Loving God, you have made peace with us through Jesus Christ, and yet our sinfulness persists and threatens to disrupt that peace.  Renew our hearts by the power of your Holy Spirit, pouring out your grace, your peace, and your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    Today is the feast of the Holy Trinity – the celebration of how God has been revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We worship one God who is revealed in three Persons – the God who is above us and beside us and within us, all at the same time!  We worship the God who has created us and redeemed us and sanctified us.  We worship the God who has saved us through our Lord Jesus Christ and who has poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5).

    Although we could easily spend some time today getting into deep theological explanations of the Trinity, our second reading today from Romans suggests a different focus.  The focus there is on what happens when we believe in God, who is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  When we have this faith, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).

    It is a simple statement that is absolutely pregnant with meaning.  “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Now, peace with God in and of itself is a great thing.  However, because God is the Creator and Ruler of all, that peace spreads.  Peace with God also means peace with others, peace with all of God’s creation, and inner peace.  They are all connected.  The apostle John writes about how it is impossible to love God while hating other people (1 Jn. 4:20).  In the same way, it is impossible to have peace with God while being at odds with other believers, with the created world, or with ourselves!

    Another way to think about peace with God would be as reconciliation with God – being brought back into harmony with God and with God’s purpose for our lives.  In the Old Testament, this peace is a blessing that is given by God (Ps. 29:11).  Peace is promised to those who are faithful and who turn to God in their hearts (Ps. 85:8).  Peace is the property of those who love God’s law and obey it (Ps. 119:165-166).  However, in the New Testament, this peace with God comes through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1).  God arranges the “great exchange,” where our sinfulness is taken and placed upon Jesus, while his righteousness is taken and placed upon us instead (2 Cor. 5:21).  This is how we are reconciled with God and have peace with him.  This is why God will fill us “with all joy and peace in believing,” as Paul writes to the Romans (15:13).

    And so, when we believe in Jesus Christ, we have peace with God through him.  We are reconciled with God and brought into harmony with God, a condition that also leads to inner serenity and peace.  In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, there is a familiar passage that talks about “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7).  What is really striking in this passage are the things that go with this peace.

    There are four things mentioned that lead to the peace that passes understanding (cf. Phil. 4:4-7).  1. Rejoice in the Lord always.  2. Act with gentleness.  3. Know that the Lord is near; and  4. Instead of worrying, pray with thanksgiving.  All of these are attitudes and actions that are not necessarily easy for us human beings.  They are possible only through faith in Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps the most difficult for many of us is the part where it says, “Do not worry.”  Really, how many of you never worry about anything?  It’s a natural human reaction, and yet, what does worrying actually accomplish? – Absolutely nothing, other than robbing us of inner peace.

    The alternative that is offered in the Scriptures is to bring everything to God in prayer with an attitude of thanksgiving.  When we do this in the faith that God has our best interest at heart and has the power to act in accordance with God’s will, it does indeed lead to the peace of God guarding our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.  So rejoice, and be gentle, and know that the Lord is near, and pray with thanksgiving instead of worrying.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7).

    This is the inner peace that is part of reconciliation and harmony with God.  Peace with all of God’s creatures and all of creation is also part and parcel of having peace with God, for Christ has come for the reconciliation of all things both in heaven and on earth (Col. 1:16-20).  However, I would like to spend a little bit more time today reflecting on the aspect of peace with God that probably causes the most difficulty for us.  Of course, this is our ability to live in harmony and peace with others.

    It is very telling that in the same chapter in which Paul is writing about the peace that passes understanding, he is urging Euodia and Syntyche to please agree with one another and “be of the same mind in the Lord” (Phil. 4:2).  These are two women who are part of the same congregation, both of whom believe in Jesus Christ.  Why is it that those who worship the same God and believe in the same Lord, and who ostensibly take their direction from Christ, the head, have so much trouble living and working in harmony with one another?  Shouldn’t there be harmony among those who believe in Jesus Christ?

    As is evident in every one of Paul’s letters, more often than not there was disharmony happening in those early congregations.  It is easy to see why Paul liked using the image of the body of Christ where all of the members work together in harmony, taking their direction from Christ, the head (cf. 1 Cor. 12).  This is how it is supposed to work for those who follow Christ!  Paul writes: “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Rom. 12:18).  And yet, when there are sinful human beings involved, often a lack of peace seems to result.

    In reflecting upon the causes of disharmony that are addressed in Paul’s letters and in Acts, it is striking that one of the most common culprits seems to be the comparisons that people make with one another.  Some are acting as if their gifts are either more important or less important than the gifts of others (1 Cor. 12).  Some feel that their widows are being neglected while others are getting too much (Acts 6:1).  Some have adopted an attitude of self-righteousness, refusing to forgive others in the community who have wronged them (cf. Col. 3:13).  There are these constant comparisons happening: Who has the best and the most spiritual gifts?  Who is able to speak in tongues?  Who is the most sinful?  Who does the most work?  Who is lazy and idle?  Who is the best leader?  No wonder Paul always seems to be emphasizing how we are all one in Christ Jesus – all on the same level – all saved by grace through faith – all important and needed members of the body of Christ.

    Really, isn’t it a matter of perspective?  If we are always comparing ourselves to others in the church then we will either be filled with pride over how good we are, or filled with disgust over how unfaithful others are, or filled with shame because we don’t feel that we can ever measure up to others.  However, when our focus is on the gracious gift of God in Christ, who has made us righteous through his life, death and resurrection, then we realize that we are sinners who have been redeemed just like everybody else.  We are equally sinners and equally saved.  Each one of us has been given gifts for ministry – some more and some less, but all just as important.  We are called into ministry according to the gifts that we have been given.  Whether we have the one talent, or the five, we are expected to use them well (Mt. 25:14-30).  Each one of us is called to serve God and to serve one another, regardless of what any other person might be doing!

    Really, if our life together is centered in Jesus Christ and if each one of us is striving to take our direction from Christ, then there should be a certain degree of harmony among us.  However, if our own personal agendas start to become more important than the gospel of Jesus Christ, then we are going to be in trouble!

    God has accepted us as righteous through our faith in Jesus Christ and has made peace with us through him.  Because of this peace that we have with God, reconciliation and harmony can be found in other parts of our lives, too: Inner serenity and peace, harmony with all creation, and harmony with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  All of this happens through the work of the Holy Spirit, who continually calls us to repentance and to renewal.  Finally:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).
    Amen.

The Holy Trinity (C)                                Romans 5:1-5
May 30, 2010
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2010 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved