The Path of Peace

There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path. And that difference is as obvious and still somehow difficult as talking a good game, and putting your money where your mouth is.

The Bible puts it another way. In , and later quoted by Peter in we read, “For whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.”

There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path. And that difference is as obvious and still somehow difficult as talking a good game, and putting your money where your mouth is.

Did you catch that? Not only is it our job to not speak in evil ways - something we are by and large failing at as a nation and people - but we are called to avoid all speech that is deceitful. This isn’t just lies, this is mischaracterizations, assumptions, efforts to trigger others, attempting to stir up drama or manipulate other people, or even any attempt to sway an argument in our direction.

The Bible puts it another way. In , and later quoted by Peter in we read, “For whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.”

We must turn away from it! But not just turn away from it, that’s too easy. I mean, I turn away from violence and lies and manipulation every day, but if I condone or silently allow those things to be committed by others, I am not actually pursuing peace. I am just seeking it.

Did you catch that? Not only is it our job to not speak in evil ways - something we are by and large failing at as a nation and people - but we are called to avoid all speech that is deceitful. This isn’t just lies, this is mischaracterizations, assumptions, efforts to trigger others, attempting to stir up drama or manipulate other people, or even any attempt to sway an argument in our direction.

Offering platitudes. Giving some lip service to what I think I am supposed to feel, even though deep in my heart I don’t feel it, or at least my actions point out the fact that my faith isn’t leading me to the reality God wants it to.

We must turn away from it! But not just turn away from it, that’s too easy. I mean, I turn away from violence and lies and manipulation every day, but if I condone or silently allow those things to be committed by others, I am not actually pursuing peace. I am just seeking it.

This is, in part, the lesson from last week right? Zechariah was playing the part and was likely a very devout person. But his hope in his own understanding affected the way he received God’s word and blessing. So God shut his mouth.

Offering platitudes. Giving some lip service to what I think I am supposed to feel, even though deep in my heart I don’t feel it, or at least my actions point out the fact that my faith isn’t leading me to the reality God wants it to.

And as I said last week, in that silence he was able to listen to God.

[zecwritingontablet]

This is, in part, the lesson from last week right? Zechariah was playing the part and was likely a very devout person. But his hope in his own understanding affected the way he received God’s word and blessing. So God shut his mouth.

In those 9 months of silence. After listening to God and learning to trust Him, Zechariah’s new first words are spent singing the praises of a God who had, in both the affliction and the blessing, brought him to the path of peace.

And as I said last week, in that silence he was able to listen to God.

In those 9 months of silence. After listening to God and learning to trust Him, Zechariah’s new first words are spent singing the praises of a God who had, in both the affliction and the blessing, brought him to the path of peace.

This God who had visited his people! This God who had shown them mercy, who soon would fulfill His promises, and who offered to the world salvation! Zechariah was singing the praises of the God who had brought to us the ultimate understanding!

This life requires us to walk a certain way. Not the socially contrived “correct” way. Not the way of empty words and hypocrisy. Not belonging to a certain group or adhering to a moral code.

A life that isn’t defined by any of that. But one that is filled with an intimate understanding of Grace.

[picofzechspeaking]

You see, in those months of silence, I am sure that Zechariah had plenty of time to consider the overwhelming blessing he had. I mean, this is bigger than him church! This is the beginning of Grace! This is the announcement of the plan of the God of the universe! This is the moment toward which all creation had been tumbling until then, and from which all creation has flowed since!

[picofzechspeaking]

You see, in those months of silence, I am sure that Zechariah had plenty of time to consider the overwhelming blessing he had. I mean, this is bigger than him church! This is the beginning of Grace! This is the announcement of the plan of the God of the universe! This is the moment toward which all creation had been tumbling until then, and from which all creation has flowed since!

This is the moment that our path - the intended path of every human - became known. The path of peace. The way we are all called to walk, and the life we are all called to live.

A life of actions that lead the world to peace, not words that lead to division.

[greatest examples]

James 3:18 NIV

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

[greatest examples]

Just think back on your own life. Who were those people who were peacemakers? Those who settled the world all around them? Were they people who spoke countless words, or always tried to talk around issues? Were they people who tried to get their way? Did they try to stir up drama, or look for things to be wrong?

Spoiler alert - they weren’t.

Peacemakers are people of action. They experience God in the silence He offers and in those moments they learn to praise Him no matter the situation! And in that praise, in that peace and contentedness, they find that they become a conduit for God’s presence for all the world around them!

In short, as James puts it, they sow peace and reap righteousness. So you see, bringing peace with our actions AND our words makes you a blessing, and blessed.

Matthew 5:9 NIV

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who live that way! Who bring with them peace, not division. Kindness and not self-serving behavior masked as spiritualism or religiosity. Love in action and not just thoughts and prayers.

In other words, blessed are those who have not only internalized the call of Christ but who have been manifestly changed by the overwhelming gift of Grace that Christ is!

Blessed are those who live that way! Who bring with them peace, not division. Kindness and not self-serving behavior masked as spiritualism or religiosity. Love in action and not just thoughts and prayers.

