The Quandary of Peace

Irene is a beautiful name. It is derived from the Greek word “eirene” which means “peace”. We have just come out of the season in which we Christians celebrated the birth of the Prince of Peace. Sorrowfully we have entered a new year in which we find little peace being trumpeted in the headlines, within nations, or between nations.

Like all the far wiser people who have lived among us, I have no generally accepted solution for the plight mankind faces. Following the biblical story, we have known rage, jealousy, conflict, and senseless murder from the second and third generations of our ancestors. Even that was born from the rebellion of the first humans who refused to accept the obedience commanded by their Creator. (Genesis 2-4)

As a follower of Jesus Christ and a believer that man bears a fallen nature, I do not see a world at peace before the return of the Prince of Peace. Man cannot create an era of peace by his own power. He cannot create a Christian century no matter what century. His own power craves more power over nature and over his fellow creatures. Such an addiction will allow for no peace. There can only be control and domination.

Is there no hope whatsoever then for experiencing that divine trait of peace? Yes, there is hope, but it is not a hope offered by the world. It is only offered by the Prince of Peace.

Joh 14:27  "Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.

The uniqueness of the peace Jesus offers is best seen in its origin, a transformation by his forgiveness, grace, and love; and its central location, within the hearts of individuals. Jesus comes to individuals and makes an offer of a personal relationship. He forces nothing. He rejects fear as a method and relies solely on love and the promise of grace.

He does this though he knows the world will have no patience for those who come to him in this fashion. The world will use its own methods to reclaim what it has lost.

Mat 5:10-12  "Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them! Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you are my followers. Be happy and glad, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. This is how the prophets who lived before you were persecuted.

Mat 5:43-45  "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your friends, hate your enemies.' But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil.

Jesus is under no illusion that his ways will be acceptable to the world. His kind of peace forces people to make decisions if they are to follow his standards and seek his goals, both of which are contrary to the aims of a world ruled by greed and a lust for power. His sword takes the form of an unbending obedience to God’s path of love.

Mat 10:34-36 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. No, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I came to set sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law; your worst enemies will be the members of your own family.

The Apostle Paul’s solution is to accept this as the course of events which will follow anyone who is determined to serve the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, instead of the evil powers of this earthly realm.

Rom 14:19 So then, we must always aim at those things that bring peace and that help strengthen one another.

Shalom – More Than Peace

In Amy Grant’s Christmas carol for our day and time, she says that all she needs is a silent night with peace and quiet in the midst of all the chaos and noise of the season. It only takes one night of pre-Black Friday shopping or a day of fighting the lingering crowds and traffic on Black Friday for all of us to recognize the validity of her wish. Here in the United States where the commercial side of Christmas has become a national pastime and an economic salvation, the thought of a time filled with peace and quiet is nearly a fantasy.

Regardless of what else was going on in the Roman Empire at the time, Christians chose to celebrate the birth of their Savior, the Divine Child, in the latter days of December. Little about the story in Luke 2 lends itself to this date, but lacking any other tradition with substantial support, December 25 is perhaps as good a date as any to mark the miraculous interruption of human history by the birth of a Child that was fully God and fully man.

The Bible is filled with titles for this God-man, one of the most explanatory being Emmanuel, “God with us”. Because of our rebellion against God’s plan for mankind, he saw we would never be good enough to match his standards. So he came to us to meet those standards for us. Leave it to a loving and compassionate God to complete the plan his creation could not.

In a world known more for its cruelty than its acts of kindness, more for its hatred than its love, more for its conflict than its peace, we need to stop and consider one of the titles of this Savior-Child, this Christ Child, was Prince of Peace. The prophet Isaiah shares this word from God,

Isa 9:6 A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, "Wonderful Counselor," "Mighty God," "Eternal Father," "Prince of Peace."

That last one has been the most significant for me through the years. It pairs up well with the New Testament title for the Savior, the Good Shepherd. The other three titles in the prophecy of Isaiah carry their own unique sense of power and majesty. The role of a prince may also entail power, but this title combines the idea of power with the quality of peace. This is no prince noted for his use of war and violence.

The Hebrew word used in this title for the Prince of Peace is shalom, a term with which many are familiar as a greeting or farewell address. There is the sense of peace as we understand it in this title. It is also much more.

There is the force of completeness, of wholeness, and of wellness. The sense of peace this Prince will bring affects the total person. In this peace a person is at peace with the inner soul. The person is at peace with outer circumstances. The person knows a contentment which is independent of material and physical needs.

In the last hours he spent with his disciples, Jesus gave them a precious gift, peace. The gospel writer John records,

Joh 14:27 "Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.

This gift was not something to be earned by man, created by man, or demanded by man. It was a gift given by God to those who had surrendered their conflict and warfare to the Prince. In the same vein as the Hebrew shalom, the Greek eirene meant a total peace and contentment regardless of surrounding circumstances.

The Prince of Peace, Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, was born that man in conflict with God and himself would have the opportunity to know peace, deep peace, healing peace. Christmas is all about peace between God and man.

Stretch ‘Em Out Wide

Mat 11:28  "Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.

Mat 11:29  Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest.

Mat 11:30  For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light."

With these words Jesus opened the gates of heaven to anyone who was willing to admit who they were, confess their inability to do it all on their own, and accept what he was offering. To be only a three-letter word, “all” makes a lot of things possible for us through the love and sacrifice of Christ we would otherwise miss.

