John 16:12-15, Romans 5:1-5 The Heavenly Trio

Most of you have probably heard the legends about St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. One particular legend, which is based on fact, is his understanding of the concept of the Trinity. In his personal confession, he wrote:

For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten, and without beginning…and his son Jesus Christ, who always existed with the Father, before the beginning of time…And he poured out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons (and daughters) of one God in the Trinity of Holy Name.

Saint Patrick was once asked to explain how God could be three in one. He reached down and picked up a shamrock. He held it up and asked, "Is it one leaf or three?". The reply was, "It is both one leaf and three", to which Saint Patrick replied, "And so it is with God"

Here's a simple example of how the Trinity works. God loves us and he is hurt when we turn away from him through sin. Jesus came to restore our relationship with God by paying the price for our sins. The Holy Spirit reminds us of everything Jesus and God said and did, and guides us on our daily walk of faith. The Holy Spirit lets us know that we are loved and that we can experience God's love in an immediate, personal and transforming way.  

Why should we even talk about the Trinity, let alone listen to me preach about it? That is a question I asked myself several times during my preparation for this morning's homily. The Trinity is a difficult concept for anyone to grasp, and I remembered the reason why it is so difficult for us to understand when I came across these words which I found in the sermon I preached on Trinity Sunday in 2010. 

In that sermon I mentioned that part of reason why the Trinity is so difficult to understand lies in how the Trinity is presented in John’s Gospel. John wrote his Gospel for an audience that was primarily Greek. The Greeks were leaders in science, thought and philosophy. In other words, Greek society was very intelligent and highly sophisticated, especially in terms of understanding abstract concepts. This is one reason why John’s Gospel is very theological in nature.

I also mentioned that the very complications of the Trinity are designed to bring us closer to God. There is something we need to know. We don’t know everything about God, but we know everything about Him that we need to know. The Scriptures assure us of that. We do not have to understand everything, spiritual or non-spiritual, the minute we become adults and that includes the Trinity. We know enough to save us. God pours out grace upon us, in abundance and consistently, whether we realize it or not. The Holy Spirit helps us and the Church to understand all of what Jesus said, especially what he said about God.

The Trinity is one of the most fascinating aspects of Christian theology, but it is also one of the most controversial. It is a mystery to us because it is a reality that is above our human ability to understand. We can begin to grasp it on our own, but we must really discover it through worship, symbol and faith. In essence, the Trinity is the belief that God is one in essence, but distinct in person. In other words, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are somehow distinct from one another, yet at the same time they are completely united in essence, will and tasks.

There are four good reasons why we need to talk about the Trinity. First, the Trinity is God. All three persons-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-are the same but different at the same time. Second, the Trinity is the basis of our Christian doctrine. If we eliminate the Trinity, we eliminate the doctrine of one God or we worship a God who can become better or worse or has needs.

Third, the Trinity reveals counterfeit gods. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes and minds to who Jesus really is. The Holy Spirit reminds us that Jesus is both the Son of God and God himself in the flesh. If we hear the Trinity preached regularly, we accept it and can counter the false gods of faith such as Islam, Mormonism or the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Finally, the Trinity is the basis for all human relations. All three members exist in prefect love and harmony, but the Holy Spirit submits to both the Son and the Father, and the Son submits to the Father. They submit to each other, but they are equal.  

The Trinity is not just a New Testament concept. The Holy Spirit was very active in the Old Testament. The Trinity was an active part of creation. People were regenerated in the Old Testament just like they were regenerated in the New Testament, and the only way people can be regenerated is by the influence of God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit also gifted certain people in the Old Testament and equipped them for specific tasks. For example, kings were anointed with oil, which represented being empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out their duties in a godly way.

The Holy Spirit brings spiritual truth to believers. It calls Scripture to mind, illuminates its meaning and couples itself with experience. The Holy Spirit glorifies God the Son. It vindicates the truth of his teachings and his identity. Unlike the disciples after Jesus ' resurrection and before Pentecost, we are not alone. We always have the Holy Spirit. It convicts the world of sin and changes people's lives.

No one can escape God's wrath by natural means. It can only be done through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It creates a sense of relief in believers, and only then can we start to live. Faith in God leads to peace with God. Peace does not mean tranquility. It means no longer being subject to God's anger because of sin. We can't earn our way out of our sin debt to God because we can never know how much is enough. The process of receiving God's grace through faith is just a start. It transforms us through the working of the Holy Spirit.

If we give ourselves to the Holy Spirit and let him guide us, we will never wander from the faith because he is ever-present. He glorifies Christ in the view of men. He convicts the world of righteousness. He comes to everyone who humbly seeks to know Christ. He intercedes in every area of our lives. He helps us understand God's Word. He convicts us of sin. He speaks the truth of God's Word. He teaches us what Christ taught either by himself or through the disciples.  

