Sermon
12/3/17
Mark
13:24-37, Isaiah 11:1-10
Peace:
All Is Calm, All Is Bright
“Silent
night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon’ virgin mother and
child. Holy infant, so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in
heavenly peace.”
This
week, I read news stories about North Korea testing a missile that perhaps
could reach across the whole of the United States.
This
week, I spoke with a colleague in ministry who had, like all churches in our
conference, received from our church insurance company information about how to
respond in an active shooter situation. She was trying to figure out how to
respond to anxious parishioners and yet not get caught up in spending all of
their ministry time on creating safety plans.
This
week, we’ve continued to hear stories from people who have experienced sexual
assault and harassment, as the actions, sometimes over decades, of men in
positions of power have been uncovered.
This
week, I saw more than one story of a young person – in one story 13, in the
other 10 – who took their life because of the relentless bullying they were
experiencing.
This
week – I’m sure we could add more to the list. Pain. Violence. Anger. War.
Aggression. Suffering.
And
in the midst of it, we sing: “Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is
bright. Round yon’ virgin mother and child. Holy infant, so tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.”
Today
is the Second Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of peace. Are we naïve? Are we,
people of faith, followers of Jesus, foolish for talking about peace? Do we
mean it, when we talk about peace? Is peace only something that happens “by and
by” at some far off future time, out of our control, out of sight and out of
mind? Sometimes, it seems like the news is always bad. Talking about peace
seems like just that – talk. It feels ridiculous.
And
today, the gospel of Mark seems to agree. Every Advent in the lectionary cycle,
usually on the very first Sunday, although we’ve switched our weeks around a
little bit, there’s a text like this one, that welcomes us to Advent with doom
and gloom and foreboding. Right before our passage for today, Jesus is telling
the disciples about the kinds of things they might encounter as followers of
Jesus. He says, “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed;
this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in
various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the
birthpangs. As for yourselves, beware; for they will hand you over to councils;
and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and
kings because of me, as a testimony to them.” Jesus says, with no regard for
those of us who will one day read these words from the North Country of New
York: “Pray that it may not be in winter.”[1] In such a context, in
those days, at that “kairos” time, God’s right time to act, Jesus will come
again to earth, he says in today’s text. No one knows the day or hour, not the
angels, not Jesus himself. Only God, creator of all that is knows. And what are
we to do about this? “Keep alert,” Jesus says, “for you do not know when the
time will come.” He compares the situation to slaves of a household needing to
make sure that things are always ready for the master of the house who might
arrive home at any time. You don’t want to be caught asleep, he says. He
concludes: “And what I say I say to you all: Keep awake.” Well, that sounds
exhausting, and a little frightening, and certainly not peaceful at all, does
it?
And
yet, Jesus arrives into the world heralded by angels who are proclaiming peace
on earth in the skies. Some of Jesus’ first words after the resurrection are
words of peace to the disciples who have been fearfully hiding away. And when
Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit that is our advocate and strength, Jesus says
that he also leaves us with peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to
you.” We heard from the prophet Isaiah this morning his vision of a messiah who
brings about such radical change to the world that the wolf and the lamb become
friends, and a child can play with a snake without fear. How do we reconcile
these words of peace with these anxiety-filled words we hear in Mark’s gospel?
How do we talk about peace when we feel so afraid? How can we imagine peace in
the world when it feels like there is danger all around us?
Some
of my favorite books, as you know, are The
Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. In the first book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,
the four main characters, siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy find
themselves in the magical world of Narnia. They’re eating at the home of Mr.
and Mrs. Beaver, and the beavers are telling them about their hope that Aslan
will return soon. Aslan is the Christ-figure in the books. The children ask the
beavers who Aslan is. The beavers answer, “Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the
great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man.
Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.” "Safe?"
said Mr. Beaver, "Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But
he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”[2]
Peace and
safety aren’t the same things, much as we’d like them to be. We’re not called
to safety though friends. We’re called to be disciples who walk in the ways of
peace. When I read in Mark that we’re meant to be prepared, awake, and alert, I
think this is what it means to pursue
peace, not as a passive state of mind that we can achieve when we hide
ourselves away, or protect ourselves from all harm. I think being prepared,
awake, and alert is what happens when we actively work to create a space for peace,
when we cultivate peace, when we pursue peace with the ways we live in the
world. Cultivating peace is being always
ready to receive the Christ, God-with-us into our hearts and our world, again
and always again.
I asked online
this week for people to share with me their ideas about whether peace was
possible and how we might actively cultivate peace, and I got a lot of
wonderful responses.[3] I want to share a few of
them with you. Several folks commented on peace starting with our own
hearts and spirits. One wrote, “All peace starts with inner peace. If you don’t
have a peaceful heart you will only add to the chaos of the world even if you
think you are out to do good.” Another said, “Peace is that quietness in your
spirit when you know you are well with the Lord. Then you share it with
everyone you meet.” One of our own here, Danielle Atria wrote, “I believe that
peace is possible to achieve. Things around us are going to happen, it’s all in
how we choose to react that can create peace.” Another wrote, “I have always
felt that we cannot have peace on earth until we have peace among nations; and
we cannot have peace among nations until we have peace within the nations; we
can’t peace within our nations until we have peace amongst our people; we can’t
have peace amongst our people until we have peace within our families; and we
can’t have peace within our families until we have peace within our own hearts
that only Jesus can bring."
