"The Peace That Passes Understanding"

When you hear these words “The peace of Christ be with you”   What comes to mind? 

Dec 6 2015 Readings:  Advent 2 John 14: 22-27

This morning I would to take a moment and focus on the creation story as found written in Genesis 1.   In the beginning, Humankind existed in perfect peace and harmony with God the creator.  That’s the story.  Unfortunately, this perfect state of harmony and peace was rudely disrupted by the intrusion of something we know as free will and personal desire.  Well, we all know what happened then right?    May I suggest that deep within the human spirit is this great desire to re connect to that relationship of peace and harmony with our creator once again.   Thus we have the spiritual battle of personal desire and free will over the peace and harmony we once enjoyed.     In order for true peace to be restored in our lives once again, something has to change.   As I had mentioned on the first Sunday of Advent, Advent for the Christian is the season of transformation and change.   Many teachings in our world today believe that real peace is on the other side of conflict and can be brought about by human effort.   That humans can be the source of pure love, perfect peace, hope and true joy.  This is a false teaching because our world is plagued with domestic strife, political rivalry, religious separation, ethnic hostilities, emotional and economic instability and wide spread social disorder that continue to dominate our world.   All human efforts to restore us to this perfect state of harmony and produce a complete peace in our world, have failed.   Many peace treaties have been signed and many peace organizations are in search for peace but unfortunately there is no peace.  No parliaments can effectively legislate it and none of our laws from governments have been able to maintain it.  Here in lies a major question for us today?    Maybe we are looking in the wrong place for peace and maybe we do not understand that this state of harmony and peace was not meant for the world.  May I suggest here, that it is an inner peace we seek, not formulated in our minds and not of the world, but an inner peace that quenches the spirit?  We are not to look to the world for this peace but are to look to its source, to God, who offers peace of mind in harmony with the spirit.   If we look closely at the story found in Genesis 1, true peace only existed between the created humans in the Garden of Eden and God.  Our world, planet earth. had already been created from the kayo, know of as the big bang.  May I suggest that this is just another expression for our Creator clapping his hands together to bring order to creation?   Please note here I did not say bring peace to creation, only order.   For I believe, that peace we are talking about here cannot come from created order, the world, nor can it come from any other physical creation.  In the story of Genesis 1, peace and harmony only existed between the human and God while in Eden and continued until humans discovered their free will and the desire to exercise it.    Now I don’t know about you but free will and personal desire have gotten me into a heap of trouble over the years.   When people ask me today how are you doing Sim?  Often I say “just trying to keep out of trouble”.  Well what I really mean is:  I’m trying to set my will aside when dealing with others, all the while looking to God for guidance.   I did say trying right!!!!  

Therefore it seems to me that true peace cannot come from us.  True peace comes to us from that which created us, from God.  We  Christians understand Jesus to be the carrier of peace and our scriptures often refer to Him as the Prince of Peace.  As followers of his way we don’t say “my peace I give to you”, we say, “the peace of Christ be with you”, and our response back is “and also with you”   When we quote this, we speak the truth, for true peace doesn’t come from us, it comes to us, through surrendering our ways for the ways of the Christ.   In verse 2 of all of these writings: Ephesians 1, Philippians 1, or 2 Thessalonians 1:  they all make this statement “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”.   This genuine peace is a divine gift and for those who surrender their ways, for the ways of God, they will experience it.   They truly fear not. 

For the authentic Christian it comes as a result of taking Jesus into your heart, not you’re your head folks but your heart and there, accepting him as mentor and Master over your life.  You will then experience this peace in times of personal joy but also in times of suffering from deep grief, pain, or loss.    Somehow through the mystical power of surrender by entrusting whatever it is to the care and control of Christ, this extraordinary peace that passes all understanding will flood over you.  This peace has the power to defeat fear and anxiety.  It can quite the voices of jealously, anger, resentment or deep conflict.   You’ll feel lighter, more carefree, unburdened and you will have the strength to face all personal circumstances.   These entities can no longer take you over, they don’t hang around long and become for many just fleeting moments.   It is an inner peace experience, within your spirit and this amazing experience allows you to see the world around you and your circumstance differently, with less fear, more compassion, a greater calmness, and a sense of hope.    John 14: verse 27 is where Jesus first introduces us to his gift of peace.   “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you, I do not give to you as the world gives, do not let you hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”   

Hope, peace Love and Joy are gifts of the spirit that come to us not from the world but from God.    The world would have us believe that we can be the source of these gifts, but the truth is the gifts do not come from us, we are not the source, because we are flawed with conditions and personal agendas.   Worldly peace is also flawed in the same way.  God’s peace is a divine gift offered to all, packaged in grace and wrapped in 

God’s love, fully inclusive with no conditions attached.

 The Apostle Paul speaks of this peace as “the peace of God which transcends all understanding:   because it is not of this world.    Worldly thinking will never understand it, for it is a language of the spirit.   ” This kind of peace will enable Christians to live with a peace filled life, fearless in a world that is full of tension, turmoil and hostility.    God will not remove tension, hostilities or difficult circumstances from your life, but those who follow in the ways of Christ will remain unafraid and uninitiated by the raging tempest and hostility of the world around them. This unique peace that Jesus gives is transforming not just for your inner self but in your outer appearance as well.   As you surrender yourself and your way, for His way, the ways of God, you will be blessed.