In order to approach Scripture, we have to pray first. We have to pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance and understanding. We sense the Holy Spirit when it comes to us from God. God reveals himself to all of us, but only as much as we can understand with the help of the Holy Spirit. For example, in the reading from John 16:12-15, Jesus knew the disciples couldn't receive more truth because they were concerned with themselves. They could not understand the spiritual truth he wanted to teach them without the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit comes from God and glorifies the relationship between Jesus and God. It translates the words of Jesus for us when we encounter situations where we have to ask ourselves the famous question, "What would Jesus do?" It challenges us to shape our lives according to Jesus' teachings instead of shaping our lives according to the standards of the world.

The Holy Spirit emphasizes sin, righteousness and judgment. Faith in Jesus gives us God's grace and peace. It gives us hope and comforts us when we suffer as expressed in these words from Romans 5:3-4: "We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope". God pours out his love through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit reminds us that God's love is watching over us. Suffering is good not because of the suffering itself, but because of the patience, experience and hope that come from it.

For example, those of you who have been farmers or who have planted gardens know that plants need soil, sun and rain in order to grow. If you take away any one of those ingredients, plants have a harder time growing. It's like the story of a man who toured an orange grove where an irrigation pump had broken. The season was dry and some of the trees were dying because they lacked water. The man who gave the tour then took the visitor to his own orchard where irrigation was used sparingly. He said, "These trees could go without rain for another two weeks. When they were young, I frequently kept water from them. This hardship caused them to send their roots deeper into the soil in search of moisture. Now, my trees have the deepest roots in the area. While others are being scorched by the sun, these are finding moisture at greater depths." Suffering can produce the "roots" we as believers need to survive and thrive in any season of life, but to grow these deep roots we have to plant ourselves in God's Words to find comfort and strength when we suffer.  

We must remember that the Holy Spirit is our guide, not our controller. We keep our ability to choose to follow His leading. As a result, we are always responsible for our actions and our words. The Holy Spirit guides believers into truth, which in turn makes his guidance trustworthy. It helps believers decide what is true and what is false; what is wise and what is foolish; what is best and what is simply okay. When life bombards us, the Holy Spirit will guide us. He will give us that sense of discernment that we need to make both big and small decisions. As we become more sensitive to his guidance, we will worry less and less about the decisions we will make.

The Holy Spirit never speaks on his own. He submits to the Father's authority, so everything he speaks is directly from the Father. This makes sense because the Holy Spirit lives in all of us, and since he has direct access to our minds, he is the perfect candidate for communicating God's will to us.

The Trinity is a mystery, but this does not mean a riddle. Instead, the Trinity is a reality above our human comprehension that we may begin to grasp, but ultimately must know through worship, symbol and faith. In order to understand it, we must live in the light of its implications for our human lives. The relationship that exists among the three divine persons suggests to us that we can know God through our relationships---not only in God’s relationship to us, but to the entire created world.

God is real and we are never alone. We can draw close to him and know that he will provide for our needs because he cares for us. We are never beyond his reach because of the Holy Spirit.  The Father opened the way for us to be in his family. Jesus continually offers his peace so we can experience peace of mind and heart, and the Holy Spirit cultivates the fruit of peace in our lives. As a result of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the God-kind of love dwells, abides and makes its home in our hearts, but it can't be expressed until we yield to the Holy Spirit in fellowship by confessing it and practicing it.

Bibliography

1)      R.C. Sproul, "What was the Role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament?". Retrieved from Biblegateway@e.biblegateway.com

2)      Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll's New Testament Insights on John (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2010)

3)      Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll's New Testament Insights on Romans  (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2010)

4)      Jared More, "4 Reasons the Trinity Should be Part of Your Preaching". Retrieved from www.sermoncentral.com

5)      Anne Graham Lotz, "Open Your Eyes". Retrieved from angelministries.info@angelministries.org

6)      Charles Spurgeon, "The Holy Spirit-the Great Teacher". Retrieved from Biblegateway@e.biblegateway.com

7)      Jamieson, R., Fawcett, A.R., & Brown, D.: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Oak Harbour, WA: Logos Research Systems Inc.; 1997)

8)      Frederickson, R.L. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Vol. 27: John (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.: 1985)

9)      Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, NASV (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.: 2009)

10)  Dr. Charles Stanley, "A Helper for All Occasions". Retrieved from Crosswalk @crosswalkmail.com

11)  Anne Graham Lotz, "Guided Into a Deeper Level". Retrieved from angelministries.info@angelministries.org

12)  J. Vernon McGee, "How Could I Have Peace of Mind?" Retrieved from Jesus.org@crosswalkmail.com

13)  Craig Condon, "The Three Musketeers-Father, Son and Holy Spirit". Preached at Trinity Anglican Church, Liverpool, NS on Sunday, May 30, 2010

14)  Dr. Harold Sala, "Trouble". Retrieved from www.guidelines.org

15)  Bob Heerspink, "Beyond Enlightenment". Retrieved from www.backtogod.net

16)  Greg Laurie, "It's Covered". Retrieved from Crosswalk @crosswalkmail.com

17)  Dr. Charles Stanley, "Peace With God". Retrieved from Crosswalk @crosswalkmail.com

18)  Exegesis for Romans 5:1-5. Retrieved from www. sermonwriter.com

19)  Lectionary Homiletics, Volume XXV, Number 3 (St. Paul, MN: Luther Seminary; April/May 2013)

John 16:12-15 Our Heavenly GPS Receiver

Good morning boys and girls!

