FIRST READING Acts 16:9-15
9And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. 11So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
PSALM Psalm 67
1May God be merciful to us and bless us, show us the light of his countenance and come to us. 2Let your ways be known upon earth, your saving health among all nations. 3Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. 4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide all the nations upon earth. 5Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. 6The earth has brought forth her increase; may God, our own God, give us his blessing. 7May God give us his blessing, and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.
SECOND READING Revelation 21:9-14, 21-27
9Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 22And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
GOSPEL John 16:23-33
{Jesus said to the disciples,} 23“In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 25I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” 29His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
A PEACEFUL MIND
Paasikwa, Paz, Shondahi, Achukama, Eirene, Shalom, Kè poze, Santi, As-Salamu: These are all words used around the world to express something we all seek…peace. From the peace sign of the 70’s to our greeting here each week at church, “the peace of Christ be with you” even to our sending each week, Go in peace to love and serve the Lord, peace is something we all strive for in our lives. Yet peace isn’t something that’s so easily achieved in this world. Even Jesus warned us of that in our Gospel reading for this morning when He said, “In this world you will have tribulation.”
From the execution of seven family members in Ohio, to the accusations leveled by wannabe presidential candidates, to arguments over rights and privileges of public facilities, to protests for and against legislation and in countries around the world torn by war, famine or devastating levels of poverty, peace is something that seems unattainable. But not being able to have peace isn’t always a societal problem, peace in many cases comes from a lack of harmony between individuals.
One of the most bizarre true stories to hit the news media was that of Tracy Lippard, a contestant destined for the Miss Virginia beauty pageant after winning the title of Miss Williamsburg, VA. Unfortunately, Tracy never made it to the Miss Virginia pageant. Instead, after crowning her successor as Miss Williamsburg, Tracy got in her car and drove 275 miles to Lewisburg, W.Va. Her goal was to seek revenge against her boyfriend who had jilted her for another woman. Reportedly she carried with her a 9-mm handgun, a butcher knife, a pair of rubber gloves, a bottle of lighter fluid and a claw hammer.
When she arrived at the home of her rival, she rang the doorbell. When her rival’s father answered the door, Tracy told him that her car had broken down and she asked to use the phone. This was, of course, a ruse. Once inside the house, she struck her rival’s father with the hammer. Fortunately, it stunned him rather than knocking him out. She then pulled the gun and attempted to shoot him. Little did she know that the father was an ex-secret service agent. At this point his wife, her rival’s mother, joined the skirmish and the parents held the distraught Tracy until the police arrived.
After being arrested, the police questioned her as to why she would do such a terrible thing? Tracy Lippard said that she was motivated to seek revenge because she needed “inner peace.”
Peace is something I suspect most of us long for in some form or another. But thank goodness, the vast majority don’t go to such desperate lengths in an attempt to gain it. Maybe this is why this passage from John 16 (33) is a favorite verse for some people. Jesus says to His disciples: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
With all this in mind, it might be good to ask ourselves this morning if we truly have peace? Many here today might answer that by saying, of course, why wouldn’t we? Then let me ask you this: How many here today consider themselves or, are considered by others, to be a worrier? Trust me when I tell you, I know a lot of worriers. And truth be told, I’ve been a worrier myself on many occasions.
One woman wrote to a national magazine to say that every year, it seemed, her family would get on a highway and a few miles out of the city, and her mom would wail, “Oh my goodness! I think left the iron on.” And almost every year they would turn around and go back. But as far as she could recall, not once was the iron ever plugged in. It seems her mom was dominated by the fear that all their earthly possessions would disappear in a fire caused by her forgetfulness. That was a family ritual, she says, until she was about 14 years old.
On that occasion they were headed out of Chicago for Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and, sure enough, her mom gasped, “I just know I left the iron on.” She says this time her father didn’t say a word. He just pulled over onto the shoulder of the road, got out, opened the trunk and handed his wife her iron. I’m sure many of us here can relate to that. Worriers are amazing.
Has anyone here ever worried about removing a tag from a mattress? Somewhere along the way, most of us have heard that we aren’t supposed to remove the tags from our mattresses because it violates some kind of law. In fact, many mattresses still have tags that say something like, “It is unlawful to remove this tag!” Maybe you actually removed a tag from a mattress at some time in your life, and you live in fear that someday there’ll be a knock at your door. A stranger will flash a badge with a warrant to search your house, and he’ll be looking for missing mattress tags. Well let me set your mind at ease.
