Peace, perfect peace.
“Imagine there’s no countries, it isn’t hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, No religion too. Imagine all the people living life in peace.”
About twenty or twenty five years ago, this song was released to a world that had hardly known peace since it was created. In the last 4,000 years, it is reckoned that there has only been 268 years without a war. In the same length of time, 8,000 peace treaties have been made and broken. The song became Number 1 in the pop charts of all the countries it was released in and the writer was seen as a visionary, somebody who was courageous for even being willing to suggest that there could be a world like this. He was of course, John Lennon.
Today is World Peace Day, there will be prayers going up in Methodist Churches across the country, and in many other denominational Churches as well, all for this dream of World Peace. But what exactly are we praying for? You have heard the second verse of John Lennon’s song ‘Imagine’; do you remember the first? Imagine there’s no heaven, it’s easy if you try, no hell below us, above us only sky. Imagine all the people living for today.”
Is this really what we want when we pray for World Peace? A world without a heaven and without a God? This is what many people are asking for. I have been looking in the library and on the Internet in the last two weeks for articles on World Peace. I found many of them, but I have not found the name Jesus Christ connected to one of them. There have been many prayers for peace that I have read, Moslem prayers, Hindu prayers, even Christian prayers, but again, no prayers mentioning Christ’s name.
There are many groups that are working for this dream of world peace; one of the largest is called the ‘International Religious Federation for World peace’. This group has representatives from all of the major religions on its Governing Board, including most of the Christian denominations. I read through some of the notes of meetings, and some of the papers they have produced. Guess whose name is missing from the majority if not all of their work – Jesus Christ! Mind you, when you discover who founded this group, it is not surprising. It was started in 1991 by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon – founder of the Unification church or the cult of Moonies, as they are more commonly known.
What did our Lord say about world peace, did he suggest it was something we should be working for and praying for? According to Matthew Chapter 10:34, he said this:
“`You must not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
Did Jesus say that we should expect world peace? Listen to his words from Matthew 24:6:
“The time is coming when you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not alarmed. Such things are bound to happen; but the end is still to come. For nation will go to war against nation, kingdom against kingdom, there will be famines and earthquakes in many places. All these things are the first birth-pangs of the new age.” It does not sound much like a promise of peace to me.
But surely, when Jesus was born, that angels promised “peace on earth and goodwill to all men”. It is only a couple more months before we will be singing those words again. “All glory be to God on high, and to the earth be peace. Goodwill henceforth from heaven to men, begin and never cease.” Wonderful words, but the angels never spoke those words. If you look in your Bibles at Luke 2:14, you will discover that peace is only promised to those who please God. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to men on whom his favour rests. My NIV Study Bible states clearly that peace is not assured to all, but only to those who are pleasing to God.
World peace is a myth, for it ignores the One who is King of Peace. It ignores the one who died on the cross to bring us peace with God. Peace without the cross is not a peace that is worth our breath or our time in praying for. Look at the world at the moment, everyone is joining in this war against terrorism, and everybody believes that this will bring peace to the world. When are we going to learn that this is not going to happen? Yes, you can kill terrorists, but that will not defeat hatred and terrorism – all it will do is persuade more people to join the cause. That is what has happened in Palestine, Ireland and many other places throughout history. Once again, the world is working for peace without looking for the only person who can give it.
There will eventually be peace on earth. It was prophesied by Isaiah when he said: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child will put his hand in the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
And when will this peace arrive on earth? Isaiah told us when he went on to say: “In that day, the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.
The apostle John saw this time of peace when he was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos. We read in Revelation 21: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. There was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
Peace will come, but many will not be around to see it. Peace will come, but it will not arrive because we hold World Peace Days, peace will come because God has already ordained it to, and there is not one prayer we can say that can change the date of that coming.
So, what should we be doing on World Peace Day if there is no point in us praying for World Peace? We found one thing we can do in our reading from John 14. Towards the end of that Chapter Jesus tells his disciples:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Do we have this gift of peace in our lives? Do we know this peace of God, which as Paul wrote to the Philippians ‘is beyond all understanding? If there is to be any peace at all in Wool, in Dorset, in England or anywhere else, it must start here in the hearts and lives of each one of us.