And it is that grace, church, that ultimately enables us to pursue peace, and not just seek it. To walk the path we know to be the way to which we are all called! To join John in becoming those who go out into this world proclaiming through our lives that Christ has come! Peace is here!

In other words, blessed are those who have not only internalized the call of Christ but who have been manifestly changed by the overwhelming gift of Grace that Christ is!

And it is that grace, church, that ultimately enables us to pursue peace, and not just seek it. To walk the path we know to be the way to which we are all called! To join John in becoming those who go out into this world proclaiming through our lives that Christ has come! Peace is here!

[snow]

But now that it is here - what we will do with it?

[snow]

But now that it is here - what we will do with it?

Will we protect it? Will we try to not mess it up? Or will we take it for granted and do whatever we want with this grace that we live within?

It is like snow. I mean, is there anything more peaceful than snow? And when it snows, everything is blanketed and becomes seemingly perfect. All those weeds that pose as grass are dead. The roads disappear. The boundaries between homes, the differences in all of this world - they are all covered by this blanket of pure white snow.

Will we protect it? Will we try to not mess it up? Or will we take it for granted and do whatever we want with this grace that we live within?

And when we see it, we don’t want to ruin it, do we? So we don’t step out into it and run around at first. We follow our own tracks. We take pictures where we haven’t stepped. We try to not put blemishes in this thing that seems so pure!

It is like snow. I mean, is there anything more peaceful than snow? And when it snows, everything is blanketed and becomes seemingly perfect. All those weeds that pose as grass are dead. The roads disappear. The boundaries between homes, the differences in all of this world - they are all covered by this blanket of pure white snow.

And when we see it, we don’t want to ruin it, do we? So we don’t step out into it and run around at first. We follow our own tracks. We take pictures where we haven’t stepped. We try to not put blemishes in this thing that seems so pure!

How much more should we do that with faith! With Grace!

This grace we have, this peace offered by Christ not only this time of year - but in every moment! It is so much more important, more special, more integral to creation than snow! We must not only appreciate it but pursue a life that actively preserves it!

How much more should we do that with faith! With Grace!

[grace]

This grace we have, this peace offered by Christ not only this time of year - but in every moment! It is so much more important, more special, more integral to creation than snow! We must not only appreciate it but pursue a life that actively preserves it!

And that is more than simple forgiveness. That is bigger than acknowledging that God exists! That is bigger than you, or me, or anyone! The peace we are called to is so important, so integral to all that we are, that we must not just seek it in our thoughts and prayers, but we must pursue it so that it becomes a part of all that we do.

[grace]

And that is more than simple forgiveness. That is bigger than acknowledging that God exists! That is bigger than you, or me, or anyone! The peace we are called to is so important, so integral to all that we are, that we must not just seek it in our thoughts and prayers, but we must pursue it so that it becomes a part of all that we do.

That is part of the reason we celebrate it over Advent. You see, this time of year we are reminded that God is here with us. Life is bigger than our fears, and our problems, and our situations generally - the life in which we find ourselves is one that is swimming in the Presence and Grace of our Creator! And we must, in light of that grace, pursue peace in all things! In EVERY RELATIONSHIP! IN EVERY INTERACTION! AT WORK, AT SCHOOL, AT CHURCH, IN OUR CARS, AT THE STORE - WE MUST PURSUE PEACE; DARE I SAY PURSUE GRACE IN EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF OUR LIVES!

John 14:27 NIV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

After all, that is, in fact, the visible expression of the gift of Christ. That is the result of Advent, of Easter, of the very life of Christ. Peace is the result of Jesus - this God with us. It is one of the main ways you can know that you are on the path of Christ. If you have peace. If you share peace. If you bring peace with you, then you know that Christ is in what you are saying and doing.

And this peace - this Grace - it is the understanding that God will never leave us and that we don’t have to win, to have our way, to be right, to be liked, whatever - we don’t need any of it to understand how loved we are, and how integral we all are in bringing the peace of Christ into the lives of all those who need it. Church, we bring Him with us! Our lives are a testimony - a modern prophecy if you will - to the Peace and Grace of our Father in Heaven! But knowing it ourselves isn’t enough! That is the lesson from God here. We must walk that path of peace in all we do, just as John had to. A path that leads this world to the Creator and to Salvation.

Seek peace. Pursue peace. Follow that path that is laid before you and while following it, bring all those with you to Christ by your actions and through His Spirit. And do that by living a life of peace in communion with Him.

And this peace - this Grace - it is the understanding that God will never leave us and that we don’t have to win, to have our way, to be right, to be liked, whatever - we don’t need any of it to understand how loved we are, and how integral we all are in bringing the peace of Christ into the lives of all those who need it. Church, we bring Him with us! Our lives are a testimony - a modern prophecy if you will - to the Peace and Grace of our Father in Heaven! But knowing it ourselves isn’t enough! That is the lesson from God here. We must walk that path of peace in all we do, just as John had to. A path that leads this world to the Creator and to Salvation.

[communion]

Seek peace. Pursue peace. Follow that path that is laid before you and while following it, bring all those with you to Christ by your actions and through His Spirit. And do that by living a life of peace in communion with Him.

[communion]