"Instruments of Peace"

Sermon by Pastor David Layman

April 22, 2007

Ephesians 2:11-22, Acts 9:10-20

Thanks to the choir for their beautiful version of St. Francis of

Assisi's prayer: "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace." Our

readings follow this same theme. The Apostle Paul was born a Jew and he

was proud of it. Unlike Jesus, Paul did not live most of his life in

Palestine, but was one of many Jews of the diaspora, scattered

throughout the Roman Empire. As a Jew from Tarsus, (in modern day

Turkey), Paul knew what it was like to be a minority. Paul was himself a

Pharisee, a small but influential group within Judaism that prided

itself in a strict observance of the Old Testament law. The Pharisees

were anything but lax people who easily accommodated themselves to

non-Jewish surroundings. Pharisees were Jews who were more strict and

separatist than the average Jew. Imagine in the state of Indiana, that

you grew up in Bloomington, and were a rabid IU fan. Yet you felt a

calling to become an engineer. Your parents tried to talk you into

attending Rose Hulman, or Georgia Tech, anywhere but Purdue. You decided to go to Purdue, but assured your parents that, regardless of the fact you would be studying at Purdue, you would remain loyal to the glory of old IU. To prove your point, you wear a Cream and Crimson sweatshirt to class every day in West LaFayette, and set your cell phone to play the

IU fight song. Purdue's Golden Girl develops a crush on you, but you

continue to be faithful to your sweetheart at IU. That's the kind of

Pharisee the Apostle Paul was. Tarsus was like West LaFayette, but Paul

didn't let that stop him from being a true-blue Jew!

The Pharisees emphasized how they were distinct and superior to

non-Jews. But when the risen Christ met Paul on the road to Damascus,

Paul became a true-blue follower of Jesus the Christ. God spoke to

Ananias in a vision, telling him to lay his hands on Paul so that Paul

would regain his sight. The Lord said to Ananias, "[Paul] is an

instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel." (Acts 9:15) Paul was called to be an

instrument of Christ's peace, bringing the good news of Jesus to

Gentiles (non-Jews) as well as Jews. This was an amazing calling, for

orthodox Jews at that time were distinct, and had no more dealing with

non Jews than was necessary.

When Paul wrote the Ephesians, many of them Gentiles, Paul reminds them that Jesus "Is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between

us." (Eph. 2:14). In the Jerusalem temple was a dividing wall,

separating the outer court where Gentiles (non-Jews) could go, from the

inner court where Jews were allowed. There was a sign on this wall

threatening death to Gentiles who dared to enter the inner courts. Paul

is proclaiming that Jesus broke down this dividing wall of hostility!

God's purpose was that Christ "might create in himself one new humanity

in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups

to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that

hostility through it." (2:15-16)

We live in a day and time when our world seems to be becoming

increasingly fragmented. We see political maps being divided between

"red states" and "blue states", and ethnic conflict is alive not only in

the Middle East, but many places in our world. The tragedy of 33 lives

lost on the campus of Virginia Tech is still fresh on our minds. The

young man from South Korea who took 32 other lives and then his own was neither at peace with Jesus, himself, nor those about him. Chou was

described as a loaner, filled with anger toward others. We see in the

shootings at Virginia Tech a tragic outcome of what happens when a

person is not an instrument of peace, but an instrument of violence and

anger!

The Apostle Paul had a great commission to bring both Jews and non-Jews

together, reconciling both groups in one body, the church. Sadly, churches

today seem to be among the most divided groups within society. We've got

Presbyterians and Baptists and Pentecostals and Roman Catholics, Lutherans,

Methodists, etc. Christian ventures such as Emmaus Walks and Bible Study

Fellowship have experienced some success, uniting believers in Christ for

weekend walks and weekly study of the scriptures. At the same time,

tensions within existing denominations

threaten to tear those denominations apart. Presbyterians are among

those denominations facing such struggles, and our elders and deacons

have been working on a process through which these matters can be

considered by the congregation--hopefully, in a way which "builds up the

body of Christ" rather than tears it apart!

The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, means total wholeness and well being.

It doesn't just mean the absence of war; the Bible's word for peace

means far more! Jesus brought peace and wholeness between God and a

sinful, separated humankind. He brought peace to the troubled Gerasene

demoniac, who was many fractured personalities rolled into one. Jesus

brought peace/wholeness to many who suffered physical and emotional

illness. While Jesus noted there would be times it seemed he came to

bring a sword rather than peace, dividing family members among those

who believed in him and those who didn't, Jesus also told Peter to put his

sword away. Paul rightly proclaimed of Jesus, "He is our peace". Jesus

never sought the peace of accommodation, altering truth to "get along".

But unlike the Pharisees, who dressed in ways that distinguished

themselves from others in outer appearance, Jesus dressed and lived in

such a way that drew all persons close enough to converse, to

demonstrate love, to share truth in a positive instead of a hostile

atmosphere. That is the way God wants us to be instruments of his peace

as well.

When Christians begin to fight among themselves, and speak ill of one

another, rarely does this serve the cause of Christ! Nonbelievers tend

to look askance at believers, and say "See? These Christians can't even

get along with one another. Why would I want to become one of them?" In

John 13:35, Jesus said "By this everyone will know you are my disciples,

if you have love for one another."

Truth always matters. Paul described the church as "built upon the

foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as

the cornerstone." Christ is the cornerstone of the church, and if He is

removed, the church will crumble. As long as we build our faith on the

truth of Christ, we're standing on solid ground. Paul says "In [Christ]

the whole structure [of the church] is joined together and grows into a

holy temple in the Lord." The church is a living organism. There are

times we each need the steadying influence of other believers to right

us when we get off on tangents. Even Peter got on the wrong track by

reverting to exclusive Jewish ways at one point.

Christ calls upon us to be His instruments of peace, in the church and

in the world. In order to be instruments of peace, we have to be at

peace with God. And realize that it is Jesus who brings peace! Gordon

Gilkey in his book "Shantung Compound" wrote of his experience being

interned by the Japanese in World War II. A wide variety of prisoners of

war had to organize themselves in a broken down compound and make it

livable. Initially, the missionaries and preachers among the internees

were viewed as a useless encumbrance. What that community needed

most, it was thought, were carpenters, plumbers, bakers, people who

could do things useful. But as time went on, and food and space were limited, it

became apparent that there was a great need for Christian love and

charity, people who would not steal from one another, but would share

what they had and live in a spirit of love and peace. Gilkey discovered

that in the crowded dormitories, with only a small place between bunks,

problems arose when some people secretly began to move their beds inch

by inch to steal some of their neighbors' space. Gilkey saw clearly the

ancient truth that human life without God resulted in conflict and

failure. Even though the internees were smart enough to construct what

they needed, they were cursed by a selfishness that would destroy the

community, without the witness and influence of Christians to break the

circle of greed and hate and make a decent life possible.

Within this church, God needs us to be instruments of His peace! Within

the greater Christian fellowship, God desires us to be instruments of

peace. In our world, among unbelievers, God wants us to be instruments

of Christ's peace, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,

proclaiming peace to those far off and near!

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