John 14:23-29
What We Really Want
Some
helpful person has made a list for men … a list of “What NOT to Buy Your Wife for Mother’s Day.” I realize this is a little late, but just in
case any of you men were planning on running out to Wal-Mart this afternoon,
this list might help:
1.
Don’t buy any clothing that involves sizes. The chances are 1 in 7,000
that you will get her size right, and your wife will be offended the other 6999
times. “Do I look like a size 16?” she’ll say. Too small a size
doesn’t cut it either: “I haven’t worn a size 8 in 20 years!”
2. Avoid buying all
things useful. The new silver polish advertised to save hundreds of hours
is not going to win you any brownie points.
3.
Don’t buy anything that involves weight loss or self-improvement.
She’ll perceive a six-month membership to a diet center as a suggestion that’s
she’s overweight.
4.
Don’t buy jewelry. The jewelry your wife wants, you can’t afford.
And the jewelry you can afford, she doesn’t want.
5.
And guys, do not fall into the traditional trap of buying her frilly
underwear. Your idea of the kind your wife should wear and what she
actually wears is light years apart.
6.
Finally, don’t spend too much. “How do you think we’re going to afford
that?” she’ll ask. But don’t spend too little either. She won’t say
anything, but she’ll think, “Is that all I’m worth?”
In
other words, good luck, in trying to find the right gift for Mother’s Day.
Hopefully, this year you were successful in letting your Moms know how special
they are. And we are grateful for all
the women who are here today and for the loving service that you give to
others.
Today, I am reminded of the
little boy who came marching into the living room early one morning. His mother was seated in her favorite chair,
sipping her morning coffee, when she looks up and is amused at how her son is
dressed. He had a large space helmet on
his head. A cape was draped around his
neck that ran down his back and was dragging on the floor. In one hand, he is holding a flashlight and
in the other, a baseball bat.
His mom asks him, “What’s up
today?”
“Nothing, so far,” he said.
“So far?” she questions.
“Well, you never know,” he
says, “Something could happen today.” Then, as he marches off, he says, “And if
anything does happen, by golly, I’m going to be ready for it!”
His mom then says, “Gee, I
need a suit like that!”
That’s the way many of us feel,
isn’t it? As we see what is going on in
our world and we deal with the challenges of life, a suit like that might help,
so we can say with that little boy, “Whatever may come my way, I’m going to be
ready for it! Bring it on!”
Well, I don’t have a suit like
that to give you this morning, but I do have a word for you today. Actually, the words are from Jesus, when he
says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I
give you. I do not give to you as the
world gives. Do not let your hearts be
troubled and do not be afraid.” Peace! Isn’t that one of the deepest desires of our
hearts? Isn’t that what we really want more
than anything else? Peace.
Now,
I’m not sure if you caught it, but there is a defining phrase in Jesus’
statement … one that tells us what kind of peace it is that Jesus gives us. Listen to it again and see if you can pick it
out: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I
give you. I do not give to you as the
world gives...” The defining phrase
is: “Not as the world gives.”
Do
you see how that defines God’s peace? The
world promises us peace, or at least the illusion of it. The world says that we can have peace through
the rule of law. Law and order is the
way for a society to experience peace, right?
And law and order must be kept by the use of force. So, the world’s peace is a peace through
strength. The enforcement of law and
order is the way the world promises peace, fairness, and justice for all. But Jesus promised a peace that was not like the peace the world gives.
We have all been asked as
children, “If you could have any wish, what would it be?” I have seen this question asked in various
settings, such as the Miss America contest.
Inevitably, the question is asked, “If you could have any wish, what
would it be?” And I think the most
common answer often given is “world peace”.
Surely,
this was the kind of peace that the people of Jesus’ day longed for as
well. Any Jew during Jesus’ time could
rattle off all the skirmishes and wars of their history: Ammonites,
Philistines, Amalekites, the Moabites and many others. Any Jew could name the
devastating conflicts with Assyria and
Their
history was a constant reminder that “peace as the world gives”, is short-lived
and illusive. There was a time in their
history, during the rule of King David, that they had known “peace as the world
gives” … but that had been a very long time ago. So, for 2500 years, they have longed for
peace and shalom in their world.
