Sunday Homily - May 26th, 2019 - Peace Only Through Prayer

The Ascension of Jesus Christ Icon

I.

If someone were to ask you what "Peace" is,
 what would you say?

How would you describe what peace is,
 and what does it look like?

Because when we speak of peace,
 there are usually several different contexts that we could be implying
  by the way that we describe it.

Peace can be understood as the absence or opposite of war,
 such as when the Peace of Westphalia was signed,
  putting an end to the 30 Years War in Europe,
   or the the Treaty of Versailles in 1919
    ending the First World War.

But peace can also be a quality or state of being,
 such as when we speak of someone being "at peace"
  or existing in a state of peace.
   Fascinatingly, this is how we usually speak of our beloved dead,
    those people who are finally at peace.
     The acronym R.I.P. which adorns many gravestones,
      stands for the Latin phrase requiescat in pace,
       which is usually translated "Rest in Peace." 

Peace can also be used as a sense of serenity,
 often evoked when beholding something beautiful,
  like when we go hiking in the woods
   or when we arrive at a mountaintop and view the panoramic scenery below.

But what is peace?
 And how do we know what peace is?   

I'll be honest with y'all this morning:
 I don't think we live in a peaceful world at the moment.

The easy thing to point to would be the constant news cycle

 in which conflict is enshrined as the "way of the world"

  whether implicitly by the news stories we choose to preference

   (i.e. the negative ones)

    or explicitly, such as constant conflict and competition to prove our worth.

But what about our own personal internal struggles with peace?

Just because we don't externally fight wars,

 or get into exterior conflicts with people

  doesn't mean that we are necessarily at peace, right?

We can be the most peaceful person on the outside,

 but our interior life looks like the equivalent of a war zone.

And often in our pursuit of peace,

 do we not sometimes end up making the conflict worse?

When we attempt to seize control of a situation,

 whether by going to war with other nations,

  or by attempting to manipulate other people,

   or even by stuffing down our interior feelings of inadequacy, doubt,

    and the slow burning frustration that so quickly turns to anger,

     we end up making the world

      and ourselves

       absolutely miserable. 

Peace is not self-help.

 Peace will not be brought by a political candidate,

  nor a governmental system.

   And peace is not the mere absence of war,

    which starts in our hearts, and not with our armies.

Peace is not something that we can give ourselves,

 nor is it something that the world can give to us.

II.

This is why what Jesus says about peace this morning
 is of immediate importance to our world today.

The peace that passes all understanding
 is a peace that only comes from one source:
  it comes from Jesus.
   [c.f. Philippians 4:7]

The promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit
 is immediately tied to the peace that only comes through Jesus Christ,
  a "peace that the world cannot give."
  [John 14:27 NRSV]

And this peace that only comes from God
 is a PROMISED gift of God for all who call upon Jesus's name!

Because this mysterious peace,
 this divine grace of the Peace of God,
  is given to us freely by the indwelling of God within us
   in the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Peace, for us as followers of Jesus Christ,
 is intimately tied to our relationship with God,
  a relationship sustained by our prayer and our humble surrender or ourselves
   into the loving arms of our God who deeply desires to give us Indescribable Peace.

And the Holy Spirit will continue to lead us into that truth and peace of God
 by leading us into a deeper knowledge,
  a deeper love,
   and a deeper relationship with God as we continue our walk in faith
    with Jesus Christ our Lord.

For us as Christians,
 peace is not something that we do:
  it is something that God gives to us freely
   for all who call out for our Heavenly Father
    who loves each and every one of us.

III.

We are tempted each and every day to place our trust in the peace that the world gives
 and not in the peace that God gives.

But for us Christians,
 we who have faith in the Triune God,
  there is only one place in which we can truly place our trust:
   and it is in the truest revelation of God in Jesus Christ our Lord
    and in the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Peace-giver.

The only real source of peace in our current reality
 is found only in God.

Anything else is but our own construction of peace.

So, friends, I beg of you this morning,
 do not put your trust in a peace that only internalizes fear, anger, and war within us
   instead of a peace that utterly TRANSFORMS our interior.

And it is that utter transformation
 that is only found through our baptism into the Body of Christ
  and the continual commitment in prayer and in deed for the peace of Christ
   that will bring that peace which passes all understanding.

This is why, friends, it is so important to persevere in our Christian disciplines.

But I have one in particular that I want to really challenge you with this morning:
 developing a discipline of daily prayer.

The peace of Christ is why we need to persevere in prayer,
 not just on Sundays,
  not just when we gather for the Holy Eucharist,
   but in personal prayer with God
    every single day.

There are very few things I can promise you in this world, brothers and sisters,
 but I guarentee that if you start making prayer with God a priority for your everyday life,
  you will receive the peace of God that passes all understanding
   and you will deepen your relationship with Our Savior.

In fact, the more you make prayer a priority,
 the more you will grow to DESIRE that prayer,
  the more your desires for God will grow.

When you talk with someone you love and who loves you
 you naturally grow in desire to spend time with that person.
  How much more is this true when you talk with God
   who loves you more deeply than you can possibly imagine?

So this week, I humbly challenge us here,
 including myself:
  set a time to pray each day this week
   and then try your best to do it.

If you don't have a prayer regimen already and you don't know where to start,
 set aside just 5 minutes,
  just 5 minutes each day,
   and pray the Lord's Prayer.

If you sit down to eat a meal,
 and you don't pray and give thanks for your food,
  try to start doing so this week.
   Because when you start thanking God for the gifts of food he has given to you
    your heart will be open to the other gifts God gives you in the rest of your day as well.

If you have a set prayer time that you are fairly regular at,
 I also challenge you to now go deeper in prayer.
  If you haven't prayed the Daily Office in the Prayer Book,
   whether it be Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, or Noonday Prayer,
    try one of those this week.
     There are super, handy-dandy little guides for those services as well
      right on that table in the back of the nave.
     
Pick one up this week and pray one of those times for daily prayer.
 It will probably be more of a 30-40 minute prayer time,
  but if you remain constant, you will receive that wonderful grace of God
   that comes in deeper relationship with Jesus our Savior,
    and the Holy Spirit will continue your inward sanctification
     by marinading in God's Word and in prayer.

If you haven't made our Wednesday Evening Holy Eucharist a regular part of your prayer life,
 why not come and celebrate the Holy Mysteries with us and join in Word and Sacrament,
  and make that a sustaining grace for the rest of your week?

But above all, friends,
 however you personally pray,
  however your style is in prayer,
   remember that prayer is a two-way street.
    We talk to God, of course.
      But God also actively speaks to us as well.

God deeply desires to speak with you
 and to love you
  and to lead you to deeper sanctification in that strange, divine Grace,
   and God deeply desires to give you that peace which the world cannot give,
    peace which passes all understanding.

Pursue that peace with God and with each other through your prayers this week, friends.
 And have faith that no matter how broken the world is,
  no matter who is in charge in our government,
   no matter how divisive our relationships have become with each other,
    that God is still in control,
     and that peace only comes through deep relationship with him.

So, when the forces of the world have beaten you up
 and you are exhausted by the weight that you carry,
  "Come to [Jesus], all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
   Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
    for I am gentle and humble in heart,
     and you will find rest for your souls.
      For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
       [Matthew 11:28-30 NASB]

In the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.