Do you remember the words to one of the old hymns? “Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin? The blood of Jesus whispers peace within.” And how do we get this peace within us – Jesus told us just before he spoke about this gift of peace. “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” And then Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
This peace comes to us when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Do you know this peace? Maybe you used to, but as you have got older, all the worries and pressures of the world have taken it away from you. Then simply turn to Him again, love Him and obey Him, and this peace will be yours once more.
One of the first funerals after the terrorist attack on the world towers was that of the chaplain of the New York Fire Department. At that funeral, one of the stories told was of his actions following the planes hitting the towers. The Chaplain was seen kneeling calmly beside an injured person giving them the last rites. In all the horror that was going on around him, that man knew and displayed God’s peace.
The peace that Jesus talks about is not something that we need to pray for; it is not something that we look forward to in the future. In Jesus’ day, ‘Peace be with you’ was something you would say at the end of a meeting with a colleague or a friend in much the same way as we say goodbye today. When these words were used in this way, it meant that you were wishing and hoping that your friend or colleague would have peace in their lives. I am sure there were many times when this did not happen. Times when somebody has just said ‘peace be with you’ and a few minutes later, you cross the street and a camel steps on your foot, or a robber attacks you. When these things happened, the peace that your friend wished to be with you obviously was not.
The peace that Jesus gives is not like this, he was not saying to his disciples or to us ‘have a nice day’. He was not saying ‘I hope you have a peaceful day’. He was giving His peace to His followers. This peace enabled Christians in Rome to go to their deaths in the great stadium as the lions came in. It was the same peace that allowed the apostle Stephen to cry ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’ as he was being stoned. It was the peace that enabled Jesus to cry out to God ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’ as he was going through the agony of the crucifixion. We live in a world that will never be at peace until Jesus returns, but we can be at peace as long as the King of peace lives in us.
The next thing that we can do both on this world peace day, and every other day is become peacemakers in this world of ours. “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God”, said Jesus. But how can we be peacemakers when this world, as I have just shown, will never be at peace.
God calls some people to be peacemakers in areas where there is war, Christians in groups like Tearfund and Christian Aid are working in Afghanistan and Pakistan now doing exactly that. When the World Towers collapsed, the Salvation Army were there almost straight away, comforting people, feeding them and making tea. On this world peace day we need to pray for these people who are able to bring Christ’s peace to these situations. But most of us are not called to do this. Do we just stand and watch those who are called?
No we don’t, the beatitudes are, or should be a description of every Christian’s life. We are all called to be peacemakers in this world. So what do we do?
Look around you in Wool, how many people are there who still live in fear of something or other? How many people are there here that do not have the peace of God in their hearts? Then ask yourselves how many of your friends have come to know this gift of peace through your actions and words. I have preached in Methodist Chapels at both ends of this country and the answer is the same. We are not sharing this gift with others, as we should be.
A songwriter named Keith Routledge wrote a song in 1975. It is called ‘My peace I give unto you.’ Just listen to the first verse:
“My peace I give unto you, it’s a peace that the world cannot give, it’s a peace that the world cannot understand: peace to know, peace to live. My peace I give unto you.”
As Christians, we know God’s peace in our own lives, but do we live that peace so others can see and be attracted by it? Do you we give it to others as Christ gave it so freely to us?
The prophet Jeremiah lived in a time when his country was in turmoil; the mighty Babylonian Army was invading it. It was probably at the time that this army was part way through conquering his country that Jeremiah spoke the words:
“‘Peace, peace.’ they say, when there is no peace.”
These words could just as well be spoken today in the situation our world is in. World leaders are telling us that all we have to do is get rid of terrorism to bring peace to many situations in the world. It is a good dream, although it looses something when you realise that these leaders are using a terrorist organisation – the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan – to help defeat terrorism. American and British troops are likely to be working with this group of terrorists if the Taliban is to be defeated in that country. Russia has already stated it will supply even more weapons to this group.
We, as Christians need to be speaking out just as loudly as those people who are crying peace where there is and never will be peace. We need to let them know that there actions will not bring peace to our world. They may succeed in quitening things down for a while, but that is not peace. We need to tell people that this world will not know peace until Jesus returns to it. And that sadly, even then, many people will not know that peace for when he does return, it will be to judge this world. And if you are not one of those people who have received God’s peace in your life whilst you are here living in this world you will never have or know that peace at all.
On this world peace day 2001, let us ensure that we have this peace in our lives, and let us seek to share it with all those we meet until that day when the Peace Giver will return. Amen.
