Philippians 4:4-6
Advent 3 December 13, 2015
Our Advent theme is centered on hope for God’s kingdom to come, something we pray for every week when we pray the Lord’s Prayer. Today, we highlight our Hope for Peace. In our readings this morning, we hear Isaiah tell the people, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Paul writes to the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Hope, and peace, and rejoicing! It is all so uplifting! And then we hear John the Baptizer chastise us in a very loud voice, “You brood of vipers!” So much for hope, and peace and rejoicing!
Maybe, though, these things aren’t unrelated. John calls for repentance in terms of practical ethical admonitions. In his unique way, John the Baptizer is encouraging people to change, to turn back to God. That is what “repentance” means, to turn around. It is when we see that we cannot possibly keep God’s commands that we turn to God. Only when we turn to God can we have true hope and peace and rejoicing. John’s harsh words are intended to bring people to Jesus. Let me warn you, though. Calling people a brood of vipers in our time and place is not a good evangelism tool.
Turning to God makes space for the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that produces good things in us. Paul calls that “the fruit of the Spirit”. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, the “fruit” he mentions is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.[1] The Holy Spirit’s working in us is possible because of what God has done in Christ. Hear Paul’s words to the Philippians again:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Paul, who wrote this letter while he was imprisoned, tells us to rejoice in the Lord. He gives us a list of things to do. I’m glad about that because we are not good at doing nothing. It is hard for us to simply be and to accept God’s grace. Here’s what Paul tells us to do: Let our gentleness be known to everyone. Don’t worry about anything, like that is easy to do. In everything, not just the good stuff, “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
When we come to God in prayer and with our humble requests, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard [our] hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Like love and joy, this peace comes to us through the Holy Spirit as a gift from God.
Do you feel at peace? Perhaps political campaigns are disturbing your peace. Maybe a recent medical diagnosis is unsettling, or financial concerns. Worry about the people we love can rob us of peace. Peace through Christ does not mean the absence of conflict, or that we have no fear or anxiety. It means recognizing that God holds all things in God’s care. Advent is a good reminder of that, and we need to be reminded daily.
Advent points us toward hope, and hope for peace that surpasses all human understanding. Our vision of the coming of God’s kingdom and the celebration of Jesus’ birth remind us that God is already at work, and our hope for peace comes through knowing that the God who created us, who loves us, is active in our world. Hope and peace are inextricably linked.
Amy McCullough, writing for the Journal of Preachers, shares this hope which leads to our peace. She writes:
[Hope] proclaims that change is possible because God makes things new. Hope says no one is bound by the past because God in Christ has come. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, the future is cared for. We can trust what awaits us because we know what God has already done.… Hope stands not on human effort but upon divine action. We hope because we know God has acted in past, moves through the present, and can be trusted to act in the future.[2]
Living in hope, and receiving the gift of peace is not easy. Paul tells us as much when he admits that it surpasses our human understanding. What is essential is that we engage in the spiritual disciplines and practices of honest conversation with God and gratitude. Paul reminds us that our prayers and requests to should be done with thanksgiving. I have found that giving thanks in all things requires me to practice that spiritual discipline. Keep a gratitude journal, write a thank-you letter, go for a walk to marvel at God’s creation.
In 2006, Charlie Roberts walked into an Amish school and shot 10 students, then killed himself. 5 of the students died. When all Roberts’ mother Terri could think of to do was to leave, the community asked her to stay. Some of the families attended her son’s funeral. Terri helps care for the most injured student, who is now 15. “Asked what she would say to the families of the school shooting victims killed in Newtown, Connecticut, Roberts said: ‘There is always hope. To walk into the future knowing each day has something that we can be thankful for, and not to live in the sorrow 24-7.’”[3] The forgiveness given and received brought peace, and with that peace, the ability to be thankful. All of this is a gift from God.
Whenever we talk about the gift of peace, I remember the story of Horatio G. Spafford who wrote the hymn, “When Peace Like a River”. His story also testifies to the power of relationship with God through Christ, a relationship that gave him peace that truly defies our understanding. Spafford’s son died at a young age, and The Great Chicago Fired destroyed many of his real estate investments. Two years later, he planned to help Dwight Moody with an evangelism campaign in Europe. Some unexpected business came up, and so Horatio sent his wife and daughters over ahead of him. Several days later, he received notice that the ship had encountered a collision. All four of his daughters died. Only his wife survived. On his way to England to join his grieving wife, he wrote these words, “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.”
God’s gift of the Holy Spirit is peace. It defies our understanding, but it comes through our being open to the work of the Holy Spirit by time spent with God in prayer, in supplication, and in thanksgiving. In these days of tremendous disturbance that is unavoidable given the violence of late, along with our personal questions and concerns, which are different for us all, we pray with hope for peace, Your kingdom come.
~Pastor Cheryl Ann Griffin
[1] Galatians 5:22. See also 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 in which Paul discusses other gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit for the “common good.”
[2] McCullough, Amy. “Musings on Advent.” Journal for Preachers, Volume XXXIX Number 1: 2-7. Print.
[3] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mother-of-amish-school-shooter-shares-amazing-story-of-forgiveness/