PASTOR'S MESSAGE

 

The God of Love and Peace

2 Corinthians 13:11-14

     Airman Jones was assigned to the induction center where he was to advise new recruits about their government benefits, especially their GI insurance.  It wasn't long before Captain Smith noticed that Airman Jones had almost a 100% record for insurance sales, which had never happened before.  Rather than ask about this, the Captain stood in the back of the room and listened to Jones’s sales pitch.  Jones explained the basics of the GI Insurance to the new recruits, and then said:  “If you have GI Insurance and go into battle and are killed, the government has to pay $200,000 to your beneficiaries.  If you don’t have GI insurance, and you go into battle and get killed, the government has to pay only a maximum of $6000.”   “Now,” he said, “which bunch do you think they are going to send into battle first?”

In a cute way, that story reminds us that insurance is there to provide us with safety and security in times of loss and disaster.  It gives us a  certain peace of mind that everything’s going to be covered.  Strangely enough, in our Epistle lesson for today, St. Paul was also talking about that kind of peace – only he was talking about the greatest peace of all – peace for our heart and mind by the salvation of our soul – the promise that no matter what kind of loss or disaster we’re going through, God’s got us covered and will take care of us.  If you will, it’s the ultimate Life Insurance Policy and the benefits are eternal, for it’s the assurance that we have everlasting life in God’s Heavenly Kingdom.  The big difference is that we don’t have to pay any premiums to receive it.  Instead it’s a free gift from our Triune God.  It was conceived of by God the Father before the foundation of the world, was purchased for us by Jesus Christ God’s precious Son, and is distributed to us daily by the Holy Spirit in Word and Sacrament.  That’s what this Trinity Sunday is all about, and that’s what truly gives us peace of mind.

 

It is that peace of God, that Paul was encouraging his readers to incorporate in their daily lives, when he said:  “AIM FOR PERFECTION, LISTEN TO MY APPEAL, BE OF ONE MIND, LIVE IN PEACE.”  In a world that is filled with turmoil and heartache, strife and discord, we as Christians are called to live in peace with one another.  And part of the reason we do that is as a witness to the world, in order to proclaim that peace of salvation, which comes only from our Triune God, the God of love and peace.  Now in the early church they had a particular way of demonstrating that.  It was called ‘the Kiss of Peace,’ and it’s what St. Paul was referring to in our text, when he said:  “GREET ONE ANOTHER WITH A HOLY KISS.”  In the Apostolic Constitutions, a work from the 2nd Century AD, including doctrinal, liturgical and moral instructions, we are told that during the worship service the clergy and laity shared the kiss of peace with one another to demonstrate their unity in Christ.  But it was omitted in the liturgy for Good Friday in remembrance of Judas’ kiss of betrayal.

 

My friends, we express this same idea in the handshake and greeting: “The peace of the Lord be with you.”  And yet, it’s not the ritual itself that is most important, but the attitude of our heart.  Rather than betraying each other like Judas with selfish actions or thoughtless remarks, we are to treat one another with kindness and love.  Rather that manipulating people to get our own way, we are to put the needs of others ahead of ourselves.  Rather than investing all our time and energy in our own personal endeavors, we are to use our time and talents in our congregation to build one another up and bear each other’s burdens.  Rather than harboring a grudge in our heart we are to forgive and forget each other’s faults, for that’s what it means to live in peace.

 

As a matter of fact, St. Paul went so far as to say that we should live in such peace with each other that we are of one mind.  In the Greek text, it actually says that we should think the same way.  Not that we’re always going to have the same opinions and ideas about everything, but that we are united in our doctrine and teaching.  And the only way we can do that is if we constantly keep going back to the only source of true doctrine, which is God’s Holy Word.  As we daily immerse ourselves in our own private study of the Scriptures, as we regularly have family devotions, as we weekly gather in Bible Class to be fed and nourished on God’s Word, that’s where we receive the peace of God that surpasses all understanding and are empowered and equipped to live in peace.

 

That’s what Paul meant, when he said:  “LIVE IN PEACE AND THE GOD OF LOVE AND PEACE WILL BE WITH YOU.”  In other words, it’s not something we can achieve on our own.  Only the God of love and peace can make it happen.  And to underscore that thought in our text, the verbs: “AIM FOR PERFECTION, LISTEN TO MY APPEAL, BE OF ONE MIND, LIVE IN PEACE.”  They’re all in the passive voice, meaning that they are something that is done to us, rather than something we can do on our own.  That’s why that phrase aim for perfection in the NIV text is a bit misleading.  We all know that by nature our aim is terribly off.  We may aim for perfection but because of our natural sinful condition, we miss it altogether.  Indeed, one of the main words for ‘sin’ in the Bible means: ‘to miss the target.’  In other words, we not only miss the bullseye of God’s perfection, it’s like we’re shooting in the completely wrong direction.  And so, if perfection were up to you and me, we would be hopelessly lost.

 

But thankfully perfection is not up to us, it’s up to our Triune God, the God of love and peace.  And that’s exactly what He’s given us in His wonderful plan of salvation, the Insurance Policy of everlasting life in heaven.  Since we in our sinfulness could not choose God, He chose us before creation to be His own and that’s why He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us, not only to erase the black marks against us, but to robe us in His righteousness and holiness to cover up our since and make us spotless in His sight.  And since we can’t even come to faith and believe in Him on our own, He further sent the Holy Spirit in our Baptism to make us believers in Christ, so that we can be declared perfect and forgiven. 

 

In fact, that phrase aim for perfection  translated literally means:  ‘be restored.’  It was a verb that was used to describe a dislocated limb that has been put back in place, or a broken bone that as been set and is now on the mend.  Dear friends, that’s the kind of healing restoration that only our Triune God can provide.  Jesus’ precious blood shed on the cross to cleanse and forgive all our iniquities is the healing medicine for all our wounds.  For He has taken our hearts that we dislocated by sin and separated from Him and put us back into place, so that we are back in His good graces.  He has take our lives that were broken by guilt and set them, so that we are completely restored.  That is the forgiving love and comforting peace He pours out to us in the Word and Sacraments, and that’s why He’s the God of love and peace!

In a small town in Oklahoma, a fireman rescued a lady from her burning residence.  She was screaming all the while he carried her to safety.  Not until he set her down did he understand what she was trying to tell him: her baby was still in the house.  She pointed to an upstairs window.  The fireman raced up a ladder, broke the window, and dove into a smoke-filled room.  He felt around until he found a crib, searched with his hand and scooped up a bundle of blankets.  He got out the window just as the room burst into flames.  The crowd that had gathered cheered as he came down the ladder, but when he handed the bundle to the mother, she took one look and let out a piercing scream: “You saved my baby’s doll!” 

What a tragic mistake!  What an unnecessary death!  And yet what is even more tragic is the eternal death of all those who wind up in the fires of hell, when they don’t need to.  You see, God’s Baby died too.  Jesus Christ gave up His life on Calvary.  But that was no mistake.  It was the gracious gift of our Triune God to save us from sin, death and hell.  Each person of the Trinity was involved in our salvation, because that’s how important you and I are to God.  And that’s why St. Paul concluded our text with that wonderful word of Trinitarian blessing, which has become known as the Apostolic Benediction:  “MAY THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THE LOVE OF GOD, AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BE WITH YOU ALL.”

Truly it is that unconditional love of God the Father that welcomes us as His precious children.  For He not only created and preserves us, but He also recreated us as new people in our Baptism, so that we can be adopted into His heavenly Family.  And it is the grace of Jesus Christ, His free and undeserved kindness to you and me that drove Him to the cross, where He made payment for all our sins once and for all.  And it is the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit that abides with us in the Word and Sacraments strengthening us in our faith and equipping us for lives of service.  May that encourage us to live in peace, as we worship the God of love and peace, for His name’s sake.  Amen.

         

                                                 

Archived Sermon