First Presbyterian Church – Willmar
September 30, 2012
Sermon - “Be At Peace With One Another”
James 5:13-20; Mark 9: 38-50
In today’s epistle lesson, James tells us about the power and
responsibility of prayer and the benefits of restoring the faith of a lapsed
believer. James describes it as bringing back someone who has “wandered” from
the truth.
In the Gospel, Jesus gives us a pretty vivid description of
what could happen if one of us causes a believer to fall away because of an
obstruction that we – or our prejudice – has placed in the way of that
believer.
The Gospel lesson begins with the apostles telling Jesus
about someone claiming to be a follower of Jesus, but they didn’t know him so clearly he can’t be one of them! Jesus warns the apostles against
their arrogant exclusivism, counseling them against judging the faith of
someone else just because that person may not be “one of them.” Jesus’ words are pointing to the universal
cross-cultural appeal of the Gospel and the reality of cultural diversity among
people of faith.
And then Jesus tells them:
“be at peace with one another.”
Since the very founding of Christianity, the followers of
Jesus have had a difficult time distinguishing between the truth of our faith
and the relative near-sightedness of our own parochial culture and the ways in
which our culture – our society – shapes our view of that truth.
At John 18:37-38, Pilate and Jesus have this conversation:
“Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a
king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to
the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ Pilate asked
him, ‘What is truth?’”
Some of us still ask ourselves that question, and some of us
believe that we know exactly what the truth is.
Let me share a story with you. A man was walking across a bridge and came
upon another man standing right on the edge, about to plunge to his death. The
first man shouted, "Stop! Are you a Christian?" "Yes, as a
matter of fact I am." "Well so am I. Are you Catholic or
Protestant?" "I'm Protestant," "Well so am I. Are you Presbyterian
or Baptist?" "I'm Presbyterian." "Wow... I am too. Are you PC(USA)
or PCA or Cumberland?” "I'm PC(USA)” "Me too, that's amazing! Are you
from the original ‘United Presbyterian of North America’ or ‘Presbyterian
Church in the United States?’" "I grew up in the old United
Presbyterian Church of North America." "I can't believe it, so did I.
But tell me are you faithful to the Westminster Confession of Faith from 1647
or the 1958 Revision?" He answered, "The 1958 Revision." “And how do you feel about the validity of
the Confession of 1967?” “I subscribe fully to the 1967 Statement,” to which the first man said, "Die you
heretic," and he pushed him off the bridge.
Sometimes we are so convinced that we know what the truth is
that we are ready and willing to push other people off the bridge! And we’ll usually be spouting scripture while
they plunge to their death.
People often claim possession of the truth by quoting
scripture. People on both sides of
almost any social or cultural issue will claim possession of the truth by
quoting scripture. Let me remind you of
just a few of things that we fallible people have used scripture for as our
authority: slavery; the abolition of
slavery; anti-Semitism; the special nature of the Jewish people; the oppression
of women; the equality of women; the oppression of the poor; the empowerment of
the poor; opposition to the ordination of women; support for the ordination of
women; justification of corporal punishment for children – including stoning;
justification for the elevation of children to a special place in God’s
kingdom; regulation of clothing, hairstyles and tattoos; discrimination and
violence against homosexuals; spiritual strength for and acceptance of
homosexuals; support for capital punishment; opposition to capital punishment;
support for war; opposition to war; and some really interesting and conflicting
definitions of marriage.
“What is truth?”
John’s Gospel is the one that is most concerned with the
concept of truth. It’s mentioned 21
times in John. In John 8 (vss. 31 &
31) Jesus defines truth in a manner consistent with his words here in Mark
9. He said: “If you continue in my word, you are
truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you
free.”
We are currently living through one of the most contentious
and the most expensive election seasons in American history. Some people claim that we are at a moment in
history when America must choose between moral values and moral decay. Some people claim that they know “the truth,”
and unless we act to uphold that
truth we are doomed for destruction.
Some people even quote scripture to demonstrate that their way is the
only way.
There are
timeless truths to be found throughout scripture. I’m absolutely certain that what we call the
Ten Commandments clearly describe the way we are to relate to God and to live
with one another still today. I’m
certain that the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-7 are the way we are to commit our
lives to the Lord: “The
Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I
am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk
about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and
when you rise.”
And I’m equally sure that the words of Leviticus 19:18 are
every bit as important as when they were first written and when Jesus repeated
them: “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your
people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
“What is truth?”
Jesus told us plainly what the truth is [John 14:6-7]: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my
Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
At the very end of today’s Gospel lesson Jesus uses “salt”
as a metaphor for “wisdom”: “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
It’s not my job to tell you how to vote on candidates or
issues in the upcoming election. It’s
not because I don’t think that scripture speaks to us authoritatively. It is my job to speak the truth of scripture
with authority. We are all sinners. In God’s infinite wisdom and mercy God
redeemed us to life in God’s new creation through the triumph and example of
Jesus Christ. In the record of the life
of Christ we find direct truths lived out that address the timeless issues of
humanity.
Those truths are eternal, but when it comes to dealing with
some of the culturally relative questions of the Twenty-First Century we are
left to rely on our minds – our wisdom – to interpret the truth of Jesus Christ
in this world. Can the Commandments be
applied? Can the examples of Jesus’ own
interactions with people be applied?
Beyond that, how can we apply the acceptance, the love and the grace
that God has given us to a particular situation? How can we use the salt, the wisdom that
Christ refers to, both to live in this world and “be at peace with one
another”?
“What is truth?”
Our Lord Jesus is the only truth, the complete revelation of
God’s fullest identity. He challenges us
to live freely, to exercise our own wisdom rooted firmly in His truth, and to
know that we are sinners, accepted, forgiven and redeemed. And he adds:
“Be at peace with one another.”
Amen.
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