-Katherine Lee Bates, America the Beautiful

Psalm 46:9-10

9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth.
He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear.
He burns the chariots in the fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted in the earth.”

Jim Wallis likes to point out the ironic fact that many people trained in teaching Bible in their churches seem to have missed the thousands of scripture texts that speak of God’s special concern for the poor. Similarly, many who have attended evangelical churches could easily, based on the teaching they hear, gain the patently false impression that the Bible rarely speaks of peace, and that the few places where it does do so, it is with disapproval. They repeatedly hear just a handful of seemingly relevant texts: “I came not to bring peace, but a sword” (in which Jesus is actually speaking, not of armed conflict but of the danger his teaching is to traditional family values); “They have healed the wound of my people slightly, saying ‘Peace’ when there is no peace” (Jeremiah’s assessment of the false hopes being raised by false prophets who, more interested in profits than real security, were insisting that the Babylonian army would fold up and go away if only the people kept up their armed resistance a little longer); and perhaps the incident in the temple where Jesus physically disrupts the profitable business of those who were taking advantage of the religious sincerity of others by spilling their carefully counted money on the floor and driving their merchandise (animals destined for slaughter) from the temple courts.

But in fact there are hundreds of texts throughout the Bible that teach about peace, its source and its place in God’s plan for the world, and it’s time that Christians everywhere stop being afraid of them. Below is a very small sample.

I’ll start with one that should be held at the ready whenever someone takes the saying of Jesus  (Matthew 24:6-7) that “there will be wars and rumours of wars; see that you be not troubled, for the end is not yet” as proof that war is inevitable and will always be with us (which only makes sense if the end is always going to be “not yet”). Once too often I have heard someone put that out as a final argument against peacemaking, since “I believe the Bible!” Well, I believe the Bible, too, including….

Psalm 46, especially Psalm 46:9-10

9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth.
He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear.
He burns the chariots in the fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted in the earth.”

The Words In Red

Matthew 5:3-10

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:38-48

38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 26:50-52

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. 51 Behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword.”

Luke 10:3-6

3 Go your ways. Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Carry no purse, nor wallet, nor sandals. Greet no one on the way. 5 Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6 If a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.

The Risen Christ’s Greeting — John 21:19-23, 26

19 When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be to you.”

20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit! 23 Whoever’s sins you forgive, they are forgiven them. Whoever’s sins you retain, they have been retained.”

… 26 After eight days again his disciples were inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being locked, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace be to you.”

A Legacy of Peace John 14:27

27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.

From the song of Zacharias, Luke 1:76-79

76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
For you will go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
Whereby the dawn from on high will visit us,
79 To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Peaceful community, Acts 2:42-47:

42 They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer. 43 Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 All who believed were together, and had all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need. 46 Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.

The gospel of peace — Romans 10:12-15

12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him. 13 For, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a preacher? 15 And how will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,

Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Christ is our peace— Ephesians 2:14-17

14 For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, 15 having abolished in the flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace; 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near.

The Kingdom of God — Romans 14:16-19

16 Then don’t let your good be slandered, 17 for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then, let us follow after things which make for peace, and things by which we may build one another up.

Love is the law — Romans 13:8-10

8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not give false testimony,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

Old Testament texts:

The peaceable kingdom: Isaiah 11:1-10

1 And there will come a rod out of the broken tree of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will give fruit. 2 And the spirit of the Lord will beresting on him, the spirit of wisdom and good sense, the spirit of wise guiding and strength, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; 3 And he will not be guided in his judging by what he sees, or give decisions by the hearing of his ears: 4 But he will do right in the cause of the poor, and give wise decisions for those in the land who are in need; and the rod of his mouth will come down on the cruel, and with the breath of his lips he will put an end to the evil-doer. 5 And righteousness will be the cord of his robe, and good faith the band round his breast. 6 And the wolf will be living with the lamb, and the leopard will take his rest with the young goat; and the lion will take grass for food like the ox; and the young lion will go with the young ones of the herd; and a little child will be their guide. 7 And the cow and the bear will be friends while their young ones are sleeping together. 8 And the child at the breast will be playing by the hole of the snake, and the older child will put his hand on the bright eye of the poison-snake. 9 There will be no cause of pain or destruction in all my holy mountain: for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is covered by the waters. 10 And in that day, the eyes of the nations will be turned to the root of Jesse which will be lifted up as the flag of the peoples; and his resting-place will be glory.

