Rev. Dustin ParkerBrought back to peace..
Concordia Lutheran Church
Pentecost 2, June 26, 2011
Brought Back
Jeremiah 28:5-9
† In His Name †
May the grace of God be realized as effective now, as you live now and forever in the Father’s kingdom and therefore in the Christ’s peace!
A Desire for Peace
There was once a leader of people, who had seen far too much suffering and even death. When he was younger, he had seen friends die and felt the weight of their suffering. Over 80,000 men had died in horrific, ugly circumstances. He dedicated his life to working to ensure it never happened again.
Diligently he worked, and was applauded by many for his efforts.
History mocks his desire, even as it tells of the result of his work for peace, nearly 80 million people had died in World War II. There was no peace in his time, despite his assurance. Would the war been as horrific if the Allied Forces had challenged the Axis during Chamberlain’s time in office? We don’t know.
We do know he was wrong. There was no peace in the world. Not the kind of peace Chamberlain sought, not during his time in office. The strong words he uttered upon returning to England forever would be attached to his name, not a testament to his dream fulfilled, but to it shattered.
So often in life we, like Chamberlain, look for that which we want to see. Like the people of England prior to World War II, we want to hear the good news, and we tire so easy of the struggles of life. We’ve seen too much suffering, we’ve had enough wars both on a national level and on our own. We want positive, life affirming messages, we wonder when things will change, when life will become easy! (Wasn’t that the promise – computers would make our life easier?)
In our Old Testament reading today, there are two prophets, really adversaries who claim to speak messages for God. One will bring a message of peace and the coming home of exiles… a message that sounds so good, a message of deliverance that is immanent, and a glorious future. The other brings a message that will sustain hope in challenging times…until the people of God are truly back
We need to grasp their stories. We need to know which spoke for God. And we need, desperately need to know, that the hope is fulfilled, the peace is ours. Not by avoiding the pain of facing a challenge, but by seeing the painful challenge embraced.
Peace is Good!
The Problem isn’t if, but when.
And on whose terms
Jeremiah’s caution..
Hananiah’s faith
If we take just the reading today, and ignore its context, our picture is not completed. There is an advantage to this – we see Jeremiah’s desire for what Hananuah prophesied to be true. Hear it from the New Living Translation, “6 He said, “Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the LORD does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all the captives.” Jeremiah 28:6 (NLT)
There is nothing wrong with desiring peace! There is nothing wrong with desiring that God blesses us, and heals us. He indeed asks us to bring our prayers and requests and burdens before Him. Jeremiah, as a prophet of God, would love nothing more than all the promises of God to be fulfilled, for there to be peace in his time. How this prophet of God would love for everything to return to the way it should have been. By the way – note that I said the way it should have been, not the way it was. For the temple had not been used properly in a long time, as the place where the people of God met with God, and heard a message of true peace.
But Jeremiah goes on, to question the message that all want to hear, to question this promise of peace. If you read chapters 27 and all of this chapter, you will learn the rest of the story. The original prophecy had been that King Neb would rule not over just Israel, but the entire area for until his grandson’s reign. Hananaiah’s words, that God would toss of the yoke of King Neb within the next two years, was completely contradictory to what God had already revealed. It was also contradictory, as Jeremiah would note, to the nature of prophecy since the beginning of time.
The desire for peace was strong in Hananaiah, as was his desire to bring forth a message the people wanted to hear. But in doing so, he would rob his people of God’s peace, peace that would sustain them 70 years in captivity. Peace that would assure them that God was working a plan to pour out peace permanently, through Christ’s redeeming them from their captivity to sin. Peace that would restore intimate time with God, and restore proper worship of Him.
Let’s talk about what peace is
I think part of Hananaiah, Chamberlain and even our present world’s problem is that we don’t quite get peace. Most think of peace as the absence of war, the absence of conflict, the absence of frustration. The middle-east concept included the concepts of growth and prosperity, for where there is no war, there is less chance of crops being destroyed, and trade occurs. A side effect for sure, but one that often was concentrated on – and sought after.
But Biblical peace, the kind mention with the words shalom, shalem, salem and salaam goes deeper than the surface absence of conflict. It focus on what on lexicon said is “the completeness, wholeness, harmony fulfillment are closer to the meaning. Implicit in salom is the idea of unimpaired relationships with others,”
The kind of unimpaired relationship where sin is non-existent, where there is love, where there is peace because there is nothing which divides us from God, or from each other in the community.
One of the deacons I worked with this week pointed out an something interesting. If the people of God had listened to the promises regarding King Neb, they would have lived in peace – until God had returned to restore His people. Albeit they would have been in captivity, God’s promise was that there, they would have been safe, and they would have flourished. No one could have attacked them, no one could have challenged Neb’s protection of them.
They could have known peace, and we see in Daniel – even those who continued to look to God knew that peace, even though others plotted and tried to destroy them.
That’s how the presence of the Holy Spirit works in our lives. It is more than the health and wealth messages can ever speak of, because God’s presence is assured there, it is more than being the martyr for the cause as well –for God’s peace is there.
We’re being brought home..
The exile is over..
The ironic thing is, we have what Hananaiah so longed for, for the prophet of peace has come. Remember in the upper room, when Jesus appeared to the disciples.
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
John 20:19-22 (ESV)
You my friends have received the Holy Spirit as well, as God cleansed you and readied you for His presence in the waters of baptism. For us, the exile has long been over, God’s people have begun their return home, but many out there don’t comprehend this, they are still fighting wars, unaware God has made peace. We can now proclaim this peace, for it is no longer a matter of prophecy – the proof is here, in the font where we are united with Christ’ death and the resurrection into a life of peace. It is proven here at the table, where God shares with us the body and blood of Jesus – given and shed that the covenant, God’s testament of peace would be in effect. It is no longer a false prophecy, God accomplished what He had planned.
What Jeremiah and Hananaiah both wanted, what Jeremiah knew wasn’t to be in his lifetime.
But it is in ours.
We can, we should be telling those we know, that it is time – there is peace. Not because we say so, but because God does.
A thought, if proclaiming peace when there is no peace is a lie, and false prophecy; would not the same be true of hiding the message of peace when it does exist?
Christ’s peace changes things. It heals wounds to our soul and spirit. It revives relationships long thought dead. It brings hope when there seems to be no hope. It brings courage and the knowledge that we do not walk alone, and therefore we fear no evil.
For He is with me, guiding us, molding us, showering us with His love and peace.
A peace that comes from the Father and goes beyond all comprehension, a peace in which Christ secures our hearts and our minds – until the final return home.
AMEN!
Pentecost 2, June 26, 2011
Brought Back
Jeremiah 28:5-9
† In His Name †
May the grace of God be realized as effective now, as you live now and forever in the Father’s kingdom and therefore in the Christ’s peace!
A Desire for Peace
There was once a leader of people, who had seen far too much suffering and even death. When he was younger, he had seen friends die and felt the weight of their suffering. Over 80,000 men had died in horrific, ugly circumstances. He dedicated his life to working to ensure it never happened again.
Diligently he worked, and was applauded by many for his efforts.
History mocks his desire, even as it tells of the result of his work for peace, nearly 80 million people had died in World War II. There was no peace in his time, despite his assurance. Would the war been as horrific if the Allied Forces had challenged the Axis during Chamberlain’s time in office? We don’t know.
We do know he was wrong. There was no peace in the world. Not the kind of peace Chamberlain sought, not during his time in office. The strong words he uttered upon returning to England forever would be attached to his name, not a testament to his dream fulfilled, but to it shattered.
So often in life we, like Chamberlain, look for that which we want to see. Like the people of England prior to World War II, we want to hear the good news, and we tire so easy of the struggles of life. We’ve seen too much suffering, we’ve had enough wars both on a national level and on our own. We want positive, life affirming messages, we wonder when things will change, when life will become easy! (Wasn’t that the promise – computers would make our life easier?)
In our Old Testament reading today, there are two prophets, really adversaries who claim to speak messages for God. One will bring a message of peace and the coming home of exiles… a message that sounds so good, a message of deliverance that is immanent, and a glorious future. The other brings a message that will sustain hope in challenging times…until the people of God are truly back
We need to grasp their stories. We need to know which spoke for God. And we need, desperately need to know, that the hope is fulfilled, the peace is ours. Not by avoiding the pain of facing a challenge, but by seeing the painful challenge embraced.
Peace is Good!
The Problem isn’t if, but when.
And on whose terms
Jeremiah’s caution..
