| ""Grace to you and peace-shalom-from God our Parent and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:2)" The apostle Paul loved deeply the people who were part of the first Christian community he had founded in Europe, across the Aegean Sea from Asia Minor, in the Macedonian city of Philippi. The mood of this letter, sent to these beloved congregants as Paul sat in a far-off prison cell, is so very intimate, and its tone is so deeply moving and personal. Listen again, please, to more of Paul's warm words. Now, Paul's petition to God on behalf of these Philippians is the same prayer that Christ is continually offering on behalf of us-the petition that our commitment to a life of love may also continue to grow in its power of moral discernment, to the end that when Christ comes again we may be found to have produced a harvest of righteousness, the fruit of a justice sown in peace. OK, but growth in moral discernment toward a harvest of righteousness, toward the fruit of a justice sown in peace- just how does that kind of growth come about? How does it happen? Well, basically it happens, as Paul says, "through Jesus Christ." (v. 11) It happens as Christ comes into our hearts and changes them-for example, here at the table of Christ, in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It happens as in this sacrament Christ opens our hearts to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, so that right here, at this table, the Spirit is able to write the commandments of God upon the tablets formed from our freshly opened hearts, so that right here, at this table, that same Spirit is able to spark within us new growth in moral discernment, guiding us toward the harvest of righteousness. Now, in this morning's First Lesson we have heard again what our Presbyterian forefather, the 16th-century reformer, John Calvin, believed we ought to hear each and every communion Sunday, the recitation of the Ten Commandments-that summary of God's fundamental principles for our living of life, that statement of the moral postulates that show us how best to respond to the gift of God's love, that listing of the words that constitute the indispensable starting point for the ongoing moral life of every follower of Christ. The commandments begin: "You shall have no other gods besides me." (Exod. 20:2) "You shall not make for yourself an idol…." (Exod. 20:4a) Now, we moderns think of ourselves as having no problem whatsoever obeying those two commandments. After all, aren't we dyed-in-the-wool monotheists, many of us 50th-generation or so? But, the truth of the matter is really this: we moderns experience continuously the temptation to bow down before the shrine of gods other than the God of Jesus, other than the God of Justice, Love, and Peace. Isn't it actually the case that we, as Americans, are continuously tempted to bow down before the shrine of the god of pleasure, and also the shrine of the god of wealth, and lately the shrine of the god of war as well? Yet none of these three gods is the God made known to us in Christ Jesus! Well, it is here at this table that our hearts can be transformed by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit so that we become able to resist the temptation to worship these other gods, so that we become able to devote our lives instead to the God of Jesus, to the God of Justice, Love, and Peace. Next, the commandments go on to say: "You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God…." (Exodus 20:7a) Yet, aren't we Americans constantly tempted to manipulate and misuse the name of the God made known to us in Jesus-the name of the God of Justice, Love, and Peace? For example, don't we find ourselves constantly tempted to invoke the name of God for purposes that are nationalistic? Take the words "God bless America," for instance. Offered as a heartfelt prayer for divine mercy and sustenance, they invoke God's name in an altogether appropriate way. But recently I have heard "God bless America" said and sung, particularly in political contexts, not as a humble prayer but rather as a nationalistic mantra, as a camouflaged way of delivering this subliminal, quite un-Christlike, message: "America is God's favorite, so don't mess with us." A wrongful use of God's name indeed! In the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, Christ comes to people everywhere to nurture our commitment to the God of Justice, Love, and Peace and to help us grow in our powers of moral discernment, to the end that our lives may produce a harvest of righteousness, the fruit of a justice sown in peace. So today, at tables like this throughout the world, Christ is present and at work, transforming human hearts into instruments for justice, love, and peace, so that the world may experience a harvest of righteousness. Journey with me, please, to the Holy Land itself. Every day, Christian Palestinians awaken to the moral dilemma of how to resist injustice without resorting to violence. Many of them are under curfew and so have been unable to attend church today. But know that in the city of Jerusalem this morning Protestant Palestinians, for example, were able to walk quickly through the narrow, mostly shuttered bazaars of the Christian Quarter of the Old City to gather at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer to receive communion at the table of Christ. There, as they ate a piece of pita and drank from a common goblet of strong wine, Christ came to nurture their commitment to the God of Justice, Love, and Peace and to help them grow in their powers of moral discernment, to the end that their lives may produce-even in the face of such injustice, anger grief, and despair-a harvest of righteousness, the fruit of a justice sown in nonviolence and peace. Next, journey with me eastward, around the fertile crescent, to Iraq. Every day, Christian Iraqis awaken to the moral dilemma of how to respond to the brutally enforced evil of their ruler, Saddam Hussein, and also of how to cope with the terror produced in their hearts by the threats of bombing and invasion hurled at them from our own country, the United States. Know that in Baghdad earlier today small groups of Christians moved quietly through crowded bazaars to their various churches, to receive communion at the table of Christ, to experience anew the grace of God mediated by Christ. These groups received a piece of pita dipped in a goblet of wine. And as they partook, Christ came among them to nurture their commitment to the God of Justice, Love, and Peace, and to help them grow in their powers of moral discernment, to the end that their lives, too, may produce-even in the face of such unimaginable brutality and fear-a harvest of righteousness, the fruit of a justice sown in peace. Next, journey with me still farther eastward, to the land of our nation's new-found ally, Pakistan. Every day, Christian Pakistanis awaken to the moral dilemma of how to respond to the persecution they are newly experiencing at the hands of fanatics who call themselves Muslim and also of how to cope with their anger and anxiety over accusations lodged against them by even non-fanatic Muslims-accusations that they are adhering to an alien "Western" religion linked inextricably to the foreign policy of the United States, a policy that they are experiencing as imperialistic. Right about now, in villages throughout Pakistan, many followers of Christ are just concluding their nighttime communion services. You see, these are peasants who work seven days a week. So they have come in late from working in the fields. Then they have had to remove the animals from the open courtyard of the largest home, lay down cotton rugs, wash their hands and faces, take off their shoes, and sit down cross-legged on the ground. Then they have sung psalms joyfully, until they were hoarse, prayed for other villagers in need, whether Christian or Muslim, and listened to an hour-long sermon! Now, with gladness, they are receiving in the palms of their hands first a piece of flat, unleavened bread and then on top of that a spoonful of water in which raisins have been boiled. That's the closest they can come to wine or grape juice. And as they partake of communion, Christ comes among them to strengthen their commitment to the God of Justice, Love, and Peace and to help them grow in their powers of moral discernment, to the end that their lives, too, may produce-even in the face of such persecution, despair, anxiety, and anger-a harvest of righteousness, the fruit of a justice sown in peace. And so at last it is our turn, we Christians here in the United States. Every day now, we are awakening to the moral dilemma of how to exercise our power as a nation in ways that serve the God of Justice, Love, and Peace revealed to us in Christ Jesus, awakening to the moral dilemma of how to resist evil in ways that honor God, the God of Peace, who desires peace among all peoples, both far and near. It is our turn to come to the table of Christ, so that Christ may work within us both to strengthen our commitment to the God of Justice, Love, and Peace and also to help us grow in our powers of moral discernment, to the end that our lives, too, may produce-even amidst the temptations of pleasure, wealth, and warfare-a harvest of righteousness, the fruit of a justice sown in peace. Jesus said: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6) Come now to the table of Christ. Partake of the grace of God, and receive the power of the Holy Spirit, to the end that your life, too, may produce a harvest of righteousness. Let us pray: Amen |
Return to Sermon Archive