Dr. Jon Burnham preached this sermon from John 20:19-31
at Batesville Presbyterian Church on April 15, 2007
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you." (John 20:21)
Peace is the first word the risen Christ says to his disciples. On Easter Sunday evening, Jesus finds his fearful disciples huddled in a corner, hiding, and says "Peace to you." Then he showed them his hands and side. The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant. Jesus repeated his greeting: "Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you." (John 19:20-21 MSG) Jesus gave peace to his disciples and he told them to pass the peace. How we turn our attention this morning to how we pass the peace of Christ to one another, to all God's creatures and to even to the earth.
The Bible tells the story of a broken relationship between God and humankind. The Old Testament tells us how God chose a people, Israel, and made a covenant with them. God kept the covenant. The people broke the covenant. Finally, things got so bad that God was ready to destroy everyone and start over. So God told Noah to take his family and a pair of each of the animals and put them on an ark. God sent a flood over the earth and destroyed all living things not on the ark. There were more animals on the ark than people. God apparently cares more about animals than about evil people. God made a new covenant with Noah's descendants and promised never again to destroy the earth by flood. We learn from the rest of the story that the flood changed God but not humankind. God kept being faithful to God's covenant but God's people kept breaking the deal. Finally, in a move that demonstrated just how completely God loves humankind, God sent his only Son, Jesus, to bridge the gulf that had developed between God and humanity. Jesus came to planet earth as the new Adam. The first Adam perverted the order of nature by trying to be God. Jesus restored order to the chaos by laying down his divinity and taking on the cloak of humanity. Jesus came to heal the gulf between God and humankind.
Now Jesus expects us to follow his lead. We are to pass the peace with one another as Christ has passed the peace to us. The Bible is painfully clear on this issue. Forgiveness is not optional. It is required. The Lord's prayer says, “Forgive us ... as we forgive.” We are to live out the forgiveness of Christ in our human relations. That is not always to do.
Radio talk show host Don Imus was dropped from the NBC lineup this week after some racially disparaging remarks he made in regard to the Rutgers women's basketball players. Imus later apologized about his remarks and the Rutgers women's basketball team, whom he had insulted, agreed to meet with him. The public debate over Imus's remarks continued on throughout the week and ended with Imus being forced out by his employer, CBS. Democratic Presidential Candidate John Edwards said in regard to Imus's remarks: "I believe in forgiveness, I believe in redemption." Other candidates were less forgiving. Jesus sends us out to be peacemakers in our human relationships. Passing the peace means being careful about our language. We pass the peace by speaking in peaceful ways.
It is hard for me to talk about passing the peace without mentioning the 800 pound gorilla in the room.
Polls now show the vast majority of Americans want to declare peace in Iraq and bring our troops home. Some political pundits say withdrawal of our troops would mean even more death and chaos in the Middle East. How you view this issue will have bearing on the way you think peace will come in Iraq. Whatever your opinion, work for peace in Iraq as you envision it. Jesus sends us out to be peacemakers in our human relationships. Passing the peace means waging peace. We are to pass the peace to our neighbors both here and afar.
Passing the peace is not limited to human interactions. There is more to passing the peace. Jesus once said: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? " (Matthew 6:26-27 NIV)
Jesus tells us to behold the birds, for lessons about life are in them. Now we can't look at the birds if there are no birds left to look at. Yet, day after day, acres and acres of bird habitats are destroyed in the Amazon rain forests to make room for cow pastures to raise cows so that we Americans can eat fast food hamburgers any time we wish. We acknowledge God's glory by admiring God's works in creation. We mar God's glory when we are unmindful of how our choices effect animal species on this planet that we share. Our stewardship theme last Fall was Noah's Ark. God tells Noah to gather a male and female representative of each animal species and put it on the ark so that the animal species may be preserved. God's command to Noah demonstrates that preservation of animal species is important. God was more concerned about preserving animal species than sinful people. Jesus wants us to pass the peace to the animal kingdom.
