Note from Carmen: Your generosity has made it possible to upgrade with the purchase of a new Bluetooth microphone. You should not have trouble hearing from here on out! Secondly, I have also added a teleprompter app, which adds some steps to the process, and has really taken some getting used to, but I think it helps. Or it will as my skills improve. Thank you so much and God bless your generosity!! ~Carmen
Hello Dear Ones,
Today’s Text: Matthew 5:9
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Here’s a song from the Seed and the Soil Project that we’re loving for thoughtful contemplation that sings the text of the Beatitudes. Lyrics are here.
This is a comforting prayer for peace and justice. Lyrics available here.
USEFUL RESOURCE: The Seed and Soil Project puts out scripture-rich music in an indie style for use by individuals and congregations completely for free. You may ask for a download or physical copy of an individual CD or the whole collection by going to this web form and entering your information. You can also subscribe to their YouTube channel, all the music is there as well. I have the utmost respect for the people who are doing this work and the service they are providing to the church. Please tell them I sent you. ~ Carmen Shenk
Question for discussion
Here’s a verse from Matthew 5:44: “But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you.”
If you could speak a genuine blessing over an enemy or opponent, what would it be?
In your group:
I would suggest offering each person an agreed upon amount of time to answer this question, with someone working as a timekeeper. It is important that this time of conversation reflects the entire gathered community - even those who don’t usually share very often.
And as you close your time together:
I leave you with this blessing:
I release you in the power of the Holy Spirit into the world God so loves, to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with the God, who sees the goodness and grace in you and walks proudly with you.
Blessings,
Carmen
This post is offered for individual worship, and for sharing with your small group and member congregations. It is offered free of charge at this time - you do not need to be a paid subscriber to access this content. Please do share it with others who may appreciate the blessing in this message.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hello Friend, welcome to the Good Foundations Series, I'm Carmen Shenk.
Today I'd like to talk about peace in the face of violence. I'd like to briefly explore the idea that we reap what we sow – and if we sow violence – we will reap violence.
Secondly, I'd like to revisit the commandment “Thou Shalt Not End a Life” and sit with that a minute.
Finally, I'd like to explore how the life and death of Jesus moved physical realm things into the spiritual realm, because God is spirit. For example, we no longer worship in physical realm temple in Jerusalem. We worship in spirit and in truth, and this was God's idea, because God is spirit. We no longer offer sacrifices on an altar at that temple, our altar is now spiritual where we make the great exchange of beauty for ashes. Finally, we no longer fight on the same physical realm battlefields, our battlefield is a spiritual one. We no longer show up in armor, our armor is spiritual.
That's where we're going today. Hop in and hang on!
Shall we start with a few questions?
Why, if God is a God of peace, are there so many wars in the Bible?
If we are called to the ministry of reconciliation and to be peacemakers, what do we do when there is so much war?
Does the Bible give conflicting messages about being a warrior for God vs being a peacemaker? And the short answer is yes!
How do we understand verses so often quoted by Evangelicals like Matthew 11:12: “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” I am not sure I know what that even means, but I do know that it scares non-Christians who view it as a call to violence or insurrection.
It was not my intention to talk about Peacemaking in this 12 sessions series called “Good Foundations”. I don't have all 12 planned out, but this is article 22 in the Confession of Faith from a Mennonite Perspective, they had at least 21 other things to talk about before they came before this topic.
However, I woke up one morning recently and discovered that our president had bombed Iran. And then I saw evangelicals online thrilled with this development, they were talking about end times and ushering in the reign of King Jesus. They were talking about Russia from the north and Persia from the east... (and Persia is the ancient name of Iran). And then there were others predicting a mushroom cloud. And so being online that morning brought up a lot of strong feelings for me, and maybe you also.
So how do we get to peace... from where we are today, or whatever stage of war we are in by the time you hear this message? I'm pretty sure that bombing a country and then telling them to choose peace instead of retaliation – isn't really how peace works.
For example: if I kill your father, you will hate me for the rest of your life. (I am so totally NOT going to kill your father or anyone else!!) Your closest friends will hate me. And your children will also hate me. And pop culture has given us a way to express this in a line from the Princess Bride movie: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." The truth of this statement is clear - the reaction of “an eye for an eye” or a life for a life is natural – and even Biblical as we see in Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21. That's how revenge culture works. Revenge, retaliation. As Ghandi said, "An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind." We do reap what we sow.
In Matthew 7:15-16 Jesus told us to keep an eye “out for false prophets. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?” And so, when we sow violence, we reap violence. Actually, if we sow violence in one generation, we may reap violence for generations.
There is a long list of wars in the Biblical text, and the enemies are many: Amalekites, Ammonites, Amorites, Arameans, Canaanites, Jebusites, Midianites, Moabites, and the Philistines. In Nehemiah they're fighting a coalition of enemies. And in Jeremiah and Isaiah, they're fighting Babylon. There are even wars within the family – there are a lot of wars or tribal skirmishes in the Biblical text. (Here is a list of Old Testament Battles - amazing!)