Who can tell me what this is? It's a compass. Can anyone tell me what a compass does?

A compass is a very handy instrument that will help keep you from getting lost. Not only that, it will help you find your way if you do get lost. The compass has four main directions, they are North, South, East and West. The needle of the compass always points North. So, if the needle is pointing in that direction (point to the North) and you want to go South, you would go in the opposite direction from what the needle is pointing. With the needle pointing North, if you want to go East, you would go in that direction (point to the East.) If the needle sometimes pointed North and at other times it pointed to the South, East, or West, you would never be able to use the compass to find your way. You would wander around, hopelessly lost. The compass must always point in the same direction if you are going to use it to guide you.

Can anyone tell me what this is? It's a map. A map can help us to find a place, and if we're travelling a map can show us how to get there, how far away it is, what types of roads we can travel on, etc. A compass and a map are old-fashioned ways to find out where we are and where we want to go. Today, thanks to modern science, we have another way. Can anyone tell me what this is?  

This tool is called a GPS receiver. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. Some people have receivers like this put in their cars to tell them how to get to wherever they want to go. GPS  is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites. When a  GPS receiver is locked on to the signal of at least three satellites , it can track movement and determine the user's position, speed, trip distance, distance to where the user wants to go and much more.

Boys and girls, there is another way we can be guided to where we should go. Can anyone guess what it might be? It's called the Holy Spirit. I'm going to talk about the Holy Spirit with the adults later on this morning, but  I want to tell you that when we don't know what to do or which way to turn, the Holy Spirit always points us in the right direction. We can't trust our feelings or what other people are doing to make important decisions

Jesus promised that God would send the Holy Spirit "to guide us in all truth." That means that the Holy Spirit will help us to understand God's Word which always points us in the right direction. It points us to Jesus who is "the Way, the truth, and the life."

Whenever you don't know which way to turn, you can always turn to God's Word and let the Holy Spirit be your guide.

Dear God, we thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to be our guide through life. We know that the Spirit will lead us to Jesus. Give us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to obey the Holy Spirit all the time. In Jesus' name we pray, AMEN.

Bibliography

 

1. Garmin Limited, "What is a GPS?". Retrieved from http://www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/

2. "Our Spiritual Compass". Retrieved from www.sermons4kids.com

 

Matthew 6:24-34 Don’t Worry, Be Happy (Expanded)

A father passed by his son’s bedroom and was astonished to see the bed nicely made up and everything neat and tidy. Then he saw an envelope propped up on the pillow. It was addressed, “Dad”. With the worst premonition, he opened the envelope and read the letter with trembling hands:

Dear Dad,

It is with great regret and sorrow that I’m writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with you and Mom. I’ve been finding real passion with Joan, and she is so nice. I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercings, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes, and the fact that she is so much older than I am. It’s not just her passion, Dad. She really gets me.

Joan says we are going to be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood-just enough for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many children.

Please don’t worry, Dad. I’m 15 and I know how to take care of myself. I’m sure we’ll be back to visit someday so you can get to know your grandchildren.

Your son, Chad

P.S. Dad, none of the above is true. I’m over at Tommy’s house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the report card that’s in my desk drawer. I love you! Call when it’s safe for me to come home. 

I’m going to take you on a walk down memory lane for a moment. In September of 1988 a gentleman named Bobby McFerrin recorded a song that became a hit for him. That song was titled, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, and it sums up what Jesus is telling us in this morning’s Gospel reading. Part of the song goes something like this:

 Here’s a little song I wrote

You might want to sing it note for note

Don’t worry

Be Happy

In every life we have some trouble

When you worry you make it double

Don’t worry

Be Happy

When you worry your face will frown

That will bring everybody down

Don’t worry

Be happy

What Jesus is saying in Matthew 6:24-34 is that we must put first things first. In other words, we are to seek first the Kingdom of God, and we must do this every day. To seek the Kingdom, we must first seek the King.

We must first seek his righteousness. In other words, we are to be seeking God’s character within us, not God’s control over us. It is our job to serve God and God’s job is to supply us with what we need-not the other way around. God will supply us with what we really need is we put our trust in him. We don’t need everything we want, and we don’t want everything we need. God doesn’t give us everything we need.  

