Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Third Sunday in Easter/Native American Ministries Sunday - 04/19/15 Sermon - “Peace be with you!”

Sunday 04/19/15 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Peace be with you!”                    

Old Testament Lesson: Psalm 4

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 John 3:1-7

Gospel Lesson: Luke 24:36b-48                   

          Brothers and sisters, friends, welcome once again on this our Third Sunday of this our Easter Season. This is the season that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that we proclaim that in all things, that God gets the final world, not death, not violence, and not oppression. As “Easter People,” we often worship on Sunday, as every Sunday is a “mini-Easter,” or a mini-celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

          This Sunday on the United Methodist Church calendar, is also Native American Ministries Sunday. This is a Sunday that we honor and we lift up our Native American brothers and sisters, who are part of our United Methodist Church, or who are part of other churches. In addition to this, the church has a special offering that is taken on this Sunday, to support Native American ministries, and Native American education. In this way, we have churches in our Upper New York Annual Conference that are largely Native American in there make up. We also have pastors and students that are Native American. Due to this, we want to uphold and value the ministries and work for Jesus Christ that our Native American brothers and sisters are doing.

          So during our collection time this morning, if you would like to give towards Native American Ministries Sunday, feel free to indicate this on your check or funds, and we will make sure that this gets to the conference office, and then to those folks who it is designated for.

          With this said, I want to talk to you this morning about peace. The word peace is word that we hear often. We say things like, “I wish we had more peace in the world.” We might say, “I wish those kids would just stop fighting and just have peace.” We might say, “Can’t people just love each other and live in peace?” Yet what is peace? What does peace mean?

Well according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, peace is many things. Let me read all of the things that are definitions of peace. Here they are:  “a state of tranquility or quiet: freedom from civil disturbance: a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom: freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions: harmony in personal relations: a state or period of mutual concord between governments: a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity.”

          Wow! Did you get all that? Well in the gospel according to Luke from this morning, Jesus, the “Prince of Peace,” says “Peace be with you!” (Luke 24:36b, CEB). Jesus doesn’t just say “Peace be with you!” in this one scripture either, but he says it a few times in the gospels of Luke and John (Luke 24:36b, CEB). Jesus also uses the term peace in different ways, in all four gospels. Further there are many biblical references, to peace.

Some might say though, “So what Paul Pastor, Jesus said, “Peace be with you!,” what’s the big deal?” (Luke 24:36b, CEB). You might say, “I say hello to people all the time, but I don’t go and write a sermon about it!” Some might say, “Are you really talking about Jesus’ greeting to his disciples?” My answer is, “yes, I really am.”

          Yet, in some of the gospel accounts, before saying anything else to his disciples, Christ sometimes said, “Peace be with you!” (Luke 24:36b, CEB). Now if this is the first thing to come out of the risen Christ’s mouth, before anything else, there must be some sort of significance to this, right? Further, as per my list of Merriam-Webster dictionary definitions, just what did Jesus mean when he said, “Peace be with you!” (Luke 24:36b, CEB).

          Specifically, which one of these definitions was he talking about? What sort of peace was he giving to the disciples and his other followers? Further, why do churches like ours share the peace or the love of Christ with a hug or handshake? What’s the deal with this peace thing?

          Well I think that when Jesus says various times, “Peace be with you!,” I don’t that he directly is talking about the definitions of, “a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom: a state or period of mutual concord between governments: freedom from civil disturbance: or a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity,” to quote a few of the Merriam-Webster online dictionary definition (Luke 24:36b, CEB).

I do think that when Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” though, that he meant, “a state of tranquility or quiet: freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions: and harmony in personal relations.” (Luke 24:36b, CEB).

You see within all of us humans there is brokenness, there are things that are unsettling, that can make us all uneasy. Jesus says this morning though, “Peace be with you!” (Luke 24:36b, CEB). Through such peace, such love, such light, and such life, we can then accomplish the peace that is needed in the world. We can then transform the world in Christ’s image.

When we surrender to God, to Jesus Christ, when we enter into prayer, meditation, the reading of scripture, and other spiritual disciplines, we can have greater peace. When our inner turmoil is turned down like a volume knob on a stereo, we are then furthered freed up to change the world. We can then achieve peace not just within ourselves, but we can create all of the definitions of peace that we read. Our inner peace then, should become the physical and tangible peace that we sow and create all around us.

You see, Christ came to offer a spiritual transformation, and internal peace, so that we can “make disciples of Jesus Christ, for the transformation of the world.”

So as the man who portrayed the Apostle John in the video that we saw from this morning said, “Turn away from hate, turn away from violence. Jesus is the light of the world.” To that I say, “Amen brother John!”

You see if we try to live by our rules, if we rage in our hearts, if we decide we can do and handle anything on our own, it can be hard to have peace. Jesus this morning, says before saying anything else to the disciples, “Peace be with you!” (Luke 24:36b, CEB). 

