John 14:23-29

Easter 6 (9^th May 2010)

Text: John 14:23-29 

 

 ²³Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

 ²⁵"All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷Peace 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.

 ²⁸"You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.

 

Out of the 7 verses in our Gospel reading for this morning, I have picked out verse 27 for our reflection.  It says, “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.”

We are relatively at peace but we still live in a war-torn, troubled world. The Bible tells us that until Christ returns there will be wars and rumors of wars. The only thing that’s changed is our vocabulary. We have new, fearful words: Al Qaeda, Taliban, suicide bombing, dirty bombs, anthrax.  These are anxious days.

There are many things in life that can bring us to a sense of hopelessness and despair.  Even when there is no war, it does not mean there is peace. Greece is not at war but its economic problem threatens to take away the peace.  Britain is still in a state of uncertainty because they still do not know who will be the Prime Minister after the election. That is bound to affect the global market.  Material prosperity does not guarantee peace either because something else will that spoil our peace.

While all the good things in this world do not guarantee peace, neither can all the bad things in this world take away our peace.   If you read the Book of Job, it tells you about the suffering of one man – Job.  He lost his children, his property, and he himself was afflicted by serious skin disease. Yet in spite of his pain, Job was able to declare, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.  After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God” (Job 19: 26).  Job didn’t understand why bad things happened to him, but he knew that he belonged to God.

Everybody in this world is seeking peace, yet most people fail in their efforts to attain peace. Why? It is because they have not found true peace. Now, where does true peace come from?  In John 16: 33 Jesus said, “In me you will have peace; in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”.  In the ancient Hebrew language the word for “peace” is “shalom”.  In Israel, it is a greeting, “Shalom Aleichem”, meaning “Peace be with you.” In Arabic it’s “Salam Alaikum.”  But the Jews and Arabs can’t greet one another with these words.  

What does “Shalom” mean?  Shalom refers to the state of integrity, harmony, serenity and completeness within a person’s life.  The description that I gave is very different from our concept of peace.  In our normal everyday experience, to have peace is to have a quiet day, free of problems, and there’s nobody getting into your nerves. 

But from the perspective of the Bible peace does not mean being free from problems and struggles. Jesus told His followers, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”.  Jesus is not talking about pretending to be OK or pretending that we have no problem or pain.  He is talking about peace, not as the world gives – but true peace.  Some years ago when I couldn’t sleep because of some personal crisis, the doctor gave me sleeping pills so I could sleep at night.  But can’t buy pills from the pharmacy that will give you peace because only God can give you peace.  Psalm 4:8 says, “I will lie down in peace and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.” True rest is found in knowing God.

This true rest enables you to stay calm in the midst of problems and pain.  How different is it from the experience of a person who does not believe in Jesus?  A person who does not believe in Jesus may also enjoy a comfortable life and certain amount of happiness, but this comfort and happiness are dependent upon circumstances. 

Wealth promises peace.  Some people believe that if they migrate to another country or change their jobs, they are in for something better. They may get better income and have better living standard, but that does not mean they will have peace.  In fact Jesus spoke specifically of this danger in Luke 12: 15-21.  He said, “A farmer’s land produced so many crops he had nowhere to store them. So he said, “I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” [That is the world’s offer of peace.]  But that night the man died, and his goods did him no good.  The world promises to give us peace, but such peace only provides us with temporary relief: you may even describe them as a false sense of security.

In contrast, the peace described by the Bible comes about when we trust in God. This is what Paul describes as a “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22).  If that is the case, why do some Christians lack peace?  There are several factors.  Distraction can prevent us from experiencing peace. The farmer told in the parable of Luke 12: 15-21 was not interested in God’s peace because he was chasing the peace that the world is offering.  It is only when we reject the false peace that we will receive the peace of God.

A weak conscience can cause unrest.  Our spiritual life is like a guitar or violin: if the strings are slacken, you will not get a good music.  Likewise, when we neglect or become slack in the disciplines of the Christian life, we cannot be at proper peace.   

Guilty conscience can also take away our peace.  We suffer from guilty conscience when we are not in a right relationship with other people or with God, so our peace is disturbed.