Sometimes the wars in the OT have been downright weird:
the walls of Jericho fell
God caused the sun to stand still for Joshua
God sent a hailstorm to wipe out a bunch of Amorites.
And Gideon went in armed with jars, trumpets, torches, and swords for a surprise raid in the middle of the night.
Over and over again, God works victories for Israel as they are obedient.
You see in the OT, God's friends were the offspring of Abraham & Sarah, Hagar, and Keturah. Isaac & Rebekah. And Jacob & Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah. And God's enemies were physical realm enemies: empires, and rival tribes.
The battlefield was the Red Sea, Jericho, or the Promised Land. The battlefield was dust and dirt and rocks. The people fighting these wars were men... lots of them... or in the case of Gideon, maybe only the 300 who drank water from their hands. (Judges 7:6) Or maybe just Jonathan and his armor bearer in I Samuel 14:1-14. Or maybe only the young boy David, youngest son of Jesse in 1 Samuel 17 who triumphed over a giant with a sling and a stone.
And once when Israel fought the Canaanites, Sisera, the leader of the enemy warriors – he got away. And in the book of Judges, it tells the story of Jael. She was a nomadic woman who lived in a tent, and she killed Sisera with what she had at hand - a tent stake that she drove into his head. Victory for Israel at the hands of a tent dwelling woman. Not even a daughter of Abraham.
And through the Old Testament with a big picture view, we see that Israel fought. And sometimes God fought for them. The sea opened, hail stones dropped, and in one case, as long as the arms of Moses were outstretched over the battlefield below, the Hebrews were victorious. (Exodus 17:8-13)
How then, do we expect to understand the history of modern peace churches, the theology of the sword among early Anabaptists, and other non-violent movements through history? What happened between the many battles of the Old Testament and the story of Jesus that brought us to a theology of non-resistance, when clearly the Hebrews became warriors, not pacifists.
We're going to take the garden path on this one. Are you with me so far?
The Temple
Jesus has a theological conversation with the woman at the well whose name we are not told. She asked: “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” (Jn 4:20) Jesus tells her: “A time is coming... when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (Jn 4:23-24)
Ok, so let me paraphrase this. Something is going to happen that will make it so that worship does not happen in the physical realm in Jerusalem in the temple – it's not limited to time and place. But worship will happen all around the world in the spirit realm. There's going to be a transition from physical realm to spirit realm. Why? Because God lives in the spirit realm.
This happened through the death and resurrection of Jesus – and Hebrews really goes into the details of how that works:
“Therefore family, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place (in the spiritual NT Temple) by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is his body...” (Hebrews 10:19,20)
and we could keep reading because that is sooooo rich, but for the sake of time let's move on.
I submit to you that the worship of God moved from the physical realm Temple in Jerusalem into the spiritual realm (because God is spirit) through the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. He is the curtain of the temple, he was torn open, we now have access to the Most Holy Place where the Glory and Goodness of God lives.
Friends, we need to go to that Holy Place! Whether you make it a matter of imagination and walk through the temple – however you choose to go - enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! Keep looking around for Jesus and experience what it means to worship God in spirit and in truth.
Too often we're having an intellectual conversation of what it means to follow Jesus without having a conversation with Jesus. It's possible to talk to Jesus – and I don't mean prayer – because that often means some sort of religious activity. I just mean looking for Jesus, asking him where he is in the room, and then just really opening up my spirit to hear him. God is spirit, and we worship and communicate in the spirit realm. We are mystical people.
I'm sorry Western religion told you that all you needed was to think the right thoughts and believe this long list of things, because friend, you can do that and never actually have a spiritual connection with Jesus to worship in spirit and in truth. And that would be such a waste. God is spirit, and we have the amazing opportunity to worship in spirit and truth... because God is sooooo good and so generous toward us!
The Altar
We've just discussed how worship moved from the physical realm in the Temple into the spiritual realm. Next let's talk about the altar. Now you and I don't have to do what the children of Abraham did and bring a lamb, or a dove, or whatever animal and go through that blood and guts ritual - ick! We know that the altar at which we confess our sins is not a physical realm alter, but a spiritual realm altar. And that altar is Jesus. We bring our sins and all the burnt up ashes of our lives, and he gives us beauty for those ashes. Isaiah 61:3 “a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” This is the altar, this is Jesus, the place where we make the great exchange of all of our worst for all of God's best. Because that's what makes God happy.
The Battlefield
Jesus moves worship and the altar from the physical realm to the spiritual realm. And finally, the battlefield. We've talked about the battlefields of the OT. Jesus moves the battlefield of the children of Abraham against all their enemies out of the physical realm into the spiritual realm.
Here's the verse you expect to hear next: Ephesians 6:12
“12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Here we learn that not only is God spiritual, but so is evil.
The Armor
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” - Ephesians 6:13
You know the passage that follows about putting on the full armor of God. Now, is any of that physical realm armor? Do you go around with a helmet, a kevlar breastplate, and a belt with all your weapons on it? Do you go around looking like a member of the military? No, we do not!! The armor is spiritual. The battleground is spiritual, not physical. Just like worship isn't centered in a building. And you don't have to have an altar in your home to confess your sins and receive the generous exchange of God for your sins.
