to peace and even to the words of Jesus speaking peace to the storm pushing in on the boat.
“Ships don’t sink because of the water around them, ships sink because of the water that gets in them! Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.”
Thinking about Isaiah 43:2 that says when you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.
Peace is something that isn’t something to attain without strife happening. In fact beyond moments of peace we can have a fullness of peace in Christ while the storms around us are still raging.
Those in war torn countries and high poverty can still have peace that comes from God.
People that are suffering physically, mentally, or emotionally can have peace in the midst of what is happening.
Thank God for peace. For fleeting moments and for a fullness of peace in a situation or life that is beyond our control.
All these scripture talk about how we are to greet one another with peace.
So what is God’s peace? We get a glimpse of what the characteristic is through Psalm 85.
Preacher Tom Bellinger stated that:
In verse 10, God’s unchanging love and trustworthiness come together to bring the community into right relationship with God and each other (i.e. righteousness). God’s righteousness brings peace. The personifications in verse 10 are worth quoting: “Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.”
Here, life is portrayed as a full, complete, and healthy life lived to the fullest in relationship with God as part of a community of faith. It is another way of describing peace — the Hebrew word is shalom.
Shalom is much more than the absence of war or conflict. It is a sense of well being. That kind of wholeness is centered on a life in the presence of God with which the psalm concludes. (Bellinger)
Thank you God for your peace that is stronger than the peace humanity tries to achieve time and time again. We can’t give up on the peace of the earth and we are called to strive for God’s peace through justice, righteousness, and reconciliation.
We can thank God for peace while also praying for peace to enter our lives, our communities, our world.
We can thank God for peace that has come in and through Jesus while still longing for justice to come to people, while yearning for pain to settle.
We can thank God for peace and greet one another with the peace of Christ even if there is discord because, in invoking God’s peace, unity and love can flourish.
So may God’s peace be with you. May you open yourselves to being thankful for peace that might open you up to the many times peace was happening around you.
As a closing prayer I share the words attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace. Thinking about how these words are ways of achieving peace of Christ in our lives and communities.
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. Amen.
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