People must see the Kingdom in us as we see the Kingdom of God. That is the real mark of a Christian. When ordinary people begin to talk about their faith in Christ, long-lasting results are achieved. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. We are all called to be a witness for Christ in our lives. It opens the door, even slightly, for God to do something in the life of the person who hears the story. In order for the message to have integrity, it must first be embodied in our lives. In other words, God must be number one in our lives.

The message of the Gospel about the power of Christ to change a human life is by its very nature controversial, because people just naturally resist change and agents of change. Most of us would rather settle for our old familiar second-best lifestyle than venture with Christ into a far more excellent way of life. We simply don’t like for people to make waves.

But whenever the Spirit of Christ is released in a person’s life or let loose on a congregation, things begin to happen. Broken relationships are healed as reconciliation takes the place of alienation. The fruits of the Spirit such as love, peace, patience and kindness begin to emerge. And people catch fire for the Lord! No one can deny that something is going on. The earth may not quake, a sound like a mighty wind might not be heard, tongues of fire may not appear, and people may not speak in strange languages, but it could be described as a “second Pentecost”. And at times like these you can either respond favourably or negatively to Christ, but you will find it hard to ignore him. There is something about the activity of Christ that causes us to choose sides.  

Jesus’ parable of the rich fool is a good example of what he is trying to tell us in today’s Gospel reading. The rich man kept building bigger and bigger barns, and then he died. He was foolish because he spent all of his time preparing for a future that never came. The future is not God’s creation-it is our imagination. We dream about the future, but God creates today. God is not saying that we should not prepare for the future at all. On the contrary, he is telling us to prepare for a future with him by putting our trust and faith in him, and by letting him work through us to do his work in the world.

The main problem in society today is worry about the future. The problem with worrying is that it is easy to do but so hard to lose. It is a power that controls our lives. Many of the problems we can’t solve instantly can be moved one piece at a time, one day at a time. When worries seem to be overtaking you, let God take over. Trust God to supply our needs and take care of our future. Let faith provide you with a healthy and balanced perspective about life and its demands. Instead of nursing wounds of self-pity, pray for the grace to forgive. Instead of worrying about those for whom we are responsible, ask God to intervene and lift the burden from our shoulders. Instead of thinking creatively about how to bring someone else down, pray creatively how to build them up. We find peace of mind and heart only when we wrap ourselves in something bigger than ourselves. Peace is a by-product of being committed to the Kingdom of God and the resources God gives us for the journey we call life.

We serve only that which we love supremely. We can’t serve both God and man. In other words, a man of the world can’t truly be a religious character. We can be in the world but not of the world only if we trust and serve the Lord. Our existence depends solely on God. We must trust on his wisdom that what he provides for us is truly what we need. Grace is the way to glory, holiness the way to happiness. God has conferred the greatest blessings (Life and the body) so he will be willing to confer the lesser blessings of food, clothing, shelter and other necessities. Those who ask receive, and those who seek find, but not always in the way they expect because God answers prayer in his own time and in his own way.  

Man has three basic, insatiable needs:

1.      To feel significant

2.      To feel secure

3.      To be loved

The best way to meet these needs is to make God number one in our lives. Everything we do and say, day by day, is of importance to him. Only as we love God can we love our spouse, children, neighbours, siblings and friends in a complete way. Man is formed for nobler pursuits than the desire to be rich. He lives for eternity. Those who do not know God WILL be anxious about the future, but those who do know him may surely trust him for the supply of their wants. If our minds are directed to both earthly and heavenly things, we become distracted, confused and darkened. We can’t serve both God and man. Trusting and serving God will prevent worldly anxieties.

In order to trust God to provide for our daily needs, we must value ourselves and forget ourselves and focus on God. God does not tell us not to work. IN fact, he tells us in the Ten Commandments to work six days and rest on the seventh. Those who do not trust God to provide for their needs will not rest in that seventh day. By not worrying about our needs, we are free to serve him, love him and help our fellow man. We have a power stronger than anxiety-the power of God and prayer. We have a peace that outlasts our anxiety and difficulties-the peace of God, which passes all understanding.

God is committed to the gospel of Jesus and to anyone who makes it their first priority. Other than that, we’re on our own. We’ll have to “Fish or cut bait”. God is not obligated to fund our dreams and projects-only his and the ones planted within us through spiritual gifts and divine calling. To strip Christian faith of its unpredictability and risk in order to turn it into a warm velvet limo ride to a perfect world is to destroy it. Those of you who watch the reality program Fear Factor may be disgusted by some of the stunts, but at some lever we all know that getting the rewards of life is dependent on conquering and facing our fears, and that is nowhere more true than in our relationship with Jesus Christ and the kingdom he is intent on bringing to this world. He knows how large our fears are and how puny our faith is.  It honours him when we trust him. Nothing about us surprises him or makes him loves us any less. To always be seeking the kingdom is to live near the outer edge of predictability, where needs are always greater than resources. Empty hands are not hard to fill, especially when they are lifted to heaven.  