The coming prince: Isaiah 9:5-7

5 For every boot of the man of war with his sounding step, and the clothing rolled in blood, will be for burning, food for the fire. 6 For to us a child has come, to us a son is given; and the government has been placed in his hands; and he has been named Wise Guide, Strong God, Father for ever, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his rule and of peace there will be no end, on the seat of David, and in his kingdom; to make it strong, supporting it with wise decision and righteousness, now and for ever. By the fixed purpose of the Lord of armies this will be done.

As I said, from Genesis to Revelation there are texts, stories, commandments, prophecies and exhortations as well as illustrations and examples of peacemaking, the ministry of reconciliation. I challenge the reader to find more, and post your favorite one in a comment. The search for integrity is, after all, a peacemaking endeavor as well. We must be at peace with God, and within ourselves, with our neighbor, and with our enemy, in order to fully manifest the gospel of peace, the peace which is the fruit of the Spirit, and be guarded by the peace of God which is beyond understanding. Go ahead. Find your favorite peace passage and post it here, or on your own blog. Let’s change the discourse on peace, and rediscover its foundation in the way of Christ.

This space is again freshened up with an updated back-end (WordPress 2.5) and a new look. How important it is to take a fresh look at everything familiar! On the day of this upgrade, with much attention being paid to the fortieth anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., I’m reflecting on the urgency of every day of life, and the fact that ordinary people, people like you and me, can make a difference. Had he lived, King would be an elder statesman by now, 79 years old. I wonder on such an occasion if it would have done more honor to the man and his legacy to annually remember the day of his death rather than the day of his birth. Less than 24 hours before a bullet ended his life, with uncanny prescience he mused upon mortality, and spoke in near-regretful tones of his own life and legacy: “I‘ve been to the mountaintop, and I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you…” A full generation later, that promised land of full equality still eludes us. Some, no doubt, have passed beyond the Jordan, and more yet have gazed from atop Mount Pisgah at what seems still so near, and yet so far: a place where the great ideals are not just respected but acted upon, where all God’s children can live together without being afraid of seeing each other take away what we have worked for. MLK spoke vociferously against the tripartate evils of racism, poverty and war, and understood that all three work against the freedom we hold dear. Racism is less entrenched, today, at least in law and public expression; but all who say so are quick to add that much more still remains to be done. Less boast can be made about poverty, and today the hope of eliminating war seems laughably out of reach. But here in this space, we will speak of the kingdom of God, the place where everyone is able to invite his neighbor to sit with him “under his own vine and under his fig tree, where none shall make them afraid” (Micah 4:4).

Jesus came proclaiming that Kingdom within reach, “at hand” — a kingdom where no one is hungry, so he fed thousands on a few loaves and fishes; a kingdom where health prevails, so he healed all the sick who came to him; a kingdom where love and reconciliation is the rule, so he taught about a Father who is merciful and expects his children to be the same; a kingdom where forgiveness is required of each subject, and not left as the optional prerogative of a stern monarch. Wherever he went, that kingdom came. He sent his apprentices out to proclaim in village and town, even where they were rejected: “Be sure of this, that the Kingdom of God has come near to you” (Luke 10:8-11). He taught them, and through them all of us, to pray for that kingdom to come, and in the fashion of Hebrew poetic repetition to repeat the sense of that prayer by saying (Matthew 6:10) “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The authorities thought that by destroying that king, whose kingdom was already in the world, though not of it, they could drive it out; but by triumphing over the ultimate means of destruction available to this world’s authorities, namely death, the good news was made available that the Kingdom has not retreated to a distant heaven or a far-away future, but is still here, breaking in to this world’s affairs wherever there are courageous people who are willing to bring Kingdom characteristics into their own lives, their own surroundings, their own world. Forgiveness, peace, the sharing of abundance, remain the means God has chosen to overcome hatred, prejudice, war, greed, and shortage.

