A Peace of God's Action

Scripture - John 14:23-29
There are ALL Kinds of Peace
(This week’s CoB Newsline included..

During the past several weeks, friends and family members of the lifting team have been pledging their monetary support for the Lift-a-Thon which began on Sunday April 28, a bit after 10 a.m., when various weight-lifters joined forces to pump iron.
The money raised supports the 3,000 Miles for Peace fund started in memory of Paul Ziegler, who had been a student at, McPherson College in Kansas
Manchester College’s Peace Week
    (with associated events)

Everyone seems to have their own ideas of what ‘PEACE’ means. I know those who think working for Peace means protesting.


Of course, (we hope) Peace means lack of war.


Other’s work for peace in Environmental action.


And of course, there’s WORLD PEACE! (who doesn’t want that?)

What kind of peace do YOU want?
    I’ll give you time to talk about it. Form small groups about 3 people in your pews. Get up as needed move around, go sit with someone you’d like to talk to and answer this question.
(slide) What kind of peace do YOU want?
(Click in “Let’s talk about it.)
        5 minutes max

Ask: What are the kinds of peace you want?
    A few you mentioned (
    World Peace
   
    Gettysburg anniversaries

    Peace Ying Yang

Our many ideas of Peace are all TRUE and all fall within God’s desires for humanity & creation. = true ‘peace on earth’.
Stay on SLIDE Work for Justice - hold on this
Scripture text
There is a fullness in Jesus’ words found in today’s scripture which express his desire that his followers have his ‘peace’. He tried to communicate this within the limits of human speech. There is quite a variety of words in Jesus’ discourse in John. (unity, abide, peace, love, obey)
Extending before and after today’s passage, we read the many assurances that Jesus shared with the disciples. Jesus was
going to prepare a place’ for his followers’
they knew the way to this place (a place of his peace) because they knew him and had already been following HIS WAY
that Loving Jesus means keeping his commands (his word)
That he wasn’t leaving the disciples (including us) alone
Believing in Jesus means doing the same work he had been doing
That a companion, parakletos will be sent to help us with this new way of living. . .
And ALL of this means PEACE. . . . . 

    Christ’s peace is the place or state of being where we find the wisdom of God.1 this is the Christian definition of Peace.

    (on slide) British Museum. It is a Russian icon from the late 17th century, depicting Sophia, God's Wisdom, along with Christ, the Theotokos ('God-bearer', Mary), and John the Baptist (a.k.a. Forerunner).a
This image of a Russian Icon helps us re-imagine Peace so we can learn what Jesus meant by ‘MY PEACE’.

PEACE is God’s way of acting in the world.
   This is not a false promise of security, and it is
        not an immediate end to all conflict.

PEACE is a PRESENCE, it is the entire sphere of Jesus’ life that enacted God’s great, generous, and abiding love for all people.2 making it visible in a human life.
We SEE peace in Jesus.

Today we are reminded that following, obeying, all the things  that Jesus’ taught and did are part of what sustains his followers.
We LEARN peace by following Jesus.

If we want PEACE, we need today's scripture before us:
   
    “Whoever loves me will keep my word.”
“It is the word of the Father who sent me.”
“The Companion, the Holy Spirit, will teach you everything.”


“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you.”
“I give to you not as the world gives.”
“Don’t be troubled or afraid.”

The words of Jesus sustain us, the other part of what sustains Jesus’ followers is called the Holy spirit or Parakletos.
So, We See peace in Jesus
We Learn peace by following Jesus and
We receive “PEACE” with Christ’s spirit (parakletos) 

Just as Jesus is sustained by God’s presence in the trial he faces, we, his followers, ARE also sustained by God’s own presence found in the parakletos, the companion . .

Which means WE, all Christians, ‘Jesus Followers’
     have already received the wisdom we need to act justly.
(The Sophia or Wisdom of Christ that comes with his Spirit)
We have wisdom,
We have the strength we need to work for peace in all venues.
We have the ability to obey Jesus command to serve others and to give up our lives to something much greater than this life -- which is God’s Peace.

Thanks to the parakletos (and today’s text as a reminder)
    We who have committed our lives to follow Jesus, already have the accompanying presence to bring Christ’s own Spirit of Peace to places where conflict seems to rule, where hate threatens to overcome life so that ALL PEOPLE may live ANOTHER WAY - the Jesus’ Way.

This is what PEACE means.
    & This is the peace WE NEED.
        In fact, This is the peace the whole world needs.
“Can We” (slide)
        IMAGINE

“A life of Peace” !

We can because we have been given the Spirit to LIVE it!