We are spiritual soldiers, not physical realm ones. Or as Timber Hawkeye puts it, “we are soldiers of peace in an army of love”. And when you look at the OT, it is full of stories about what kind of spiritual warrior to be. How to approach battle, how to inquire of the Lord when you're facing a battle. How to seek God for directions and decisions and then follow those directions. And we see that sometimes God just shows up and sending the enemy running. It's all there in the form of war stories. God is a story teller. And we are spirit realm warriors and we need training in how to be effective against the evil one and these stories help us.
Worshipping Warriors
We may even look at the OT and see how God sends the worshipers out as part of the battle formation. Because when we magnify God and focus our energy and our love on God, our enemies seem much smaller. We can magnify our enemies by focusing on them – but that only makes them bigger. Whatever we focus on – we magnify. And I don't know about you – but I need to spend a little less time magnifying the chaos that's being released in the world right now.
Chaos
The chaos is a cover for greed and oppression. As usual, in the world, it's all about money, sex, and power... power to dominate. Power to determine what is true and what is a lie. Power to humiliate and overpower. Power to steal, kill, and destroy.
And how do we fight that battle against greed, oppression, sex and power? What are the opposites of those things? God will always show up in the opposite spirit. Instead of the love of money and greed, it's generosity. Instead of sexploitation and using other people, genuine love. Instead of power to dominate, humiliate, and force your own way in the world? Instead of that – service. Love. Kindness. This is how we fight our battles. When the spirit of the age is selfishness, we become more and more generous. When the spirit of the age is hands tightly closed, me! Mine! Grasping, hoarding, holding... God invites us into the spiritual warfare of living with hands open in release. Letting go. You can't out-give God, but what a blessing to live in the outward focused flow of generosity.
And what we're not going to do is to return violence for violence... which only brings new generations of pain – and that pain gives birth to bitterness and revenge in a cycle of violence.
And so, to conclude... we reap what we sow – and if we sow violence – emotional violence, spiritual violence, and physical violence – we will reap violence.
In the words from the movie: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." And when he has killed his man, a generation later there is a young man looking for Inigo Montoya, and when he finds him he will also say “you killed my father, prepare to die” and the cycle never ends.
And beyond simple sowing and reaping which every farmer or gardener will understand... there is the miracle of Jesus. Through Jesus we worship God in spirit and in truth. Through Jesus we come to a spiritual altar to confess our sins and receive the great exchange of God's beauty for the ashes of our burnt out messes. Through Jesus we don't engage in a physical battlefield, but a spiritual one. We don’t wear physical armor, we wear spiritual armor. And though Jesus, we are called to be ministers of reconciliation in this world. Because we can bring healing in places where pain has been. Where we've seen God work the great exchange for us, we can share that healing with others – and bring healing to the cycle of violence.
The Schleitheim Confession
I recently looked at the Schleitheim Confession (My German speaking gentlemen tells me this is pronounced Sclight-hime) to read their perspective on this peace and justice stuff. This confession was written in 1527 by a coupla old white Swiss guys. And I'd like to read just one paragraph from #6, the Doctrine of the Sword.
Finally it will be observed that it is not appropriate for a Christian to serve as a magistrate because of these points: The government magistracy is according to the flesh, but the Christians' is according to the Spirit; their houses and dwelling remain in this world, but the Christians' are in heaven; their citizenship is in this world, but the Christians' citizenship is in heaven; the weapons of their conflict and war are carnal and against the flesh only, but the Christians' weapons are spiritual, against the fortification of the devil. The worldlings are armed with steel and iron, but the Christians are armed with the armor of God, with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the Word of God.”
That's the earliest Anabaptist writing on the doctrine of the sword, from nearly 500 years ago.
God’s Choices
Finally, God chooses the day you and I first breathe the breath of life, and it is holy ground. And God chooses the day we breathe our last and transition into the arms of Jesus – and that is also holy ground. To step between God and another person and choose their time and manner of death is wrong. Thou shalt not. Thou shalt not.
Finally, through the execution of Jesus which opened a way for us through the curtain - that is his body - we recognize that we worship in spirit and in truth. We come to the altar and exchange our ashes for God’s beauty. We do not come to the battlefield, with guns, patriotic music, and waving huge flags (symbols of empire)! No, we come to the strongholds of this world and inquire of the Lord on how we can bring them down. We show up in the face of evil in the opposite spirit. In the face of greed, we so generosity. In the face of power struggles for dominance, we sow humble service. In the face of sexploitation and using others for our own purposes, we sow preferential love.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, show us how to share good news with the poor. We ask you to set the prisoners free, we know you have done this before. We pray for the liberating insight for the deceived. May your truth come to light. And finally, set the oppressed free. Show us how to participate with you in your Kingdom priorities. In the name, character, joy and hope of Jesus we pray for peace.
Amen.
I leave you with this blessing:
I release you in the power of the Holy Spirit into the world God so loves, to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with the God who sees the goodness and grace in you, and walks proudly with you. Amen.
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