"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to you, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."

"Pass The Peas, Please"

(John 14:23-29)

INTRODUCTION:

I read a story someplace about two children, a little boy and his older sister, who were singing Christmas carols. Everything was going fine until they started singing Silent night. After the first verse the sister stopped her little brother and told him he was singing the song all wrong; he had the vegetables all wrong. She told him, "It's not beans! It's peas, 'sleep in heavenly peas.'"

The word "peace" is one of those words that kids get mixed up now and then. But then so do we. That's one of the things Jesus tells the disciples in this passage. There is a difference between what the world understands as peace and the peace which God offers through Christ. In verse 27, Jesus said: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives." The peace of Christ is different than the peace of the world.

I. THE WORLD'S PEACE:

A. Let's look at the peace which the world offers first. The first kind of peace which the world offers can be found in an odd little bit of research somebody did. They wrote, "The bathtub was invented in 1850. The telephone was invented in 1875. That means if you'd been living in 1850 you could have sat in the bathtub for 25 years without the phone ringing." (1) That IS one kind of peace that we've all sought from time to time, the peace of solitude. But that's not the kind of peace God offers through Christ.

B. The world has also sought peace through treaties and even wars. That's one of the reasons for the formation of the United Nations, to help cultivate peace throughout the world. But as the old saying goes, they have a hard row to hoe.

According to computations in the Moscow Gazette, in the 3400 years of recorded history there have only been 227 years of peace and 3,100 years of war. Within the last three centuries, there have been 286 wars in Europe alone. Throughout recorded history there have also been more than 8000 treaties made and broken. The average time any of these treaties remained in force was two years. (2) No wonder Jesus said his peace would be different than the peace which the world offers.

II. PEACE WITH GOD:

Actually there are two kinds of peace that come through Christ. The first is very simple. Jesus came to bridge the gulf between us and God. He came to bring us the gift of peace with God through forgiveness.

On a cold winter evening a man suffered a heart attack. After being admitted to the hospital, he asked the nurse to call his daughter. He explained, "You see, I live alone and she is the only family I have." The nurse went to phone the daughter. The daughter was quite upset and shouted, "You mustn't let him die! You see, Dad and I had a terrible argument almost a year ago. I haven't seen him since. All these months I've wanted ask him for forgiveness. The last thing I said to him was 'I hate you.'" The daughter cried and then said, "I'm coming now. I'll be there in thirty minutes."

The patient went into cardiac arrest, again and a cardiac team went to work. The nurse prayed, "O God, his daughter is coming. Please, don't let it end this way." Though they worked hard, the efforts of the medical team weren't enough. The nurse saw one of the doctors talking to the daughter outside the room. She could see the deep hurt in her face. The nurse took the daughter aside and said, "I'm sorry." The daughter responded, "I never hated him, you know. I loved him, And now I want to go see him." The nurse took her to the room, and the daughter went to the bed and buried her face in the sheets as she said good-bye to her deceased father. The nurse, trying not to interfere or look at this sad good-bye, noticed a scrap of paper on the bed table. She picked it up and read: "My dearest Janie, I forgive you. I pray you will also forgive me. I know that you love me. I love you, too. Daddy." (3)

Jesus is that note to us from God our Heavenly Father. Jesus bought our forgiveness with his own life on the cross. He did it out of love so that we would know the love God has for us. He did it so that the barriers between us a God could be broken down and we could once again have that ongoing, loving relationship with our Heavenly Father. Jesus came so that we could know and experience peace with God.

III. THE PEACE OF GOD:

A. But he also came so that we could know the peace of God. That's different. Once we experience peace with God, we can begin to know and grow in the peace of God. The inner peace that keeps us focused on God. The inner peace of God's Shalom.

The Hebrew word 'shalom' is sort of like the Hawaiian word 'aloha.' It is used both as a greeting and as a farewell. The literal translation of 'shalom' is 'peace' but it means much more than the lack of trouble or irritation. The word 'shalom' might better be translated as 'wholeness' or 'fullness'. Shalom deal with much more than the absence of trouble. According to William Barclay, when someone wishes you Shalom, they are not only wishing you lack of strife and evil things, but they are also wishing for you the presence of all good things, as well. (4)

B. Peace with God, shalom, inner peace is not escape but empowerment through the presence of God's Holy Spirit. It is a gift from God through Christ. But it's a gift that needs to be maintained and cultivated. Because it's a gift based upon our relationship with God. And no relationship grows or even remains static if it's not cultivated.

We grow in our relationship with God through those things which Wesley called the Means of Grace. Means of Grace are simply Christian activities and attitudes that draw us closer to God. And help us become more like Christ.

Some of the means of Grace are Bible Study and prayer. How many of you called or visited your mother on Mother's Day? Or wished you could, if your mother is no longer with us? Is that the only time you visit or talk with your mother? Of course not, there is a bond of love that is there. You want to share what's going on in your life. Sometimes you call just to hear her voice. Sometimes you call to unload your worries. Sometimes you call because you're lonely. Sometimes you call because you know something is going in her life and you want to share her burdens or anxiety.

The point is that relationship continues to grow because you continue to cultivate it and maintain it. That's the purpose of prayer. Prayer is a time of centering our lives in the center of all life. Prayer is a time when we can unload. Prayer is a time you can share what's going on in your life.

Prayer is also a time of listening. A time when we can sit and listen to God. Sometimes that listening comes through Bible Study. As you read and study God's Word, it impacts your life. It touches you at the level of the heart and soul even during those times when you're not really paying attention but are simply going through the motions. God's Word is like a seed. Once planted in the soul, it grows and bears fruit.

Both Bible Study and Prayer are means of grace which help us keep our relationship with God alive.

Another means of grace is tithing. Tithing is very definitely a means of grace. We tithe not because of the needs of the Church; not because it's scriptural and historical; not because it's expected; not because it's personally and spiritually fulfilling. We tithe out of response to God's love in our lives. We tithe as a way to show our love for God.

There are other means of grace as well that build the relationship, healing, forgiving, confirmation, ordination, worship, marriage, baptism and holy communion. All of these have the purpose of drawing us closer to God and bringing us shalom, God's peace.

One of the things we need to remember is that peace with God is not escape from the problems of the world but empowerment through the presence of God's Holy Spirit to let God handle them through us.

CONCLUSION:

Ralph Turnbull, in If I Only Had One Sermon to Preach, tells the story of a friend who visited an elderly woman badly crippled by arthritis. When asked, "Do you suffer much?" she responded, "Yes, but there is no nail here," and she pointed to her hand. "He had the nails, I have the peace." She pointed to her head. "There are no thorns here. He had the thorns, I have the peace." Then she touched her side. "There is no spear here. He had the spear, I have the peace." That is what the atonement of Jesus Christ means for us. He gave of himself so that we might have the peace.

Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives." The peace of Christ is different than the peace of the world. It is inner peace, peace with God and the Peace of God in our lives. Strive for the Peace of God in your life. Let the peace promised by Christ dwell in you.

This is the Word of the Lord for this day.

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1. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), October 1982

2. Parsons Bible Illustrator for Windows, 1990-1997, Parson's Technology Inc.

3. James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1988) p. 201.

4. William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible, the Gospel of Matthew Vol. 1. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975) p. 108.

5. James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1988) p. 35.