First of all, how would anyone ever know you removed that tag? I mean anyone beside the NSA of course, and supposedly they’re only interested in terrorists, not missing mattress tags. And, secondly, those tags are on those mattresses for our benefit. It shows that you’re buying a new, never-been-used product and to inform you about the contents of the mattress. According to law, it’s only unlawful to remove the tag prior to the sale and delivery of a mattress to the consumer. Once you’ve purchased the mattress, it’s your right to remove the tag.
Now hopefully I’ve set your mind at ease at least about one thing—as for those of us who will simply find something else to worry about, well, we can talk about that in the office sometime this week. I’m being silly, of course, but I’m always amazed at the things people can find to worry about. As some unknown poet put it:
He worried about the weather, He worried about his health,
He worried about his business, He worried about his wealth.
She worried about the children, She worried about her clothes
She worried about the neighbors. She worried about her woes
They worried about their taxes, They worried about their pets
They worried about their future, They worried about their debts
They worried, still they worried, They worried, but alas
They worried about a lot of things . . . That did not come to pass.
Here’s the reason I mention this. I suspect that it’s really nice folks–folks who are more likely than not to be in church–who worry the most . . . at least about lesser important things. I don’t know why that is. Maybe it has something to do with being super conscientious. Therefore, we, among all people, need to hear these words from our Lord, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.” Jesus knew that there would be troubles in this world, so He was preparing His disciples, then and now, for living in the world without His physical presence.
This verse comes from a much longer passage that Christ spoke on Maundy Thursday. He knew that in a matter of hours the disciples would have their world turned upside down. This was the night before Jesus went to the cross. And He’s trying to prepare them for the kind of challenges they would have to face. In a real sense, these were men who are preparing to go into battle.
They didn’t know it at the time, but many of them would suffer horrible deaths because of their loyalty to Jesus. They needed to be filled with the right stuff to face the challenges they would soon encounter. It wouldn’t be a matter of simply remembering to unplug the iron or removing a tag from a mattress. It would be gladiator pits, lions, swords, and crosses. So Jesus says to His disciples, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.” You and I may not be facing the same challenges that the disciples of Jesus faced, but we still face difficulties.
Chances are real good, that we’ll never have to endure gladiator pits, lions, swords or crosses. However, we’re still faced with many unsettling issues in our everyday lives: unsure about how we’re going to pay the house payment and still save for our child’s education; concerned about the possible loss of our job or whether our children or grandchildren will even be able to find a job; anxious about how we’re going to make it without a loved one.
Whatever our issue is, life happens and when it does it sometimes sends our world into a tail spin. However, as Christians, we know that Jesus has already spoken peace into our situation. We have no reason to sink into the mire of despair. He has our well-being at heart. We have hope in the Lord because we know we can trust in Him. His word says that everything is working out for our wellbeing (Romans 8:28). We may not be able to see it now, but we believe that things will get better. The thing about hopelessness is that it makes us helpless because we can’t see a way out. Abiding in Christ’s peace reminds us that there is hope, and so we can keep moving forward and refuse to give up.
The South Dakota community of Spencer was once devastated by a tornado and tragically six people were killed. Many buildings were destroyed including St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church. The day after the tornado, a group from St. Matthew’s walked with their pastor through the remaining rubble of that community. What they witnessed that day was an unbelievable sight. There was a grain elevator twisted and fallen, a water tower toppled, vehicles and other heavy items strewn around like toys. Whole buildings were gone from their foundations. When they neared the site of their church someone called out, “There’s the statue, there’s Jesus!” Sure enough, there it was–the traditional white statue of Jesus that stands at the altar of many small churches, with arms outstretched and a loving demeanor. There the statue stood–all that was left of a 100-year old Lutheran church.
The white paint on the statue was nearly gone and the arms were cracked. But one observer that day said, “I didn’t notice the damage, it was just so remarkable, so moving and so fitting to look up from the chaos around us and see Jesus, arms outstretched, welcoming, and loving His people.” What that group of church members later learned was how two young girls, helping to clean up for a family member in a nearby home, had taken time to come over to where the church had been to set aside a few items of church property they found scattered in the area. When they saw the statue lying in the rubble, they figured everyone in Spencer needed to know that Jesus was still there, so they stood Him up for all to see. That’s our purpose today as the church–to raise up Christ where a fearful world can see Him.
