Peace be with you.
Peace. Be. With you.
Peace.
I’ve mentioned this before, but Montreat, a 
Presbyterian conference center in the NC mountains just outside of Asheville, is one of my favorite places on the planet. I know I can always find peace there. And one of my favorite events to attend at Montreat is the Music & Worship conference sponsored by the Presbyterian Association of Musicians. For two weeks each June, PAM hosts the intergenerational gathering where hundreds of the youngest to the oldest attendees are together engaging in a rich array of worship, music, liturgy, and ritual.
The last time I attended was in 2019, and that year the conference theme was “Not as the World Gives.” This theme was taken from John 14:27 in which Jesus says, “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 let them be afraid.”
And boy, did I need those words of assurance that summer. You see, the little church that I was serving at the time was in a season of pastoral transition. My co-pastor colleague, Joe, had just retired at the beginning of June after serving that congregation for 20 years and after being my partner-in-crime/ministry for my first year and half in congregational leadership.
Church members and I were still trying to figure out how to start the new chapter ahead of us. Needless to say, our own upcoming pastoral transition with JC’s departure at the end of the month brought back to mind the words I heard at Montreat that summer. I’ve also been thinking a lot about peace given the general state of turmoil and discord and change swirling in our country and the world.
During worship each day, Rev. Dr. Rodger Niskioka’s sermons explored how the peace of Christ is not the kind of peace the world offers. Each day, we explored a different juxtaposition, and by the end, we had a series of powerful reminders to take with us. I want to share them with you now:
- Peace is not the absence of chaos, but the presence of hope.
- Peace is not the absence of evil, but the boldness, the presence of righteousness.
- Peace is not the absence of pain, but the compassion of presence.
- Peace is not the maintenance of the status quo, but the courage to seek justice.
- Peace is not the absence of conflict, but it is the embodiment of love.
- Peace is not the absence of darkness; it is the presence of light.
One of my big takeaways is that the work of being disciples of peace is a big task. We Christians talk a good game about peace, but it seems to me, that the picture Jesus paints isn’t as easy as we might like to think.
In today’s reading from Luke, we see Jesus sending out seventy-two disciples. And he is VERY clear about how difficult their work will be: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals.”
Um, I don’t know about you…but that doesn’t sound like fun to me. If that’s one of our models for discipleship, I’m not sure I really want to do it, Jesus! And these seventy-two disciples are carrying with them a message of peace: Peace to this house! But Jesus seems to know not everyone is interested in the pursuit of peace in all its messiness and complexity, because he prepares them saying, “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ If anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.”
To be a disciple of Christ, to be a disciple of peace, then, is to lead with faith, trusting that peace will return as we offer it abundantly even if the path and outcome are both uncertain. And all of us, as followers of Jesus, are called to ministry alongside one another, so like the seventy-two Jesus sends in John, we are all sent and we are all called to the faith-filled work of being disciples of peace.
Being peace-bearers also requires courage. Remember, like lambs in to the midst of wolves; no purse, no bag, no sandals. And living and leading in this way together as a community is no small task. Anytime I think about courage, I am reminded of words from Dr. Brené Brown, a research professor and bestselling author who has spent her career studying and writing about courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. In her book, Rising Strong, Brown writes: I want to be in the arena. I want to be brave with my life…We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time.
To be in the arena, to be in community, to be peacemakers, to be disciples of peace, we are all called to lead with faith and courage. We are all called to live into the discomfort of change, to be kind and brave and honest in engaging one another even when it’s difficult, to lean in when things aren’t easy, to reflect first on ourselves when we feel uncomfortable, to make space for others, to remember that this isn’t about us.
It’s about God. We worship God, we serve God. Following the example of Jesus, pursuing peace, living in faith, and leading with courage. All of us. Together. And we do so for the sake of others, those who need to experience God’s love and belonging and beloved community.
Luke’s gospel gives us an idea about what this looks like at both its best and its worst: “Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you. But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”
Sometimes peacemaking is a fellowship meal among friends old and new; sometimes it is wholeness and healing for those who need it most. It is a glimpse of the kingdom of God. But even when peacemaking doesn’t come easy, we still bear witness to the kingdom of God. Even if others misunderstand or reject our efforts as disciples of peace, we still bear witness to the kingdom of God.
To sustain us for the journey as disciples of peace who live in faith and lead with courage, I’d like to offer a different Moment for Reflection as the sermon ends today. I’m going to return to Rev. Dr. Roger Nishioka’s juxtapositions for peace. I’ll read them one at a time, offer some space for contemplation between each one. In addition to just sitting with what each one has to offer, I invite you to consider this: which of these do you most need to receive? And which do you most feel called to share? And as we begin, I invite us to do so with a deep, centering breath.
- Peace is not the absence of chaos, but the presence of hope.
- Peace is not the absence of evil, but the boldness, the presence of righteousness.
- Peace is not the absence of pain, but the compassion of presence.
- Peace is not the maintenance of the status quo, but the courage to seek justice.
- Peace is not the absence of conflict, but it is the embodiment of love.
- Peace is not the absence of darkness; it is the presence of light.
Peace be with you.
Peace. Be. With you.
Peace. May it be so. This day and each day. Amen.