PEACE
M. Michael
Morse (Hope UCC, Alexandria, Virginia)
May 21, 1995
Text: John 14:23-29; Rev. 21:10, 21:22-22:5
When you think of the word PEACE, what comes to mind? Is it the absence of war? That's a political answer. Is it the settling of differences between adversaries? That's most often a legal answer, an answer of jurisprudence. Is it something of the mind, where the cares of the world are shut out? That might be simply an escape or a momentary necessity. Is it something of an indescribable mystery, yet something of a possession that provides security, courage, and comfort in the face of adversity?
No, Jesus is not giving this kind of peace. That's the "peace" of the world. It is the absence of overt conflict, but the presence of fear, the hatred of enemy, the distortion of faith, for it is faith in the god of terror and violence.
The passage in John ends on what is known as an apocalyptic note. Jesus speaks about not being around much longer, that the ruler of the world is coming, but that that ruler has no power over him. Then there is talk of the Word and of the spirit that will be with the disciples.
One of these days we need to examine this thinking because although many of you may be mystified by it, it occupies center stage in the minds of many in our society right now and it will intensify as we move toward the year 2000. David Koresh of the Branch Davidians, many in the militia movement, most of the pentecostal movement believe that the world is ruled by the powers of darkness, by powers of evil, over which we have no control, that there are all sorts of signs of the end of time, that events will occur that will usher in salvation for the faithful and damnation for everyone else. What many of these people long for, and what is so beautifully depicted in the Book of Revelation, is peace! What these people think of as the process is very different from what I and many others think, but that does not negate the ultimate vision. But while keeping the vision intact, we need to understand the thinking of those whose view is entirely apocalyptic, or nearly so, and who see, mistakenly I think, signs everywhere of the end of "earth time" and the coming of their own salvation. If Janet Reno and others had paid more attention to this type of thinking, what happened at Waco, Texas might never have occurred. There are experts in the religious community especially who understand this mentality without agreeing with it and they can provide immeasurable insight and guidance in times of crisis.
To be precise about this, the view is that the world is controlled by evil forces and, at the extreme there is absolutely nothing that can be done to redeem the earth until God intervenes and overthrows the powers of evil in an apocalyptic event. The task of those who believe in the power and might of God is to be faithful to the end in order to inherit salvation. Although suffering may be great in the interim, ending in terrible death (martyrdom), the rewards will be great, filled with those things depicted in the scene we will examine in a moment from the Book of Revelation.
This thinking provides easy answers for all sorts of things. Why is there evil in the world? Because the world is under the rule of the powers of darkness. Why am I suffering, why am I persecuted, why are people out to get me and control me? The same answer. Is there anything I can do about the evil in the world? No. The world is irretrievably evil and you cannot change things. Will this last forever? No. God will intervene and defeat the powers of darkness and a new age, one under the control only of God's glory, will take the place of the powers of darkness. Should I fear death? No. In fact, death must come before the new age of God's glory arrives.
One can readily see why this point of view is so attractive to those who feel marginalized by society. It provides an easy explanation for their suffering. It offers a way out, not immediately, but ultimately. It is perceived as justice since the faithful will be rewarded and the persecutors will be punished by eternal damnation. It provides comfort along the way because there will always be "signs" or things that will be interpreted as signs, to assure that the process is happening.
What we need to understand is that what happened at Waco, Texas simply confirmed what many already believed. The 51 day siege was perceived as persecution, what else? It was also perceived as a "sign" of the end. Prepare to die! We should not be surprised that those inside the compound committed mass suicide, or engaged in killing one another when the tank's battering ram smashed into the building. What would be surprising is if they didn't do that! We need to understand, because if we don't "get with it" pretty soon, more and more of these events will occur and the fallout from them will be devastating, making Oklahoma City seem mild by comparison. For the fact is that even those who do not fall entirely within the mentality of pure apocalypticism, buy into bits and pieces of it, particularly those pieces that feed paranoia, insecurity, powerlessness.
Now let us get on with our drama, but from a different perspective. Let's turn to Revelation.
Look at it with me for a brief moment: The picture is of the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of the heavens. It is intact, fully, and radiant like a precious jewel. There are now no temples because God is right there along with the Lamb (Christ). There is no need of sun or moon because the radiance of God provides light. All the nations are there, bringing their glory (notice the absence of conflict, competition, jealousy, national pride, etc..), and the gates of the city are never shut. What that signifies is the lack of fear. Gates provided security. When you are threatened, or when the city is threatened, the gates are always closed. But these gates never get closed. ...
... The first thing is that this vision is part of the apocalyptic writing of the bible and as such has been misunderstood, distorted, and misused for centuries. The second is that for the most part the vision is perceived as something that comes after the end of earth time and earth life, impossible in earth time and earth life precisely because the view held is that the ruler of the world, darkness, the power of evil, won't let the vision be a reality.
That's not my religious view, nor do I think it was the view Jesus had, although some of the flavor of that view was certainly present in his time. Nevertheless, no matter what, the vision of peace sits there. We can say, on the one hand, that it is for hereafter, whatever we mean by that. We can say, in true apocalyptic fashion, that it is an ultimate vision of peace but unrealizable in this life. Or, we can say, in more in the tradition of the prophets and more in the tradition of Jesus' speech about the Realm of God being present among us, that the vision is something to be made present now, a vision to challenge us now, a vision to encourage us now, a vision to give us hope now, a vision to heal us now!
I'm not sure where this leaves us, except that we need not be overwhelmed. The peace of Christ exacts an initial price that is often too high for many to pay, but is a price present in the vision, I think. It is the acknowledgment on the part of all of us of the presence of evil in us and around us. We need to own that. It is basic to what Jesus meant when he said, "Love your enemies." For what is explicit in the vision is that the very name of God is written on the foreheads of all.
If we are ever to move away from a peace that is based upon fear, whether it is violent or merely threatens violence, the beginning point is one that reads that name on the forehead of another and is able to say, "You have the name of God in you."
Then we will heal others and ourselves from within and without, struggling in the journey, imperfect as it may be, because the Word and the Spirit remain with us to provide encouragement along the way.