Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. | Philippians 4:4-7
This Sunday we looked at the peace that Jesus came to bring; what was meant by the angels when they sang:
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
What was lacking from this sermon was an action step; a process by which we achieve the very peace that we have been promised. This seems especially shocking in comparison with the common rhetoric of Kingdom-building that floats around many Christian conversations. Most of the talk is about how we bring peace, but I said nothing about it. You may have guessed that this was intentional; I didn’t simply forget Romans 12.18 (it is one of my favorite verses after all), which says:
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
I left out this part of the message because I think that we have over-stressed our part in bringing peace to this world. In the same way that we can become too easily pleased with a Pax Romana peace, we can become far too focused on the role we play. We can pass right over the peace that Jesus promised to focus on a limited, temporary peace that we have a part in. Yes, we are called to be ambassadors of reconciliation, but this remaking happens only through the person of Jesus Christ. The peace that we bring is a reflection of the gospel, not a replacement (or even a requirement for it to work).
Instead, our Kingdom-building acts of peace are an act of worship to He who will remake all things. Our acts of reconciliation are loving in the way we have been loved. While that may seem like nothing more than semantics, it isn’t. If we think that Jesus needs us in order to bring shalom, than He will be indebted to us when we act out peace. We can use our acts of justice to judge those who we see as less just. In this, peace becomes a weapon of war. Instead, like the angels, our part is to sing loudly for the Prince of Peace. Through this rejoicing, His peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding, will be seen in us. Should we act to bring peace to this chaotic world? ABSOLUTELY. We must do it in the humble confidence of our Savior, not the fearful, anxious energy of human effort. The peace that Jesus offers is not just a future reality, it is also the motivation for all of our actions until the day we experience it.
Grace and Peace to you!