Peace of Christ
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27
Dear Friends,
I’m writing this to you early – 9 days early, actually – with no idea what we awoke to this morning, let alone went to bed with last night. But given nature of the last decade or more, and how politics have seemingly infiltrated nearly every aspect of our culture, I’m fairly certain that a good portion of us are disappointed, frustrated, fearful and possibly angry at the outcome (presuming there is yet a clear outcome).
But I felt compelled to share a message that was… outside of time, so to speak. A message that wasn’t prompted by any perceived immediate thrill of victory or dismay of defeat. A message that is therefore for all of us, regardless of our political preference, our actions or even our voting ability (reminder that I actually can’t vote – the best I can do is sit back and pray). With federal, statewide and local elections happening all at once, there’s also a good chance that someone you voted for, or liked, won their race… and someone else lost. And as a Bengals fan, I’m well acquainted with losing.
This election, and really the last several cycles, have felt like do-or-die moments. The fear and anxiety, from seemingly every corner, has been ratcheted up to a level that would make an Alfred Hitchcock film feel peaceful. The only way you can escape hearing about it is to lock your cell phone in a black box, turn off the television and power down your computers and tablets, leave your newspaper in the mailbox and don’t exit your front door because you will run into ten yard signs before seeing another human being.
And I honestly doubt, that even if a clear outcome has been decided by now, that the fear and anxiety that has been pumped into our culture will somehow, miraculously dissipate, regardless of which outcome it is.
So to you, to me, and to all of us, I offer a word and a perspective that is outside of time and not in anyway dependent on what just happened…
Peace.
Jesus offered that word to his disciples on the heels of a scary and tumultuous time – his brutal public execution – which following his resurrection, was about to be followed up by his leaving them. Joyful as they were about him being alive, they would have remained perplexed about his need to leave – after all, hadn’t he just won the victory over death, the greatest power known to humanity?
So sandwiched into this moment is Jesus offer of peace. Something different, something greater than merely the absence of war that the Roman Empire had made their signature mark.
No, Jesus was offering a peace that was rooted in himself, in the knowledge that even that “great power” death, wasn’t really all that great. Jesus was offering a peace that put everything – their fear of their enemies, their fear of the religious and political authorities, their fear of missing out, losing out, being left behind – that none of those fears were necessary. In light of the deeper truth of what Jesus had just done, and his offer of it to them, there was now, no real reason to fear the unraveling of their lives, their hopes and dreams, their community, or any of it.
That’s the kind of peace that we all need today.
A peace that is not stuck in a moment, or based on the actions of an individual or group of people, or the might of a bank account or army – a peace that is rooted in Jesus. A peace that… to quote Hamilton, the Musical, “empires rise, empires fall, we have seen each other through it all” – whether this American Experiment and our current western culture survives or not… is not really the point. Because the Christian Church, founded on Jesus Christ, not on Caesar, has seen the rise and fall of the Roman, Byzantine, Habsburg, Ottoman, Spanish, Russian, British, and over a 100 other known empires the world over since Christ’s resurrection. And still, Christ reigns as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And still… he offers us his peace.
Regardless of what happened, is happening, or will happen in this country – Jesus offers us to receive, in our hearts, in our homes and into our communities, his peace which is real and true and available to us now.
Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus – as we receive his peace,
Pastor Don