We must always ask ourselves the question, “Is my life a gift from God, and if so can I trust God to sustain it?” There is no more basic question, and our lives each give an answer. Once the basic needs are met, is there anything more? Life without an appetite for God is flat and stale. Our good deeds must not loom high in our own minds. They are to be hidden from us. With one’s goodness looming before one’s eyes, one soon comes to feel that they deserve the recognition and admiration of the people. Jesus tells us not to seek this transient reward.

This does not mean that we have no interest in what others think of us. Sometimes we need to hear what those around us are saying, even if we find it unpleasant. Profiting from this praise is not the same as counting such praise as the supreme good. Jesus invites us to seek the true and lasting reward, not the transient and perishable one. That reward is the companionship of God himself. As Jesus said, “Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness”. It is not in satisfying our craving to have more and more that we have abundant life. No, it is in serving God and loving others as we love ourselves that abundant life is gained and lived. Possessions on earth are not for accumulating, they are for distributing in ways that Christ is honoured and our joy in heaven is increased. When we give (especially when we give so generously that we have to sell something to have anything to give), we show that Christ is our treasure and that we love others more than we love our own security and comfort.

Matthew 6:24-34 Don’t Worry, Be Happy

What do we really need? Our society is based on acquisition of things, especially wealth. We are concerned about what we do not have, especially people who are considered to be “have not”.  Jesus is saying that it doesn’t matter how hard we try to get things, we can’t accumulate more than what God can provide for us. If we are called to our heavenly home by God, what good will earthly goods be? After all, we can’t take them with us. What Jesus is saying in the reading we just heard from Matthew’s Gospel is that we must put first things first. In other words, we are to seek first the Kingdom of God, and we must do this every day. To seek the Kingdom, we must first seek the King.

We must first seek his righteousness. In other words, we are to be seeking God’s character within us, not God’s control over us. It is our job to serve God and God’s job is to supply us with what we need-not the other way around. God will supply us with what we really need if we put our trust in him. We don’t need everything we want, and we don’t want everything we need. God doesn’t give us everything we need.  

People must see the Kingdom in us as we see the Kingdom of God. That is the real mark of a Christian. When ordinary people begin to talk about their faith in Christ, long-lasting results are achieved. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. We are all called to be a witness for Christ in our lives. It opens the door, even slightly, for God to do something in the life of the person who hears the story. In order for the message to have integrity, it must first be embodied in our lives. In other words, God must be number one in our lives.

The message of the Gospel about the power of Christ to change a human life is by its very nature controversial, because people just naturally resist change and agents of change. Most of us would rather settle for our old familiar second-best lifestyle than venture with Christ into a far more excellent way of life. We simply don’t like for people to make waves.

But whenever the Spirit of Christ is released in a person’s life or let loose on a congregation, things begin to happen. Broken relationships are healed as reconciliation takes the place of alienation. The fruits of the Spirit such as love, peace, patience and kindness begin to emerge. And people catch fire for the Lord! No one can deny that something is going on. The earth may not quake, a sound like a mighty wind might not be heard, tongues of fire may not appear, and people may not speak in strange languages, but it could be described as a “second Pentecost”. And at times like these you can either respond favourably or negatively to Christ, but you will find it hard to ignore him. There is something about the activity of Christ that causes us to choose sides.  

Jesus’ parable of the rich fool is a good example of what he is trying to tell us in today’s Gospel reading. The rich man kept building bigger and bigger barns, and then he died. He was foolish because he spent all of his time preparing for a future that never came. The future is not God’s creation-it is our imagination. We dream about the future, but God creates today. God is not saying that we should not prepare for the future at all. On the contrary, he is telling us to prepare for a future with him by putting our trust and faith in him, and by letting him work through us to do his work in the world.

The main problem in society today is worry about the future. The problem with worrying is that it is easy to do but so hard to lose. It is a power that controls our lives. Worry is a big problem for our society. Advertising only adds to that worry because it tries to convince us that we really need the newest car, computer, dress, suit, etc. This is really about acceptance, but the only acceptance that should matter to Christians is acceptance by God.

Many of the problems we can’t solve instantly can be moved one piece at a time, one day at a time. When worries seem to be overtaking you, let God take over. Trust God to supply our needs and take care of our future. Let faith provide you with a healthy and balanced perspective about life and its demands. Instead of nursing wounds of self-pity, pray for the grace to forgive. Instead of worrying about those for whom we are responsible, ask God to intervene and lift the burden from our shoulders. Instead of thinking creatively about how to bring someone else down, pray creatively how to build them up. We find peace of mind and heart only when we wrap ourselves in something bigger than ourselves. Peace is a by-product of being committed to the Kingdom of God and the resources God gives us for the journey we call life.

We serve only that which we love supremely. We can’t serve both God and man. In other words, a man of the world can’t truly be a religious character. We can be in the world but not of the world only if we trust and serve the Lord. Our existence depends solely on God. We must trust on his wisdom that what he provides for us is truly what we need. We must obey his instructions and submit to whatever he uses to transform our character, whether it is hardship, suffering or ease. When we make a commitment to become increasingly like Christ, God will take responsibility for providing whatever we need.