Jesus challenges us to pass the peace to the human community, the animal kingdom, and even the earth itself. Jesus sends us out to be peacemakers on behalf of the earth's environment. Part of peacemaking is practicing stewardship of God's creation. Rock star Sheryl Crow is performing this month in "Stop Global Warming College Tour." She started the tour in Texas because it is the state with the highest carbon emissions of any state. She is touring with Laurie David, who produced Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth. But the global warming issue is no longer the sole abode of the so-called liberal elite. Add former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to the list of former (and possibly future) politicians who are urging action to fight global warming. His forthcoming book, A Contract With the Earth, will present a 10 point plan of "market oriented" policies that will lead to a "bipartisan environmentalism." The book is due in November, around the same time Gingrich said he would decide about a possible presidential race. http://politicalwire.com/archives/2007/04/09/gingrich_to_urge_action_on_global_warming.html
Several years from now, China will be emitting more greenhouse gasses than America, and by then, I imagine everyone in the United States will be on the bandwagon against China for ruining the environment of the planet we share in common. Of course, right now the United States is the biggest source of harmful greenhouse gases and the rest of the world looks upon us with the disdain that we will look upon the Chinese when they become the primary polluters. Writer Thomas Friedman says we better our act together as Americans on this issue because billions of people in India and China want to live like we live. They want to own their own cars and have refrigerators in their homes. We Americans pride ourselves on being leaders and if we take the lead on the environment these other nations will likely follow.
It is time now for our government to follow the lead of some of our leading corporations. WalMart is getting in on the action of green technology and so is silicon valley. WalMart has a huge initiative underway to conserve energy because it is good publicity and it also will save them millions of dollars. WalMart is marketing energy saving light bulbs that costs more money on the front end but saves you money in the long run because it lasts longer than conventional light bulbs. The business world is learning that green is as good as gold.
Meanwhile, there are still some who sound like doubting Thomas saying: "Unless I see the evidence for global warming I will not believe." Sometimes we have trouble seeing what we would rather not see. The vast majority of scientists say the argument is over. Global warming is a reality. We must come to terms with it. Listen to what Jesus said to doubting Thomas: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." Even if scientists never mentioned our responsibility toward the environment, our Bible repeatedly mentions it.
We Presbyterians pride ourselves on being people of the book, people of the Bible. The Bible clearly teaches that God put humans on this earth to take care of the earth, not to destroy it. Stewardship of the earth's resources is a primary chore given by God to humankind. From beginning to end the Bible tells the story of how God charges humankind with being responsible for the care of the earth. The Biblical story of human stewardship starts with the story of Adam and Eve who tended the Garden of Eden. God gave humans charge of the earth not so that we could use it to satisfy our greed. We do not have a blank check from God to do with the earth anything that makes money for the shareholders of companies in which we invest. God expects us demonstrate moderation in all things, including how we use the resources of the planet over which God gave us charge. This is basic, conservative, Biblical stewardship.
Environmentalism is not the provenance of one political party. It is not merely a Progressive or Liberal issue. Today, Conservative Evangelicals are claiming the issue of stewardship of God's creation and embracing environmentalism as one of their new justice issues. They choose to focus on this issue not to be politically correct but because they are people who take the Bible seriously. From the beginning of creation, God tasked humanity with care of the earth. That means, for us, taking care of the environment. Passing the peace from humankind to the environment is part of what it means to be a Christian.
The risen Christ challenges us to pass the peace. We are to pass the peace of Christ from human to human and from the human species to the animal and plant kingdoms. We are to pass the peace to the rivers and oceans, the mountains and soil. We are to pass the peace of Christ to all of creation. This is God's will for us. This is why God put us here. As he said to his disciples after his resurrection, so Jesus says to us, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Let's pass the peace of Christ to other people, to all sentient beings and even to planet earth. The Bible recommends it. Christ requires it. Let's do it. Let's pass the peace.