Sometimes though, we don’t have peace, sometimes we have internal turmoil. Perhaps past life hurts, or inner struggles cause us sleeplessness, or anger, or frustration. Maybe we have heart ache over the loss of loved ones, or failed relationships, but through our repentance, our forgiveness, and our reliance on the love of God, we can achieve a great sense of peace.

There are even days, that I as your pastor struggle with peace. Sometimes I tell Melissa, “You know, maybe I am not that great of a pastor. Maybe I could do better. Maybe I am failing my brothers and sisters.” Melissa then usually reminds me, who am I, and who it is that has called me to be a pastor.

That even the disciples who fled on the day of the crucifixion had no peace. That Judas Iscariot, when he betrayed Jesus Christ, clearly had no peace. That when the disciples were caught in the storm on the Sea of Galilee, that they clearly had no peace. Having peace isn’t always easy, but when we turn to God, when we surrender to Him, when we repent and forgive each other, the God of the Universe changes us. This change doesn’t just occur only between ourselves and God either, it also occurs through all of us together and God. In all of these ways, we can have peace.

I know that for me, that I can relate some days to the Psalm 4 reading from this morning that says, “Answer me when I cry out, my righteous God! Set me free from my trouble! Have mercy on me! Listen to my prayer!” (Ps. 4:1, CEB). How many of us, have ever felt like this? Yet how many of us can say that eventually though, at some point, that God showed up, and we had peace?

In the reading from the Apostle John’s first Epistle or letter for this morning, he says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us in that we should be called God’s children.” The essence or the core of what the God of the Universe is, is light, life, and love. Through God, through Jesus Christ, we can have peace, and have it abundantly.

In looking more closely at our Gospel according to Luke reading for this morning, as I have said, “Jesus himself stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” (Luke 24:36b, CEB). At this point, the disciples still having their doubts about Jesus, his resurrection, and him being the Messiah, “were terrified and afraid. They thought they were seeing a ghost.” (Luke 24:37, CEB). Jesus then asked the disciples, “Why are you startled? Why are doubts arising in your hearts?” (Luke 24:38a, CEB).

Going even farther, Jesus then says, “Look at my hands and my feet. It’s really me! Touch me and see, for ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones like you see I have.” (Luke 24:39, CEB).

When Jesus finished showing the disciples his wounded hands and feet, he then asked them, “Do you have anything to eat?” (Luke 24:41, CEB). The disciples then gave Jesus some fish, and he “ate it front of them.” (Luke 24:42, CEB).

Jesus then told the disciples, “that everything written about me in the Law from Moses, the Prophets, and Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:44, CEB). Jesus then proceeded to further explain through the scriptures, why he is the Messiah, why he is the Son of God.

What Jesus then says next, I think, is at the heart of finding peace. Jesus said in Luke 24:47, “and a change of heart and life for forgiveness of sins must be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:47, CEB). That we must repent, forgive, and change our hearts, to find peace.

Jesus lastly says, the disciples “are witnesses of these things,” and then he tells them to say in Jerusalem and await the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 24:48-49, CEB). The next thing for the disciples then, is the day of Pentecost, when they experience an outpouring of the Holy Spirt.

I would like to share a story about finding peace with you. This story is called, “My Son’s Friend,” by author unknown. Here is how it goes: “After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit, and gave a very brief introduction of the friend he had known since childhood. With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit to speak, "A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific Coast," he began, "when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright, and the three were swept into the ocean."

“The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story. He continued, "The father, being a good swimmer, was able to make it back on the boat. Grabbing a rescue line, he then had to make the most excruciating decision of his life, ­to which boy would he throw the other end of the line. He had only seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian, and he also knew that his son's friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves. As the father yelled out, "I love you, son!" he threw the line to his son's friend. By the time he pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beyond raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered."

“By this time, the two teenagers were sitting straighter in the pew, awaiting the next words to come out of the old man's mouth. "The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus, and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son. How great is the love of God that He should do the same for us." With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room.”

“Within minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man's side. "That was a nice story," one of the boys politely started, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian." "Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down at his well-worn Bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face, and he once again looked up at the boys and said, "It doesn't sound very realistic, does it? But I'm standing here today to tell you that that story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up His Son for me." He paused for a moment, and then continued, "And you see, I was that father and your pastor is my son's friend."

Finding peace my brothers and sisters, my friends, isn’t always easy, but Jesus comes to us and offers us peace. When we pursue God, when we pursue Christ, when we love each other, we find peace. When we surrender to the God of the Universe, we are offered peace, love, light, life, and grace. So do we have peace on this day? Do we know the source of all peace” Do we know God? Do we know Jesus Christ? For on this day, Jesus say to his disciples, and to us all, “Peace be with you!” (Luke 24:36b, CEB). Amen.