Hananiah’s faith
If we take just the reading today, and ignore its context, our picture is not completed. There is an advantage to this – we see Jeremiah’s desire for what Hananuah prophesied to be true. Hear it from the New Living Translation, “6 He said, “Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the LORD does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all the captives.” Jeremiah 28:6 (NLT)
There is nothing wrong with desiring peace! There is nothing wrong with desiring that God blesses us, and heals us. He indeed asks us to bring our prayers and requests and burdens before Him. Jeremiah, as a prophet of God, would love nothing more than all the promises of God to be fulfilled, for there to be peace in his time. How this prophet of God would love for everything to return to the way it should have been. By the way – note that I said the way it should have been, not the way it was. For the temple had not been used properly in a long time, as the place where the people of God met with God, and heard a message of true peace.
But Jeremiah goes on, to question the message that all want to hear, to question this promise of peace. If you read chapters 27 and all of this chapter, you will learn the rest of the story. The original prophecy had been that King Neb would rule not over just Israel, but the entire area for until his grandson’s reign. Hananaiah’s words, that God would toss of the yoke of King Neb within the next two years, was completely contradictory to what God had already revealed. It was also contradictory, as Jeremiah would note, to the nature of prophecy since the beginning of time.
The desire for peace was strong in Hananaiah, as was his desire to bring forth a message the people wanted to hear. But in doing so, he would rob his people of God’s peace, peace that would sustain them 70 years in captivity. Peace that would assure them that God was working a plan to pour out peace permanently, through Christ’s redeeming them from their captivity to sin. Peace that would restore intimate time with God, and restore proper worship of Him.
Let’s talk about what peace is
I think part of Hananaiah, Chamberlain and even our present world’s problem is that we don’t quite get peace. Most think of peace as the absence of war, the absence of conflict, the absence of frustration. The middle-east concept included the concepts of growth and prosperity, for where there is no war, there is less chance of crops being destroyed, and trade occurs. A side effect for sure, but one that often was concentrated on – and sought after.
But Biblical peace, the kind mention with the words shalom, shalem, salem and salaam goes deeper than the surface absence of conflict. It focus on what on lexicon said is “the completeness, wholeness, harmony fulfillment are closer to the meaning. Implicit in salom is the idea of unimpaired relationships with others,”
The kind of unimpaired relationship where sin is non-existent, where there is love, where there is peace because there is nothing which divides us from God, or from each other in the community.
One of the deacons I worked with this week pointed out an something interesting. If the people of God had listened to the promises regarding King Neb, they would have lived in peace – until God had returned to restore His people. Albeit they would have been in captivity, God’s promise was that there, they would have been safe, and they would have flourished. No one could have attacked them, no one could have challenged Neb’s protection of them.
They could have known peace, and we see in Daniel – even those who continued to look to God knew that peace, even though others plotted and tried to destroy them.
That’s how the presence of the Holy Spirit works in our lives. It is more than the health and wealth messages can ever speak of, because God’s presence is assured there, it is more than being the martyr for the cause as well –for God’s peace is there.
We’re being brought home..
The exile is over..
The ironic thing is, we have what Hananaiah so longed for, for the prophet of peace has come. Remember in the upper room, when Jesus appeared to the disciples.
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
John 20:19-22 (ESV)
You my friends have received the Holy Spirit as well, as God cleansed you and readied you for His presence in the waters of baptism. For us, the exile has long been over, God’s people have begun their return home, but many out there don’t comprehend this, they are still fighting wars, unaware God has made peace. We can now proclaim this peace, for it is no longer a matter of prophecy – the proof is here, in the font where we are united with Christ’ death and the resurrection into a life of peace. It is proven here at the table, where God shares with us the body and blood of Jesus – given and shed that the covenant, God’s testament of peace would be in effect. It is no longer a false prophecy, God accomplished what He had planned.
What Jeremiah and Hananaiah both wanted, what Jeremiah knew wasn’t to be in his lifetime.
But it is in ours.
We can, we should be telling those we know, that it is time – there is peace. Not because we say so, but because God does.
A thought, if proclaiming peace when there is no peace is a lie, and false prophecy; would not the same be true of hiding the message of peace when it does exist?
Christ’s peace changes things. It heals wounds to our soul and spirit. It revives relationships long thought dead. It brings hope when there seems to be no hope. It brings courage and the knowledge that we do not walk alone, and therefore we fear no evil.
For He is with me, guiding us, molding us, showering us with His love and peace.
A peace that comes from the Father and goes beyond all comprehension, a peace in which Christ secures our hearts and our minds – until the final return home.
AMEN!
