Have you
ever noticed that when you listen to a politician, you can often figure out
which party they represent just by the things they talk about?
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Republicans:
reducing taxes, border security, traditional values, free markets, limited
government
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Democrats:
abortion rights, action on climate change, health care reform, clean energy,
infrastructure development.
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(And
sometimes they mean what they say!)
It might get
our attention these days when members of both parties stand together and
support a single issue, especially if they are critical of their party line. We
have certain expectations – maybe even stereotypes – of our political leaders
based on their party affiliation.
We have
expectations – maybe even stereotypes – of Jesus, too, and what we expect Him
to talk about. We might expect Jesus to talk about God’s love, forgiveness,
mercy, compassion, and peace, right? Are these themes Jesus spoke on? Of
course!
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Jesus’
ministry is one of peace – consider the prophecy of Isaiah 9:6 that we read at
Christmastime. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the
government will be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of … Peace.
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At
Jesus’ birth, the angels sang of His birth – “Glory to God in the highest and …
peace to his people on earth.”
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The
first word Jesus spoke to his disciples after he rose from the dead was … peace
be with you!
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This
is such an important part of the Christian faith that this message of peace
permeates our liturgy – we pass the peace, we sing the angels’ song, I say,
“The peace of the Lord be with you always,” and in the benediction, “The LORD
bless you and keep you … and give you … peace.”
This message
of peace is so consistent that our ears should perk up when we hear Jesus say
in our Gospel lesson, “Do you think that I have come to give peace on
earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” What’s going on here? Which
is it Jesus, did you come to bring peace, or not?
He did, but
the question is, who does Jesus make peace with? He makes peace between God and
sinners. He makes peace between God and … us … by removing the stumbling block,
by taking away the offense, by washing away the sin that separates us from God
with His blood.
If you go
back to Genesis 3 and read about God’s response to the first sin, one of the
things you will see is that God says that he will put enmity between us and his
enemy, the serpent. You could also translate that verse, “I will put hatred
between you … I will make you enemies.” If God has to make us enemies of his
enemy that must mean we were his enemy’s … friends. (Did you follow that?)
Sin is
rebellion against God. It is a declaration that we stand against God and His
will. We like to think of little sins and big sins – because for us, in our
relationships with one another, some sins are more hurtful than others. Murder
is worse than assault, which is worse than name-calling. But God is holy, and
all sin is repugnant to Him. It is all damnable, because it is all rebellion
against the one who created us to be embodiments of His love and a violation of
the holiness He made us for.
Jesus’ death
on the cross created peace between God and us because He took our sin into His
body – He was baptized to stand with sinners! – and He and our sins were nailed
to the cross like a public spectacle, and Jesus died, leaving our sins on that
cross.
So what
happens when we live in Jesus’ forgiveness as we relate to the world? Because
that forgiveness is a new life, a life that now seeks to love God and follow
His will. It is a life that delights in God’s commands and walks in His wisdom
instead of the world’s. What happens to our relationship with other sinners?
One of two
things – ideally, that peace will flow through us as we share the good news of
Jesus’ love and salvation with other and display God’s wisdom in our lives.
Jesus’ peace brings harmony and unity between those who trust in Him for
forgiveness! It’s a beautiful thing when we find sinners being reconciled – a
parent forgiven a child, a child forgiving a parent, someone who has been hurt
forgiving the one who harmed them. Reconciliation is beautiful! It is an act of
peace!
The other
thing that happens is that it brings division. When Christians live in Jesus’
love, we will find ourselves in conflict with sinners and this world that is
dominated by sin. We have a dramatic example of that in our congregation, don’t
we? Iftekhar was rejected and exiled from his family. It’s not always so painful,
but when you follow Jesus, there will be times of rejection. Jesus himself says
in Matthew 10:25 that we should expect to be treated like Him, and that means
being rejected because of Him. He also says that we are blessed when we are
persecuted for His name's sake and for the sake of the gospel.
And
sometimes we have this conflict within ourselves, don’t we? In Romans 7, Paul
talks about wanting to do good, but not doing it, but instead doing the evil we
detest. When we wrestle with our sinful nature, we can feel we truly lack peace
in so many ways. Except here we can return to forgiveness that God gives to us
over and over – through our baptism, through the announcement of forgiveness,
and through the Lord’s Supper.
Jesus says,
“I have come to cast fire on the earth.” It is the fire of God’s judgment against
all sin. It is a purging cleansing fire, and it is tied to his distressing work
– the work of bearing our sin. For those who believe in Him that moment is a
declaration of forgiveness and mercy, but for those who deny Jesus it is condemnation
for killing the Son of God.
This is a
hard reading, but we should not ignore it. It has been said that when Christ
calls us, He calls us to come and die just like Him. But with that comes a
promise that, just like Him, we shall rise from the dead. God’s peace is with
you, even when the world’s peace is not. Rest in that peace, find solace in it,
because the peace of Christ, which surpasses human understanding, will keep
your heart and mind at peace as we live through the division of this world.
Amen.
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