We too
long for peace. From the Revolutionary
War to the War on Terror, unrest has marked our own nation. And, like the people of Jesus’ day, we think
that if we can just develop the right system of law and order … if we can just
elect the right politician or leader … if we can get rid of those who are
messing up our sense of peace … then, we will experience peace in our world. World peace ... it is something we all long
for.
But if we
can’t have that, at least let us have the personal peace that we all long for. The late advice-columnist, Ann Landers, used
to receive something like 10,000 letters a month. When asked, “What was the most common topic,”
she said that most people seem to be afraid of something. “They are afraid of losing their health, their
job, or their family. They are afraid of upsetting their neighbor, alienating a
friend, or committing a social faux pas. Many are even afraid when there is no reason
to be afraid.” Ours is a world of
fearful people.
Worldly
peace ... whether political or personnel, is hard to come by. I am not saying that it doesn’t exist, but we
all know that every time we get up in the morning; watch the news; hear from
family; or talk to friends … that this kind of peace is temporary at best.
And if
you were to ask any mother today or parent what they really want, I think
“peace in the home” would be close to the top of the list. I am reminded of the story about a family who
sent their little boy to stay with the grandparents in another part of the
state, due to a flood that had devastated their home. The little boy was accompanied by a letter,
explaining the reason for his sudden and unexpected visit. Two days later
the grandparents sent a telegram back to the parents: “Am returning boy. Send the
flood.” It’s not easy being a
parent. Sometimes we can be overwhelmed
with the challenges and demands of family life. And what we all long for is
a sense of peace.
Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you
… not as the world gives. So, do not let
your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Wow!
Isn’t that what we all really long for?
And what
we need to remember, is that Jesus is speaking these words to his disciples during
the Last Supper. He is about to be
arrested, crucified, and be put to death.
He would soon be leaving them and no longer be with the disciples. And he knows that he is sending them out into
a hostile world. As long as they served
him, they would not know any outward peace. All of them would be persecuted and even put
to death for following him. Jesus knew
this and so he wanted his disciples to have a sense of inner peace when he was
no longer with them. He didn’t want them
to be afraid. He wanted his disciples to
have an inner peace; an inner strength; an inner confidence that would allow
them to stand tall in the hour of testing.
And isn’t
that we really want? An inner peace, an
inner strength and confidence that won’t be shaken by outward
circumstances. “Peace, as the world offers”
is fleeting, but the peace that Jesus offers is “a peace that passes all
understanding”.
Today,
we will be confirming eight young people into the Christian faith. We all recognize that this is not an end, but
rather a beginning to their Christian journey.
And like Jesus looking at those disciples that he was sending out into
the world, how do we give them that peace that the world can neither give nor
take away? How do we, as parents, give
this peace to our children? And how do
we experience such peace for ourselves?
Very
quickly, I think that there are some fundamental things we can do. First of all, we need to know who we are. You
know, if children have a strong sense of identity and a sense of self-worth,
they are well on the path to inner peace.
Some of
you may be familiar with the African-American women’s singing group, “Sweet
Honey in the Rock”. They have a song titled, “No Mirrors in My Nana’s
House.” One of the singers explained how this song was created. One of her
friends was telling her about growing up in her grandmother’s house, which was
in a very poor neighborhood. And she
said, “In my Nana’s house there were no mirrors.”
Her
friend asked her, “Well, how did you know what you looked like?”
And she
said, “My Nana told me. Every morning I would get up and get dressed and comb
my hair, and then I would go to Nana and I would say, ‘How do I look?’ And she
would tell me. She would tell me that I
was beautiful. She said my skin was
smooth and golden brown, kissed by the sun, and she said my eyes shone like
silver moonbeams. In my Nana’s house,
there were no mirrors, so I saw myself through my Nana’s eyes who loved me and
the beauty of everything was in her eyes.”
Wow! What a wonderful gift to give to a child. We help our children to develop inner peace
when we give them positive messages about themselves. But even more so, when
we help them establish their identity, by telling them who they really are. What our children need to know, and what you
and I need to know, in order to live with the inner peace that Jesus is talking
about is the awareness of who we really are.