Grace is the way to glory, holiness the way to happiness. God has conferred the greatest blessings (Life and the body) so he will be willing to confer the lesser blessings of food, clothing, shelter and other necessities. Those who ask receive, and those who seek find, but not always in the way they expect because God answers prayer in his own time and in his own way.  

Man has three basic, insatiable needs:

1.      To feel significant

2.      To feel secure

3.      To be loved

The best way to meet these needs is to make God number one in our lives. Everything we do and say, day by day, is of importance to him. Only as we love God can we love our spouse, children, neighbours, siblings and friends in a complete way. Man is formed for nobler pursuits than the desire to be rich. He lives for eternity. Those who do not know God WILL be anxious about the future, but those who do know him may surely trust him for the supply of their wants. If our minds are directed to both earthly and heavenly things, we become distracted, confused and darkened. We can’t serve both God and man. Trusting and serving God will prevent worldly anxieties.

In order to trust God to provide for our daily needs, we must value ourselves and forget ourselves and focus on God. God does not tell us not to work. In fact, he tells us in the Ten Commandments to work six days and rest on the seventh. Those who do not trust God to provide for their needs will not rest in that seventh day. By not worrying about our needs, we are free to serve him, love him and help our fellow man. We have a power stronger than anxiety-the power of God and prayer. We have a peace that outlasts our anxiety and difficulties-the peace of God, which passes all understanding.

God is committed to the gospel of Jesus and to anyone who makes it their first priority. Other than that, we’re on our own. We’ll have to “Fish or cut bait”. God is not obligated to fund our dreams and projects-only his and the ones planted within us through spiritual gifts and divine calling. To strip Christian faith of its unpredictability and risk in order to turn it into a warm velvet limo ride to a perfect world is to destroy it. Those of you who watch the reality program Fear Factor may be disgusted by some of the stunts, but at some level we all know that getting the rewards of life is dependent on conquering and facing our fears, and that is nowhere more true than in our relationship with Jesus Christ and the kingdom he is intent on bringing to this world. He knows how large our fears are and how puny our faith is.  It honours him when we trust him. Nothing about us surprises him or makes him loves us any less. To always be seeking the kingdom is to live near the outer edge of predictability, where needs are always greater than resources. Empty hands are not hard to fill, especially when they are lifted to heaven.  

We must always ask ourselves the question, “Is my life a gift from God, and if so can I trust God to sustain it?” There is no more basic question, and our lives each give an answer. Once the basic needs are met, is there anything more? Life without an appetite for God is flat and stale. Our good deeds must not loom high in our own minds. They are to be hidden from us. With one’s goodness looming before one’s eyes, one soon comes to feel that they deserve the recognition and admiration of the people. Jesus tells us not to seek this transient reward.

This does not mean that we have no interest in what others think of us. Sometimes we need to hear what those around us are saying, even if we find it unpleasant. Profiting from this praise is not the same as counting such praise as the supreme good. Jesus invites us to seek the true and lasting reward, not the transient and perishable one. That reward is the companionship of God himself. As Jesus said, “Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness”. It is not in satisfying our craving to have more and more that we have abundant life. No, it is in serving God and loving others as we love ourselves that abundant life is gained and lived. Possessions on earth are not for accumulating, they are for distributing in ways that Christ is honoured and our joy in heaven is increased. When we give (especially when we give so generously that we have to sell something to have anything to give), we show that Christ is our treasure and that we love others more than we love our own security and comfort.

 

 

                                                      

Matthew 5:38-39 Peace, The Church and Society

“You have heard it said of old, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say unto you; do not resist the evil person. If he strikes you on the left, turn to him on the right”. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 verses 38-39 not to contribute to further violence by retribution, but rather to tolerate the insult and abuse, and to indicate to the abuser that he is not your enemy. He knew that mortal violence, retaliation, retribution or vengeance did not resolve any issue. War has often been used to resolve issues, but are there other ways to solve problems?

The answer is “yes”, but they are not always successful. The use of economic sanctions is one method, but in many cases it is a failure. When applied against Saddam Hussein after the first Gulf War or against Rhodesia during the era of white minority rule, or against South Africa during apartheid, the result was hardship and poverty for the common people, not a change in attitude or government. The United States has had economic sanctions against Cuba and the Castro regime since the early 1960s, but the regime is still in power, perhaps because the Soviet Union was a major ally of Cuba during the Cold War and gave economic support to Fidel Castro.

