Church of the Crossroads, Sermons

Church of the Crossroads
Second Sunday of Advent
December 4, 2005
Neal MacPherson

“THE THINGS THAT MAKE FOR PEACE”

Isaiah 40:1-11
Psalm 85
1:1-8

I have chosen the concluding words of the 85th Psalm as the text for this morning’s sermon:

These are words that all of us should commit to memory, for they represent a recital of the things that make for peace. They envision the coming together of heaven and earth. The harmonization of heaven and earth, the realm of God and the realm of earthly existence: what more could one ask for or hope for? The possibility presents itself particularly when we human beings are aware of our own longing for peace and wholeness not only for ourselves but also for our world. In our despair, our loneliness, and our weariness we long for God’s steadfast love, God’s faithfulness, God’s righteousness, the things that make for peace in the earth and in human affairs. And by God’s grace, the gift will be given. That is the promise of Advent.

Steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness - these are among the words used over and over again in the prophetic tradition to describe the character of God. Steadfast love – the compassion God has for God’s children; faithfulness – the fidelity and constancy with which God cares for the earth and its people; righteousness – the intense solidarity with and commitment to those to whom God is bound; these make for peace in the earth. These words that describe God’s character can also describe human behavior when we live according to the ways of God. Human beings, also, are capable of steadfast love; they can choose to be compassionate toward their fellow human beings. They may also choose to be faithful; in the spirit of fidelity, they can care for the earth and its people. And yes, human beings can choose the way of righteousness, which is the way of human solidarity. It goes without saying that if human beings would choose to live according to these, there would be peace in the earth. In the peaceable kingdom

It is possible. The ancient people of Israel knew it was possible, for they themselves, in times of exile and distress, had witnessed and experienced God’s steadfast love, God’s faithfulness, and God’s solidarity.

The psalmist may well have in mind the event which forms the backdrop to the words read this morning from the 40th chapter of Isaiah. The exiles are about to return to Jerusalem from their long sojourn in Babylon. They have served their term. The valleys will be lifted up and the mountains will be made low. A way will be made for God’s people through the wilderness. Whereas human life is like the grass, frail and fleeting, God will live forever and God’s word will stand forever. Yes, God will come in grandeur to save God’s people from their exile, but in the end, the prophet turns to a gentler description of God. God is perhaps better known as a nurturing shepherd, a mother shepherd, if you will, who feeds her children and gathers her children in her arms and carries them in her bosom and gently leads them.

The psalmist, in his despair and weariness longs for yet another visitation from the God of steadfast love and faithfulness and solidarity.

The psalmist awaits the peaceable kingdom. This is our longing also. And yet, for the peaceable kingdom to come, we human beings simply are also going to have to choose the way of steadfast love and faithfulness and righteousness/solidarity.

It can be. We have just recently learned of the death of the last American soldier who was present in the trenches of World War I on Christmas Eve in 1914. He was one hundred and six years old. It was on this night that the Germans, only a few yards away, laid down their arms, began singing Silent Night, Stille Nacht, their Fatherland’s carol, as they climbed out of their trenches, then came over and exchanged gifts with the Yanks.

That event would have been impossible were it not for the divine and human qualities of steadfast love, faithfulness, and righteousness that entered the trenches on that Christmas Eve so long ago. And yet, there is a disturbing conclusion to the story. After that moment of peace, the next morning at sunrise, the killing began once again.

A number of years ago, over seventy years ago in fact, in the aftermath of that same World War, Reinhold Niebuhr chose to introduce a note of realism into Christian faith. The way of steadfast love and faithfulness and righteousness and peace is indeed possible in individual human lives, Niebuhr wrote. It is also possible in smaller communities of human beings. It’s just that the larger the group becomes, in a society, for instance, the more impossible it is to practice the ideals of Christian faith. Niebuhr maintained that it is impossible for a nation or an empire to act selflessly. It is inevitable, he said, that nations and empires will resort to violence and war as a way to preserve their power in the world. This is simply the way it is, and all of our talk of steadfast love and faithfulness and righteousness and peace must recognize the truth of this. Otherwise, we will be living an illusion, and all our speaking and our witnessing will be in vain.

In Reinhold Niebuhr’s theology, liberal Christianity makes a grave error when it overlooks the reality of human sinfulness. Is there, then, any hope for the human race? Is there any hope for peace? Yes, there is. What, then, is the proper role of the Christian community within society? Surely, the task of the Christian community is, in its own life and ministry, by God’s grace, to practice the way of steadfast love, faithfulness, solidarity, and peace. And beyond its own life, the Christian community must surely commit itself to its ministry of peace and justice in the world. Realistically speaking, it will not be able to put an end to war and violence in the world. But, in the midst of the human proclivity towards violence and war-making, it may have a profound mitigating influence. Recall that it was the peace movement that helped to bring an end to the violence of the Vietnam War. It is also the peace moment that will shorten the life of the Iraq War. It was also Reinhold Niebuhr who said that the gift of religion to the human spirit lies in its insistence that human frailty is a reality that infects all, both friend and foe. The gift of religion to the human spirit also lies in its appreciation of all human life as possessing transcendent worth. Authentic religious faith, Niebuhr went on to say, can also create attitudes that transcend social conflict and thus mitigate its cruelties. Religion also has the capacity to bind “human beings together by reminding them of the common roots and similar character of both their vices and their virtues.” Religion also recognizes that the evil in the foe is also in the self, and this recognition can encourage both repentance and human solidarity in any given society. (Moral Man and Immoral Society, The Scribner Library Edition, p. 255) If our nation were to take these truths to heart, it would be far less ready to go to war, and, dare I say, it would put an end to the practice of capital punishment tomorrow. Truly, we of the Christian community have gifts to offer the human spirit.

As we approach the birth of the Christ Child, with the message of the angels announcing the good news of peace upon a torn and troubled world, let us be ready to offer to that same world the very best that we can, the insights that come from our understanding of Christian faith, and the things that make for peace: our steadfast love, our faithfulness, and our solidarity with all of God’s children. The rest we must leave up to God, even as we hold fast to the promise of the psalm:

Amen.

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