SERMON SERIES ON “A COMMUNITY OF GRACE”

FOR THE RECONCILIATION AND PEACE OF THE WORLD

Scripture: Psalm 23; Matthew 28; Colossians 1:15-23

INTRODUCTION

Three men, a doctor, a teacher and a lawyer, going on a golf trip to a remote island in the Pacific, were suddenly lost at sea when their plane went down. Within a short time, they arrived at the gates of heaven, and during the brief orientation, an angel asked them “When you are laid out in the casket, and your family and friends are mourning over you, what would you like to hear them say about you?”

The first man replied, “I would like to hear them say that I was one of the great doctors of my time, and a devoted family man.”

The second spoke up as well, saying “I’d like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and a school teacher who made a major difference in the lives of our children of tomorrow.”

They looked at the lawyer, who thought a moment more and then answered, “I’d like to hear them say – ‘Look, he’s moving!’”

My friends: we have all come here on this glorious morning to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As the darkness turned to dawn on that first Easter Day, God only knows how that stone was moved away and how Jesus got up out of that grave, but He did! And so with all the saints down through the ages of time, we now join our hearts and voices in glad adoration, praising God and proclaiming that “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”

Since Ash Wednesday, the sermons during this Lenten Season have been framed within the context of the Psalms and Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Those scripture lessons have helped us give attention to our theme for this church year: how we can be and become “A Community of Grace,” which is taken from the Statement of Purpose printed on the front of the bulletin each Sunday.

Please notice again that the name of THE LORD JESUS CHRIST is printed in italics and stands at the center of our Statement. That is not accidental but rather it is intentional, because we believe that Jesus is the Lord of life, that He is the risen Christ, that He was and is and always will be the Center of the Church Universal and this local congregation, and that He is the pivotal figure in all of creation.

The Apostle Paul put it this way as he wrote to the Colossians: He – Jesus Christ – is the first-born of all creation…and in Him, all things hold together. He is the Head of the body, the church…In Him, the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross…and you, who were once estranged and hostile…He has now reconciled in His body by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless…before God (Colossians 1:15-22, selected verses).

That resounding affirmation of faith leads us to the final line of our Statement of Purpose, which is the bottom line of what we Christians proclaim today: that Jesus Christ died on the cross and was raised from the grave “For the Reconciliation and Peace of the World!”

II.

Back in the summer of 1980, Dr. Karl Menninger, considered by many to be the founder of modern-day psychiatry, stood before an audience in Chautauqua, New York, of more than 1,000 people to speak about the Christian life. Dr. Karl, as his fellow Chautauquans affectionately called him, was celebrating his 87^th birthday and the lecture was his gift to everyone there. As a Christian and a Presbyterian elder, he spoke about his own faith without embarrassment or reluctance, and he made the point that we, all of us, need to strive to be better people.

In the question and answer period which followed, someone asked Dr. Menninger if he could give a concrete example of how we should or could become better people.

“I certainly can” he replied. “Let me tell you what the number one disease of our time is, the real number one killer – not cancer, not a stroke, not a heart attack. It is resentment, vindictiveness, getting even, paying back those who trespass against us. That destroys more people who are eaten up by it than anything else in the world. If we could conquer only that…within our spiritual selves, we would be better people and the world would be a better place.” (From a sermon by my close friend and fellow Chautauquan, the late Dr. Robert Cleveland Holland, entitled “What Are You Going To Be When You Grow Up?” preached at Shadyside Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, PA, on October 5, 1980).

Well I think Dr. Menninger was right on target. And sad to say, we can see the corrosive evidence and human wreckage of that resentment and revenge all around us – in our homes, at work, at school, sometimes in the church and increasingly out there on the highways – we call it “road rage.”

A pastor I knew in New York City told me it happened to him in the congested entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. He rolled down his window and shouted to the taxicab driver who was trying to cut him off, he shouted, “You go first!” The cabbie rolled down his window and shouted back “Don’t tell me what to do!” And he sat there in defiance for what seemed like an eternity, with traffic backed up all the way to toll booths.

We can laugh at that incident, but if you multiply it to the nth degree and transport it to the Middle East, what is happening in that region is no joking matter. Resentment and revenge between the Israelis and Palestinians continues to escalate, with both sides blaming the other for the violence and bloodshed.

The headline in Saturday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution said “Israeli Tanks Take War Right To Arafat’s Door,” and there have been two suicide bombings since

then. It’s tragic.

If Jesus were to re-enter the city of Jerusalem today, He would find three major religions vying for position there, not just the one He knew. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are struggling to exist side by side in what they all claim to be their Holy City, and the track record of resentment and conflict between those three religions goes back for centuries.

III.

But of course, Jesus was well aware of those same resentful attitudes and vengeful actions during His physical life on this earth. And as He began His ministry, preaching the Sermon on the Mount, He spoke those words that turned the ancient law of retaliation upside down and inside out:

You have heard that it was said “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…for the measure that you give will be the measure that you get back. (Matthew 5:38-39, 43; 7:2).

No doubt, many people who heard those words thought Jesus was either a fool or a fanatic. Some who listened to Him speak that way were offended by His righteousness and resistant to His radical message of love. And not long after, with hatred in their hearts, they began to plot to do Him in. But there were others who believed that what He said was true, and they chose to follow Him and to live as He taught them to.

When Jesus was finally arrested, accused of blasphemy, put on trial before Pilate and then crucified by Roman soldiers between two thieves, those followers, called disciples, fell away in fear. And as Jesus hung there on the cross, He spoke His last words to all of them, saying Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Nearly 2000 years later, we Christians are the ones who still bear witness to those words, we are the followers now who walk in the footsteps of those disciples, we are the people in this generation whom Jesus has called to proclaim His gospel of love and reconciliation.

CONCLUSION

We cannot do that by ourselves, because human nature reacts just the opposite way. But through the forgiveness of sin which Jesus secured on the cross, and by the power of God which raised Him up out of the grave, we have been given all that we need to face life and death without being afraid, to be and become A Community of Grace and to proclaim the promise of reconciliation and peace to this war-torn world.

Do you believe that today? King David believed it long ago when he wrote these words in the 23^rd Psalm: Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for Thou art with me…Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever!

The Apostle Paul staked his life upon it, and said so as he wrote from a prison cell in Rome: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing – it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). I Paul write this greeting. Remember my chains, and grace be with you (Colossians 4:18).

And Jesus Christ promised that it was true. He said to His first disciples as He still says to all of us today, Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, but My peace I give to you. Therefore, let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

If you believe that today, or if you want to, then I think that Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa has told us what God wants and what the world needs us to do. When he received the Nobel Peace Prize, with hope in his voice and tears in his eyes, the Archbishop of Cape Town said:

“Let us be peacemakers, those given a wonderful share of our Lord’s ministry of reconciliation…God calls us to be fellow workers with Him, so that we can extend His kingdom of peace, justice, goodness, compassion, caring, sharing, laughter, joy and reconciliation, so that the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

HALLELUIAH! HALLELUIAH! HALLELUIAH!

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