A better way to deal with evil is through passive, peaceful resistance. This is what Jesus meant when he said that we are to resist evil in all its forms. Jesus encourages us to wage spiritual warfare against the dark forces of Satan and his followers. Woodrow Wilson, who was the President of the United States during World War I and its aftermath, saw this spiritual warfare as extending into all aspects of life. In his mind, there was no such thing as neutrality. One must choose to serve either Christ or Satan (Magee, 2008)[1]. Unfortunately, as his presidency progressed he became persuaded of his own divinely-appointed role in implementing God’s will as he saw it. The subsequent rigidity in his dealings, particularly in leading the Covenant of the League of Nations through the ratification process in the United States Senate, left him unable to compromise. It was his belief that comprise was an act of unfaithfulness. Partly as a result of his rigidity, the United States did not join the League and pursued an isolationist foreign policy until shortly before it entered World War II.

Peace can and does overcome evil, especially through peaceful, passive, active resistance. The church can and does have a role to play by spreading the word of Christ’s love through its own actions. Even by doing simple things such as relieving poverty, Christian-based organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse and the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund combat the evil forces of poverty and hunger. Unfortunately, sometimes the lack of peaceful resistance by the church and theologians contributes to the forces of evil.  

A good example is German Theologian Martin Niemoller. He was a U-boat captain in the German Navy during World War I and became a theologian and ordained minister in 1929. He argued that the Nazi Party’s program was “a renewal movement based on Christian moral foundation” (Martin Niemoller). He also supported Hitler’s views on race and nationality. His views did not change until Adolf Hitler refused to revoke the appointment of Ludwig Muller as Germany’s Reich Bishop of the Protestant Church. Along with Karl Barth, professor of theology at Bonn University, and other supporters, Niemoller formed the Confessional Church. 

Niemoller and fellow German theologian Dietrich Bonheoffer also formed the Pastors’ Emergency League and published a document opposing Hitler’s religious policies, especially the policy that Jews who converted to Christianity should be expelled from the church. Niemoller did, however, remain a member of the Nazi Party. He later admitted that the Pastors’ Emergency League “acted as if we only had to sustain the church” and did not take “responsibility for the whole nation”. (Martin Niemoller) When members of the Protestant Church were arrested, Niemoller finally spoke up. For this he was arrested and held in various concentration camps.

Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels urged Hitler in 1938 to have Niemoller executed; however, Hitler, fearing that Niemoller’s execution would provide an opportunity for foreign theologians such as George Bell, the Bishop of Chichester in England, to attack the German government, allowed him to live. Eventually Niemoller and other political prisoners were to be executed; however, they were rescued by the Allies just before the end of the war.

Niemoller went on to become an opponent of both the Cold War and nuclear weapons. He argued, “The church has to serve the communists as well as all human beings…communism must and can only be fought and defeated with spiritual weapons. All other powers will fail”. He also upset the American government in two ways:

1.      By stating that former President Harry S. Truman was the greatest murder in the world after Adolf Hitler for his decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

2.      By visiting North Vietnam in 1965 and meeting with North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh.

Niemoller later came to regret his early support for the Nazis, as expressed in the following quote: “In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I was  not a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I was a not Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up” (Lewis, 1995-2009)

 

Why were the churches silent? They were silent for the same reason that many churches are often silent in regards to evils in our own society. They had much to lose if they “rocked the boat” by making too many waves. We must act as though everything depended on us. We need to assume responsibility for what goes on around us if it lies within our power to do so. If we do, God will be with us. He might not save us from death, but he will raise us from the dead as Jesus was raised. (Kreilkamp, 1984) 

Contrast this, if you will, with the more active resistance role played by Dietrich Bonheoffer. In his 1939 book, “The Cost of Discipleship”, he argued that real grace is the grace that will cost a man his life, the grace made dear by the life that Christ sacrificed to purchase man’s redemption from sin. He went on to argue in a paper on the Sermon on the Mount that the meek are those who believe that only the reign of Christ can bring true peace and paradise. Those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake are willing to suffer for the cause of Christ. (Kappelman)

Bonheoffer heeded Christ’s words in John 15:13: “Greater love hath no man than this, but that a man lay down his life for his friends “. Bonheoffer was arrested and executed by the Nazis. He was one of the few Christian leaders to actively resist the Nazis (Braun). For Bonheoffer, peace and justice was impossible without truth (Hauerwas), and he was willing to lay down his life for truth. His letters and books have inspired readers throughout the world.   During the struggle for democracy, human rights and freedom of religion in South Korea in the 1970s, many Christians were arrested, tortured and imprisoned. To them, Bonheoffer’s words were like pages from the New Testament and gave them courage for face punishment. (Kreilkamp, 1984)

The contrast between Bonheoffer and Niemoller is an example of the mixed and ambivalent character of human nature as emphasized by Reinhold Niebuhr, a renowned North American Presbyterian minister, theologian and political philosopher. His belief was that human nature consisted of creative impulses matched by destructive impulses and regard for others overruled by excessive self-regard. He said, “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary”.  This argument had the dubious honour of accounting for Hitler and Stalin and for the necessity of standing up to them. Although he was a pacifist, he also realized that “a democracy cannot of course engage in an explicit, preventive war”. (Schlessinger, 2005) (Pause)