Before Jesus returned to the Father, He gave the disciples what they needed most—the assurance of peace, a peace that passes understanding. (Philippians 4:7) It was the peace that comes from knowing that no matter how serious a situation they found themselves in, Christ was still there with outstretched arms. Two chapters earlier in John, Jesus also said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) Jesus Himself assured us that His peace will always be with us which is the greatest news we’ll ever hear. No matter what our circumstances, no matter what we face in this life, no matter what difficulties we might be struggling with, Christ will be with us.
There’s a legend about a burdened old man who, along his tiresome way, met an angel. The old man was bent under the enormous weight of a great burlap sack across his shoulders and on his back. It was so heavy it was a wonder he could even walk. The angel said, “What is it you have in the sack?” The man replied, “In there are my worries!” The angel said, “Empty them out, let me see them.” With great effort, the old man lowered the huge sack from his back and turned out the contents. Out first came yesterday, and then tomorrow. And the angel picked up yesterday and threw it aside and said, “You don’t need that because yesterday is in the hands of God and no amount of worrying will change it.” Then the angel picked up tomorrow and said “You don’t need this because tomorrow is in the hands of God as well and no amount of worrying will change that either.” In the end, the old man had no worries to put in the sack.
I know that many are concerned about the future. With the average life span in this country being dramatically extended, you worry if you’ll have enough financial resources to last to the end. It’s common to ask, will my health hold up? Many are concerned about your children’s future. Some of us are concerned about our parents’ future welfare as well. Someone has said the best thing about tomorrow is that tomorrow only comes one day at a time.
A scholar once surveyed the Scriptures to discover the most significant words in all the Bible. He wanted to find the saddest word, the happiest word, the most emotional word and so on. When he came around to the Bible’s most dangerous word, he identified it as tomorrow. The word tomorrow is a thief, he said, that robs dreamers of their dreams and the talented of their greatest achievements. It keeps men and women from coming to Christ and discovering the kind of life God longs for them to have. Charles H. Spurgeon, agreed. “Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow!” he wrote. “Alas, tomorrow never comes! It is in no calendar except the almanac of fools.” The secret of abundant life is to entrust the future to God and to live only for today.
Have you read the fable of the philosophical clock which one day meditated about its future? It had just been bought and placed on a shelf in a large farmhouse room. As soon as it was wound up for the first time it began to worry about all the work it had to do. It had to tick twice every second. That meant 120 ticks every minute, or 7,200 ticks every hour, or 172,800 every day. Each year it would have to tick 63,072,000 times, and in ten years it would have to tick 630,720,000 times. Those kinds of numbers were just too much for the clock’s nervous system, and it “passed out.”
But when it came to again, it had a flashing insight: it realized that it only had to tick one tick at a time. Not 630 million, or even 63 times. Just once! And anyone can tick once. This insight gave the clock a powerful injection of courage, and it went about its duty of ticking, which it’s been doing for more than 25 twenty-five years now. Just one tick at a time. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Someone else put it this way: By the yard, life is hard; By the inch, it’s a cinch.
All too often we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by our problems, and we lose our perspective. We think to ourselves that it’s the end of the world. But let me assure you that it’s not. Tomorrow the sun is going to rise again. Somewhere birds will be singing and flowers will be blooming. You’ll still have food to eat and clothes to wear, and you’ll be able continue with your life. I know that some will allow this message to go in one ear and out the other. I sometimes wonder if it’s in the genes–the need to worry.
I read something recently about our Jewish friends. One of the stereotypes about Jews is that they worry a lot. I didn’t put much stock in that until I saw a book written by author Arnie Plotkin titled, 14,000 Things for Jews to be Happy About. Plotkin amassed this amazing list of things for Jews to be happy about in order to brighten the mood of his constitutionally worry-prone people. The book, which was marketed through temple bookstores, was a commercial failure, but later achieved success under a new title: 14,000 Things That Could Go Wrong.
It appears that many Jews would rather worry than find reasons to be happy. It doesn’t make sense. But many Christians are like that as well. We need to hear Jesus speak a good Jewish word to our hearts–shalom, peace. He’s always there for us with His arms open wide. Isn’t it time that we cast our cares on Him. Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Amen