Part of cultivating peace in the world is cultivating peace in our hearts. It can be tempting to do that by trying to tune the rest of the world out, shutting ourselves off from others. When I was little, if I didn’t like something my mother was saying to me, I would cover my ears and say, “I can’t hear you!” Sometimes I think that’s our peace strategy! I don’t think that that’s the way of Jesus, though. He never tuned others out. Instead, he tuned in even more deeply, listening to others, hearing their pain and struggle, opening his heart, pouring himself out for others, looking and acting always with compassion. Having the peace of Christ in our hearts means trying to make as much room in our hearts for Jesus to take up residence as we possibly can. We do that by a commitment to prayer, by studying God’s word, and by living by Jesus’ example as much as we can.
Two other responses I got to my questions about peace really stuck with me. My friend Rachael wrote: “Calls for peace can make me weary... peace is beautiful, but not passive acceptance of a harmful status quo. Inner peace is amazing, but not uncritical denial of ways we can grow. Social peace is essential, but not calls for civility that ask the already suffering to ignore history and identity to make the privileged feel comfortable. Of course we must strive for peace in all things, but that striving must be accompanied with vigilant work toward justice and righteousness.” Whether she knows it or not, Rachael is channeling the prophet Isaiah. In his beautiful vision of peace, the world he describes comes about because the messiah comes clothed in righteousness, seeking justice for the poor and equity for the meek. To cultivate peace, we have to work for righteousness, justice and peace for those who have had no such experience. To cultivate peace, we have to be ready to put ourselves on the line for others. That’s what my friend Harold wrote. He’s a pastor at the United Methodist Church in Dryden. He said, “Yes! Peace is possible, but those who would bear the burden of being called peacemakers, the ones who give their lives to help others be reconciled to God, must be ready to suffer. Through their poverty others may grow abundantly alive.” What would you be willing to give so that others might experience abundant life? So that others know peace?
And so, I think Jesus’s words in the gospel of Mark aren’t a call to fear and anxiety, where our best course of action is to put our heads in the sand or lock ourselves away from it all. Jesus is calling us to be awake, be alert, be ready, because peacemaking is hard work, and we need as many laborers working for peace as we can get. This Advent, friends, and always, let’s not wait for peace to drop into our laps. Instead, let’s grow peace: cultivating it, tending it, watering it, sharing it. How will you be a peacemaker?
And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake. Amen.
Part of cultivating peace in the world is cultivating peace in our hearts. It can be tempting to do that by trying to tune the rest of the world out, shutting ourselves off from others. When I was little, if I didn’t like something my mother was saying to me, I would cover my ears and say, “I can’t hear you!” Sometimes I think that’s our peace strategy! I don’t think that that’s the way of Jesus, though. He never tuned others out. Instead, he tuned in even more deeply, listening to others, hearing their pain and struggle, opening his heart, pouring himself out for others, looking and acting always with compassion. Having the peace of Christ in our hearts means trying to make as much room in our hearts for Jesus to take up residence as we possibly can. We do that by a commitment to prayer, by studying God’s word, and by living by Jesus’ example as much as we can.
Two other responses I got to my questions about peace really stuck with me. My friend Rachael wrote: “Calls for peace can make me weary... peace is beautiful, but not passive acceptance of a harmful status quo. Inner peace is amazing, but not uncritical denial of ways we can grow. Social peace is essential, but not calls for civility that ask the already suffering to ignore history and identity to make the privileged feel comfortable. Of course we must strive for peace in all things, but that striving must be accompanied with vigilant work toward justice and righteousness.” Whether she knows it or not, Rachael is channeling the prophet Isaiah. In his beautiful vision of peace, the world he describes comes about because the messiah comes clothed in righteousness, seeking justice for the poor and equity for the meek. To cultivate peace, we have to work for righteousness, justice and peace for those who have had no such experience. To cultivate peace, we have to be ready to put ourselves on the line for others. That’s what my friend Harold wrote. He’s a pastor at the United Methodist Church in Dryden. He said, “Yes! Peace is possible, but those who would bear the burden of being called peacemakers, the ones who give their lives to help others be reconciled to God, must be ready to suffer. Through their poverty others may grow abundantly alive.” What would you be willing to give so that others might experience abundant life? So that others know peace?
And so, I think Jesus’s words in the gospel of Mark aren’t a call to fear and anxiety, where our best course of action is to put our heads in the sand or lock ourselves away from it all. Jesus is calling us to be awake, be alert, be ready, because peacemaking is hard work, and we need as many laborers working for peace as we can get. This Advent, friends, and always, let’s not wait for peace to drop into our laps. Instead, let’s grow peace: cultivating it, tending it, watering it, sharing it. How will you be a peacemaker?
And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake. Amen.