The current war on terror has brought Niebuhr’s ideas back into focus, particularly the struggle between realism and idealism and the debate over the place of religion in our sense of ourselves. Niebuhr justifies war for all the right causes by arguing “Our idealists are divided between those who would renounce the responsibilities of power for the sake of preserving the purity of our soul and those who are ready to cover every ambiguity of good and evil in our actions by the frantic insistence that any measure taken in a good cause must be unequivocally virtuous”. Our virtues and vices are inextricable joined. In other words, we can’t have one without the other. We are to take any necessary measures to defend freedom against tyranny (including morally hazardous actions), but we are to do so in cooperation with other like-minded Christians and nations. In other words, we are not to be like former United States President George W. Bush, who ordered the invasion of Iraq without support from other nations and then, once American troops were in Iraq, asked for help. In the words of Martin Luther King, “…groups tend to be more immoral than individuals…Freedom is never given voluntarily by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed”. (Elie, 2007)

 

Reinhold Niebuhr’s younger brother Richard, who was an ordained minister and professor at Eden Theological Seminary and Yale University, echoed his concerns. In his treatise entitled, “The Responsible Self”, Richard Niebuhr argued that human beings are always responding to some influence, whether it be another human being, a community, the natural order of history, or God. He elaborates on this in an article entitled “The Reconstruction of Faith” by stating that “We do not doubt our fellow men when they tell us of the loyalty of Jesus Christ. We are not inclined to believe that they are deceiving us. What we doubt is not the possibility of such goodness, but we are skeptical of its power…” (Niebuhr)

Richard Niebuhr argued that the church is responsible for the society and which it lives. (Niebuhr, The Responsibility of the Church for Society, 1946)[2] Many churches today share the same belief. Christianity is called upon to address the injustices of our modern society as it has been since the beginning of its history. Many of the early hospitals in this nation were run by churches, and many universities such as Saint Mary’s, Kings, and Mount Saint Vincent owe their creation to the church. Many churches operate local food banks. In fact, our local food bank was originally started by the now-defunct Queens County Association of Churches. If we want to have a society where people can live in peace, the church must do its part to create and promote peace.

In order to do its part, the church must be proactive, not reactive or isolationist. The isolationist church knows that it is accountable to God for its deeds and values, but it only shows concern for itself and not for society as a whole. In order to preach and promote peace, the church must promote the peace of Christ-the good news of Christ combined with the bad news of God’s justice. God will deal with the evil people of this world who do not repent and turn from their evil ways.  We as members of the church are not to judge but are to be shepherds of the sheep, seekers of the lost, friends of sinners, the poor and brokenhearted. The church cannot be responsible to God for individuals without becoming responsible for society.

 

Bibliography

Braun, E. (n.d.). Dietrich Bonheoffer. Retrieved February 16, 2009, from Jewish Virtual Library: www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Bonheoffer.html

Elie, P. (2007, November). A Man for All Reasons. Retrieved February 16, 2009, from The Atlantic Online: ww.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200711/reinhold-niebuhr

Hauerwas, S. (n.d.). Dietrich Bonheoffer on Truth and Politics. Retrieved February 16, 2009, from CT Inquiry: www.ctinquiry.org/publications/reflections_volume_6/hauerwas.htm

Kappelman, T. (n.d.). Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Man and HIs Mission. Retrieved February 16, 2009, from Leadership U: www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/bonhoeffer.html

Kreilkamp, H. D. (1984, July). Dietrich Bonheoffer: Prophet of Human Solidarity. Retrieved February 16, 2009, from Spirituality Today: www.spirituallitytoday.org/spir2day/843625kreilkamp.html

Lewis, J. J. (1995-2009). Martin Niemoller. Retrieved February 16, 2009, from Wisdom Quotes: www.wisdomquotes.com/001665.html

Magee, M. (2008). What the World Should Be: Woodrow WIlson and the Crafting of a Faith-Based Foreign Policy. Waco, Texas, USA: Baylor University Press.

Martin Niemoller. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2009, from Sparticus Educational: www.sparticus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERniemoller.htm

Niebuhr, R. (n.d.). The Reconstrucion of FAith. Retrieved February 16, 2009, from Religion Online: www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=858

Niebuhr, R. (1946). The Responsibility of the Church for Society. In K. S. Latourette, The gospel, The World and the Church.

Schlessinger, A. (2005, September` 18). Forgetting Rienhold Niebuhr. Retrieved February 16, 2009, from The New York Times: www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/books/review/18schlesinger.html?_r=1&pagewanted...

 

 

 

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[1] As reviewed by David T. Koyzis for Christian History magazine. Retrieved on Feb. 28, 2009 from www.christianitytoday.com/ch/booksandresources.reviews/foreignpolicy.html

 

[2] As retrieved from the Religion Online web site at www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2731