“Man Oh Man Do We Need Some Peace!”

Psalm 85

December 10, 2023 – 2nd Sunday of Advent

Last Sunday I observed that there were only 22 days until Christmas. Now, I’m no mathematician, but I do know that that means that today, one week later, there are only 15 days until Christmas. Which–in case anyone needs me to point it out–means only 14 days to get ready for Christmas. 

Let’s take another deep breath…. [BREATHE]

So, today, therefore, is the second Sunday of Advent. The Sunday whose theme is PEACE…

And to be honest, as I thought about PEACE, in anticipation of this morning’s sermon, I couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed…

There are so many places in our world today where peace is lacking, if not absent. So many places. Too many places. 

Too many places where fear and terror dominate, where violence seems to be an accepted way of life, where human rights are disputable and human life, disposable… 

Too many places where anxiety and uncertainty reign, where tension and conflict are the norm, where grief and despair are overwhelming… 

And while it might go without saying, I’m going to say it anyway: these places are not all on the other side of the world somewhere, far away from us. They’re here, too–within our country, within our communities, within our families…Within us. 

There’s no place nor is there any person wholly exempt from conflict, anxiety, tension, fear, despair–all those things that get in the way of PEACE.

And…like last week…in the interest of being honest, we’re going to take a few moments to name some of those places. 

Because they’re real. And while it can be uncomfortable to acknowledge them, as I, and certainly others, have said before, I’ll say again: denying their existence doesn’t make them go away. In fact, not talking about the messy, hard-to-acknowledge, painful parts of life often just makes them messier!

So before we talk about finding peace, we’re going to acknowledge the reality of those places in our lives and in the world where peace feels absent.

I invite you to grab a sticky note or two or three or seventeen, and write a word or phrase that represents to you some situation, whether personal, local, or global, in which peace would be oh-so-welcome…

And then I invite you to come up and stick those words on the cross. You are not obligated to, of course, but I offer it as a way to not only name these situations but also to share them with one another, AND to turn them over, as much as we can, to God, and release them from our clenched and desperate grasp…

[2 minutes…?]

Thank you for your honesty and courage…

As residents in this world, clearly we do not have to imagine a scenario in which PEACE is not only lacking but seems out of reach, if not impossible.

So, in the face of that reality, can we talk about PEACE in a way that matters? Is there some way that we, as people of faith, can really hope for peace, move toward peace, work for peace, in the world? In our country? In our families? Within our own souls? 

Or do we just give it lip service, and say, “yes, today is the second Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of PEACE. We love peace! We long for peace. Hooray for PEACE! Thank God that Jesus came and is coming again to bring PEACE! We love Jesus!Hooray for Jesus!”

Do we just say those things, offer our prayers, call it good, and move on?

It’s tempting, right?? 

There are so many places in the world and in our lives where peace is elusive that it’s tempting to just give up on any hope of real peace… And yes, give it lip service, call it good, and move on.

On the other hand, there are so many places in the world and in our lives where peace is elusive that we can’t just give it lip service and move on! We have to talk about peace in a way that matters. 

As people who claim to be disciples of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, we have a responsibility, I think, to be bearers of peace, and promoters of peace, to actively work for peace in the world…beginning with actively working for peace within our own spirits…

As people of faith, I think, we have to give a big fat NO to lip service, and a resounding, wholehearted, committed YES to being engaged in the work of peace. 

So let’s get at it! 🙂 Right here, right now. Because that’s the only time we’ve got.

Listen again to the first part of today’s psalm: 

[Ps. 85:1-2]

Lord, you were favorable to your land;

    you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

You forgave the iniquity of your people;

    you pardoned all their sin. 

Those verses are all about God and what God did in times past, right? God restored…God forgave…God pardoned… In those opening verses, we hear reminders of who God has been and what God has done, in times past in relationship with God’s people… And it’s some pretty good stuff! 

Is it a reminder to God? Hey, God, remember when you did all this good stuff? That was so awesome! 

Or was it a reminder to God’s people? Hey, let’s not forget the good stuff God did for us in the past… 

It’s not really clear what the psalmist had in mind–but I’d guess maybe some of both. Either way, it seems he’s saying that it’s good to remember that God has done good things for God’s people in the past… 

Especially when God’s people are longing for God to do more good things for them again…

Listen to the next section–and you didn’t hear this before, because these verses aren’t actually part of the lectionary selection for today! But they felt important to include.