How can we have this peace that the Bible is talking about?  In Matthew 11: 28 Jesus says, “Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  

First, we need to come to Jesus.   When people talk about peace they often discuss “the horizontal” aspect of it – peace between people or social institutions or governments.  Good relations between the government and its people, or between ourselves and others are important.   If we can lessen violence or conflict - it is a good thing, but this is not the peace that Jesus is talking about.   He is referring to the “vertical” aspect of peace, that which concerns our relationship with God.  And that peace has two parts: first is what the Bible calls “peace with God,” (in which we are declared to be no longer his enemies); and the second is the “peace of God” (when we know in our souls the presence and acceptance of God even in the midst of chaos).  And the words of Jesus in John 14:27 have to do with the peace of God. 

Do you know why people suffer from so much stress, depression, and anxiety?  It is because they rely upon themselves to control the situation and manage their problems.  Such people would be Ok as long as they are in control, but when the problem is bigger than their ability to cope, they start to fall into depression.  I keep on reminding people that if they are doing God’s work, they must never rely upon their own wisdom and strength to do it. It is simply putting unnecessary load upon ourselves.  Jesus in Matthew 11: 28 clearly tells us to come unto him. When you do that you are resting in Jesus, who assures you that there is a sovereign and all powerful God who is in control of things surrounding your life.

We also attain peace through knowing God’s word. Psalm 119: 165 promises, “Great peace have they who love God’s law, and nothing can make them stumble.”  Sometimes we are tempted to do things because we think they are good, or we think they are in line with God’s will.  But remember that our hearts can be quite deceptive.  What we consider to be a wise move may not be wise after all.  That is why our decisions have to be tested with God’s word.  And that requires us to know God’s word very well.    

Third, we find peace by declaring war on sin.  We need to recognize that sin is a disease that destroys peace.  Peace has to do with our standing before God. Paul writes, “Since we have been declared righteous through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1).  When we in sin we are at war with God; and peace comes about after we have received God’s forgiveness.   

Peace works, regardless of our situation.  Often times when we pray, we ask God to take away or solve our problems or whatever obstacles that come our way.   While we may want God to change our circumstances and remove our problems or heal our illness, I want to tell you that very often God is more interested in something else.  He is more interested in you.  There are people who say that if your prayers are not answered, it is because you have not prayed hard enough.  That may be true.  But I want you to be opened to the possibility that God may also want to change your character. He wants to make you holy.   

We do not deny that peace involves harmony.  When you really have peace within you, you can live with almost anybody, no matter who they are.  This is what Thomas Merton wrote, “Man is not at peace with his fellow man because he is not at peace with himself. He is not at peace with himself, because he is not at peace with God.”  It means that every single problem we have with someone is a reflection of our problem with God.

Now, if we are talking about the Church, peace means working for unity.  Peace should rule our relationships.  So if you have concern over something: if you are concerned about your children, concerned about somebody’s health or your own personal health; if you have concern about the Church or whatever business you are dealing with – you need this peace from God.  If you don’t have this peace (shalom of God) you may end up being angry with the very thing or people you are supposed to take care. 

I have learned to take this very seriously because there were times in my past ministry that I got angry with the congregation or the committee because they were so slow to understand.  Sometimes I lost my patience and I also lost also my peace.  My reaction seemed reasonable, but then I came to realize that if almighty God could show patience with them, why couldn’t I?  If God could love them even when they did stupid things, why couldn’t I love them too?   I needed a lot of my egos to be knocked out of me and be humbled before I could understand that.   And I have to continue reminding myself of that.

Let us pray: Jesus, Prince of Peace, we ask you to bring us peace, first in our hearts and homes, and then in our world.  We pray that hard hearts will turn to tenderness, and that evil intentions may transform into mercifulness.  Bring our world to its knees, for only there can we find peace.  Help us to show that, because we are loved by you, we can love one another.  Help us to live peaceably with one another.  We know that peacemakers are especially blessed and called “sons of God”.  Make us instruments of your peace, for your glory. Amen.