This last weekend concluded a two-week golf tournament known as the US Golf Kids World Championships. Nearly fifty foreign countries were represented along with forty-nine states. Only Alaska went without a representative. This was a tournament in which everyone was welcome. Of course you had to make it through all the preliminary rounds played around the world, but if you made the lowest score, you were welcome regardless of nation, color of skin, or family traditions.

Jesus gives an invitation to join him that is open to all. His invitation can be accepted by anyone. He has not set any kind of pre-existing conditions about who is receiving the invitation. He has not limited it to people of a certain race or nationality or physical condition. He offers rest to anyone who will see him as who he is, the One who can give rest and relief.

Unlike the golf tournament, there are no preliminary rounds in which one must succeed to be welcomed into the presence of Christ. We can all come as we are and be accepted. Acceptance by Jesus depends not upon what we can do, but upon the place we are willing to give him in our lives.

What Jesus asks is that we become like him. We are to take his yoke and put it upon our shoulders, allowing it to dictate what our lives will be. We are to learn from him. We become the students while he remains the Master Teacher. We do not make him fit our desires. In being fitted to his yoke, we become transformed into his nature.

The rest we find comes from allowing him to carry the load. We find rest as we conform to his ways instead of fighting him as we seek to be acceptable in the eyes of the world. We find the rest that no conflict in this world can destroy as we allow the Master of the yoke to give guidance, teach the acceptable pattern of life, and carry the heaviest of our burdens.

In the Gospel of John we find a longer word that means the same thing as “all”.

Joh 3:16  For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. (my emphasis)

“Everyone who believes” is welcome to come and find the rest Jesus has promised. Is there a qualification to receiving this eternal life? Yes, it is a thing called belief. Is there a qualification to receiving the rest Jesus has offered? Yes, it is called taking his yoke upon our shoulders. To be a part of the “all” and “everyone” to whom the invitation is extended, we must come with honest and humble hearts that can receive the offer.

A short story goes in some fashion as this: I asked Jesus how much he loved me. He said, “This much,” and he stretched out his arms and died. He stretched his arms wide enough to take in the world, all the world and everyone who would believe. He bids us to welcome others in the same way.

Peace to You

According to the Fourth Gospel, when Jesus first appeared to his disciples in the locked room after his resurrection, he said simply, “Peace to you.” (John 20:19) After such a series of momentous events, it would seem other words would have been at least as appropriate. I can imagine lines like, “Hey guys, surprise! I’m back!” or “Why the long faces? This was just a temporary interlude in the greater plan!” Perhaps even, “Victory, everyone! Bring out the fish and chips and let the party begin!”

In reality the disciples didn’t need a party or a theological lesson on the eternal plans of God. They needed what the Risen Lord gave them, peace. In the previous eight days they had gone from the high of a celebration as they entered Jerusalem through Jesus’ claim over the Jewish Temple to a memorable supper that stated out joyful and ended in grief and blame until they were finally the audience to their own failures, the trial and crucifixion of Jesus, and his death and burial. No wonder Jesus offered them peace. They were emotional and spiritual wrecks, afraid of the Jewish authorities and ashamed of themselves.

Jesus offered them peace. Perhaps it was a matter of perspective. Sample headlines from around the world reveal concern over the Ebola virus getting out of Africa and Russia testing illegal missiles. There is conflict in Ukraine and Nigeria. There is chaos on our border with Mexico and there are refugees caught in the war between Syria and a variety of rebels. Israel and Hamas continue their fighting, and Kim Jung Un says he and North Korea are prepared to take on the world if they should threaten him.

That’s today. The first disciples faced Jews who wanted all followers of Jesus dead. They lived in an Empire that asked only for taxes and obedience, but woe to anyone who refused either. In case of famine, you moved or starved. In case of disease, you hoped for the best. In the east the Parthians stopped Roman expansion in that direction and in the north the Germanic tribes were a thorn in the Roman flesh. As many as one out of every three people on the Italian peninsula was a slave. (Ancient History Encyclopedia) The rough times were hard to escape.

Jesus came to those first disciples and offered peace. In the midst of all this potential pain and suffering, Jesus offered peace. Perhaps it was and remains a matter of perspective. I remember an episode in which I hit someone’s thumb with a hammer while building a porch. His kind and generous words were, “Don’t worry. It’ll stop hurting tomorrow!” Peace can be a matter of perspective.

Some of us see pain and suffering in the moment to be ended by healing or the inevitability of death. Historians give us a bigger picture and help us see the human condition across the great sweep of time. Then Jesus shows up in the middle of all this chaos and say, “Peace to you.” It is a matter of perspective.

God calls us to see our moments, our lives, and history itself from his perspective. We are born, but life existed before us. We live and die, and life will go on after us. Time began with creation and time as we know it will cease when the created order also ceases. Yet God was here before the beginning of time and he will continue after the created order is finished. He tells us to be at peace. He asks us to see things from his perspective.

In the book of Hebrews, the writer says,

“To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith allows us to go beyond the five physical senses and see the world and time in which it exists from a new perspective. That is what Jesus was offering his disciples, a different perspective on what they were experiencing. They were being invited to see events from the heavenly Father’s perspective. Only from there could they find peace.