Ephesians 2:14-19, CEB - Christ is our peace. He made both Jews and Gentiles into one group. With his body, he broke down the barrier of hatred that divided us. He canceled the detailed rules of the Law so that he could create one new person out of the two groups, making peace. He reconciled them both as one body to God by the cross, which ended the hostility to God. When he came, he announced the good news of peace to you who were far away from God and to those who were near. We both have access to the Father through Christ by the one Spirit. So now you are no longer strangers and aliens. Rather, you are fellow citizens with God’s people, and you belong to God’s household
We move to peace today, the second
fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Paul’s Galatians 5 list. We will spend three days here, but on this
first day, I want to burst some bubbles about peace. The word Paul uses here is the Greek word
equivalent for the Hebrew Shalom. Shalom
conjures a much richer and grander vision than our over-used English word
peace. Often, when we try to define
peace, we do so by saying what it is not.
It’s not conflict, it’s not turmoil, and it’s not stressful. Shalom hears that and calls B.S.
Shalom actually requires us to lean
into the conflict, be fully present in the turmoil, and to actually deal with
the stress in healthy ways. I refer you
again to the passage above from Ephesians:
“With his body, he broke down the barrier of hatred that divided us… so
that he could create one new person out of the two groups, making peace.” Paul doesn’t spell out exactly how Christ
accomplishes this, but he doesn’t have to because his readers already
know. Christ confronted his own people,
incurring their fury, attracting the attention of the cruel Romans, and getting
himself hung on a tree.” There is no
absence of conflict in the life of Jesus.
Turmoil and stress abound. If you
doubt me, read any one of the Gospels again.
Christ moves toward all the things we like to say are not peace in order
to BE our peace.
I like the way Wille Krischke puts
it: “the biblical idea of peace is much broader than our modern understanding;
it is not simply the absence of conflict but also the presence of harmony. It’s
not ceasefire; it’s community.”
Harmony and community require us to
do tough things: to really listen to
things we don’t want to hear, to move out of isolation towards a problem we
would prefer to avoid, and staying engaged in difficult conversations until
common ground is reached. It means
seeking out relationships with people we’d rather ignore, questioning some of
our cherished assumptions, and asking God to show us our blind
spots/biases. It means trusting that Christ
is in that very difficult work and that Christ will bring true peace/shalom out
of the struggle. “Christ is our peace”
throughout the process.
I challenge you to let go of any
over-sentimentalized notions of peace and exchange it for the Shalom Christ
offers us in Himself. More about that
tomorrow.
Prayer: Help us to
know what the peace you offer us really looks like. Help us to know your perfect Shalom. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for families experiencing bitter conflict right now.
Song: Plastic Ono
Band – Give Peace a Chance
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