Do you know who we really are? We
are God’s beloved children. That’s our
true identity.
As the
writer of 1 John puts it, “See what love
the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is
what we are.” – 1 John 3:1
As John’s
Gospel puts it, “You and I are so loved
by God that he sent his only Son, Jesus, and whoever believes in him will not
perish, but have eternal life with him.”
In light
of this, the Apostle Paul makes that great declaration of faith in Romans 8: “As children of God, who will separate us
from the love of Christ? Will hardship,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us. For
I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:35-39
What a
difference it makes to know who we are! As
God’s children, we have ultimate worth.
We have a purpose in life. And
this assurance of God’s love for us casts out our fears … giving us an inner
peace to face this life with.
The peace
that Jesus is talking about comes from knowing who we are. We are God’s beloved children. Jesus’ disciples needed to know this and you
and I need to know it.
But
notice that with this peace that Jesus offers us is a promise. In verse 25, Jesus says, “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all
that I have said to you.” – John 14:25-26
One of
the most important ways that we can help our children to know the inner peace of
Christ in their lives is when we help them develop a sense of God’s presence in
their lives. Jesus promises to be with
us in the form of the Holy Spirit, and he is, but you know, sometimes we just
need to see Jesus.
Pastor
Walter Wangerin tells how his mother helped him find God. He writes of a childhood crisis of faith. For
a long time, he thought he was the only person in his church who couldn’t see
Jesus. His mother took him to church every week. He noticed the joy
and peace that radiated from the church members’ faces. He wanted to meet this
Jesus they talked about. But he had never seen Jesus in his church.
So,
little Walter set out on a quest to find Jesus one Sunday morning. He
searched all over his Sunday School classroom, but found no signs of
Jesus. He crawled under the pews, but still, no Jesus. He poked his
head in the pastor’s study. He even sneaked up to the pulpit and looked
into this inner sanctum. Still, no Jesus.
Finally, little Walter thought
of one room, holy and mysterious, into which he had never dared venture.
The ladies’ rest room. That must be the place where Jesus hung out.
So that Sunday, Walter worked up his courage and sneaked into the ladies’ rest
room. He checked all the stalls, but Jesus was nowhere to be found.
Walter then
returned to the sanctuary just in time for the Holy Communion.
Ordinarily, he paid little attention to this sacred ritual. But this
time, he noticed how peaceful and happy his mother looked after eating the
bread and drinking from the cup. He leaned in close to her, sensing that
she bore the answer to his quest.
“What is that, Mama? What is that
smell?” he asked.
She
replied, “Oh, son, that is Jesus. It is Jesus inside of me.”
And finally, little Walter
understood a tiny piece of the mystery. Jesus wasn’t lost. Jesus
was living inside of his Mama.
Most of us probably would not
have found Jesus, if he had not lived inside our Mama or our Daddy; or our
grandparents; or some other loving adult. That’s how we normally come to experience Christ. We come to know Jesus through the influence
of someone very close to us, whom we love and admire.
And
so the question for each one of us today is, “Could a child sense Jesus in your
life?” “Could others find faith in your witness?” One of things that our confirmation students
did with their adult mentors this year, was to work on “a Life Line”
together. This was a tool to share how
their life and faith was shaped over the years.
And behind every instance where God’s presence was experienced in their
lives, was a person through whom the face of Jesus was made real.
Some
of you here today were listed on those young people’s Life-line. Last week, those graduating seniors mentioned
the names of people in this church who had been instrumental in leading them to
Christ. Perhaps you can look around you
today and see persons who would be on your Life-line as persons who helped you
grow in your faith. This is how Christ’s
presence is made known in our world today … through you and me … through the
Christ living in us.
“My
peace I give to,” Jesus promised.
Such peace, that the world cannot give nor take away, comes from knowing
who we are. We are God’s children …
heirs to the promises of God. Such peace
comes from knowing that we are not alone in this world. God, through His Holy Spirit, is with
us. And that assurance is made real when
we show others Jesus in our own lives.