[Ps. 85:4-7]

Restore us again, O God of our salvation,

    and put away your indignation toward us.

Will you be angry with us forever?

    Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

Will you not revive us again,

    so that your people may rejoice in you?

Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,

    and grant us your salvation.

Something has caused God’s people to be in distress, to feel as though God is angry with them… Something has led them to feel separated from God’s mercy, the recipients instead of God’s wrath. They seem to be searching for God’s presence and in desperate need of God’s peace… 

“Will you not revive us again?” they plead, perhaps trembling, perhaps despairing. “Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation…” 

Or in other words,

Reassure us of your presence with us and remind us of your love for us, they seem to be saying. Grant us your healing, O God, that we might know ourselves as whole…  Fill us with your love that we might know your peace… 

Those are feelings that I can relate to, feelings that resonate with my longing in these days, for God’s presence, God’s tenderness, God’s love, God’s peace… 

Now we’re back to what we heard earlier. The psalmist goes on, acknowledging the need to listen for God in the midst of this distress–not apart from it, but in the midst of it—trusting that as he listens, God will indeed speak: 

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, he says, for [God] will speak peace to [God’s] people, to [God’s] faithful, to those who turn to [God] in their hearts…

Did you hear that? 

God will speak peace to God’s people…to those who turn to God in their hearts… 

There it is! That’s the answer! All we have to do is turn to God in our hearts, and God will speak peace, and all shall be well. Easy peasy. My work here is done.

Except it’s not easy peasy. 

What is easy peasy is to focus on the world around us, to let our minds turn toward the anger, the conflict, the violence…the polarization, the untruths, the hatred…the suffering, the chaos, the darkness… These are the things toward which we more easily turn in our hearts.

What is also easy peasy is to dwell on the world within us–the anxiety, the resentment, the fear… the doubts, the worries, the grief… the suffering, the chaos, the darkness… We seem to so much more easily 

let the gaze of our hearts remain focused on these things, turned toward these things.

And yet, the psalmist says that God will speak peace to those who turn to God in their hearts… 

God will speak peace to those who turn to God in their hearts. 

That’s so powerful–because that peace, it seems to me–the peace that God offers–does not rely on anything around us changing. It doesn’t rely on the circumstances outside of us getting better. It doesn’t seem to rely on the realities within us being any different. 

The only thing that changes, it seems to me, is the focus of our hearts. The direction of our spirit’s gaze. 

God will speak peace to those who turn to God in their hearts. 

As we are able to turn our hearts toward God, God’s peace will come. The external circumstances that surround us don’t have to change; what changes is the intensity of our focus on them and the tightness of our grip on them. The realities that fill us won’t necessarily be any different; what will be different is the amount of energy that we give them. 

In the midst of all of the places outside of us and within us where peace is lacking–not in denial of them, but in open-eyed acknowledgment of them–as people of faith, we must turn and re-turn and re-turn to God in our hearts, choosing to look for God and listen for God first and foremost, making the hard, deliberate choice, again and again and again…thus letting God speak God’s peace to us. 

And as we do that, perhaps we will hear God, whispering in our spirits,things like…

“Don’t be afraid. I am with you.” and 

“Don’t be afraid. You are my beloved.” and 

“Don’t be afraid. Life is so much more than what you see.” and 

“Don’t be afraid. There is a Light that has conquered Darkness.” and 

“Don’t be afraid. Love has won.” 

“Don’t be afraid. Love has won.” 

As we are able to turn in our hearts toward God, again and again and again, God will speak peace to God’s people. To us. To you. To me. And God’s peace will come.

Whether or not the circumstances outside of us get any better. 

Whether or not the realities within us become any different. 

The thing that needs to change, it seems to me, is the focus of our hearts. The direction of our spirit’s gaze. 

God will speak peace to those who turn to God in their hearts. 

So simple. 

So hard.

So powerful. 

So let us turn to God. And re-turn. And re-turn again, every day, every hour, every moment, with every breath if need be. 

Because man oh man, do we need some peace.

Man oh man, do we need God’s Peace.

So let us turn to God. And re-turn. And re-turn again, and look and listen for God’s peace. And it will come.

As it has come and is coming again in Jesus, the Prince of Peace. 

Amen.