In its fullness, in its final manifestation, the Kingdom has not yet fully come. But it is here, for those with eyes to see: “Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). And it is within reach, for those who “perhaps may grope for him and find Him.” It is to be found, with many attendant blessings, by those who seek it: “But seek first His Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). It is within reach.

An excerpt:

The decline of violence is a fractal phenomenon, visible at the scale of millennia, centuries, decades, and years. It applies over several orders of magnitude of violence, from genocide to war to rioting to homicide to the treatment of children and animals. And it appears to be a worldwide trend, though not a homogeneous one. The leading edge has been in Western societies, especially England and Holland, and there seems to have been a tipping point at the onset of the Age of Reason in the early seventeenth century.

At the widest-angle view, one can see a whopping difference across the millennia that separate us from our pre-state ancestors. Contra leftist anthropologists who celebrate the noble savage, quantitative body-counts—such as the proportion of prehistoric skeletons with axemarks and embedded arrowheads or the proportion of men in a contemporary foraging tribe who die at the hands of other men—suggest that pre-state societies were far more violent than our own. It is true that raids and battles killed a tiny percentage of the numbers that die in modern warfare. But, in tribal violence, the clashes are more frequent, the percentage of men in the population who fight is greater, and the rates of death per battle are higher. According to anthropologists like Lawrence Keeley, Stephen LeBlanc, Phillip Walker, and Bruce Knauft, these factors combine to yield population-wide rates of death in tribal warfare that dwarf those of modern times. If the wars of the twentieth century had killed the same proportion of the population that die in the wars of a typical tribal society, there would have been two billion deaths, not 100 million.

Are we, perhaps, less far than we think from the time envisioned by the ancient prophets, when “nation will not take up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4)? I have long observed, to anyone who will listen, that most people, at most times and places, live most of their lives in relative peace. Pinker’s study seems to suggest that this is increasingly true, despite even the horrors of the twentieth century. Our attention focuses on acts of violence precisely because they are anomalous, whether the occasion is murder, terrorism, or organized warfare.

“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end” says Isaiah 9:7 of the one identified in the previous verse as the Prince of Peace, in a passage widely held in the Christian tradition as pointing to the birth of Christ: yet today, many who claim to be followers of that Christ, who insist they are believers in the very selfsame sacred text that gives us these words, have given up on any hope that there can be any increase of peace, but instead hope only for a bloody, fiery apocalyptic end of the world — and some of them think their “blessed hope” lies, not in the increase of peace, but in being on the winning side in an upcoming battle. They concern themselves not a whit with the increase of peace (though the chief apostle, Peter, admonishes them to “seek peace and pursue it”) ¹ , thinking that there will be time enough for all that after the end of time.
Yet for the Christian, the evil that we fight is not the evil outside of us, but the evil we find within: not sinners but sin, not bad people but the wickedness to which people, including ourselves, so easily succumb: “for our struggle is not against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12). Our enemies are not those who hate us, but the hatred within us, not terrorists but our own sense of terror, not those who threaten to ban talk of God from our public places but our own fears and suspicions which threaten to banish the peace of God from our inner life. When the victory is gained over these enemies, we can become stalwart warriors for peace.

1. 1 Peter 3:9-11

crossposted:  

Never mind fighting battles over posting the Ten Commandments in public places. There is one commandment that will take up a lot less space, makes no overtly religious statement, yet calls for an even more radical change in priorities, is common but not exclusive to all Abrahamic religions, yet especially revered in the founding documents of Christianity, and still promotes no sect of organized religion.

I’d like to see it on billboards all across the country, but I’d even more like to see it taken to heart by those who want to honor God.

How about the one thing that is agreed upon by Jesus and those who opposed him, as well as by the apostles Peter, Paul and James in their writings (not to mention John, who takes it even further)?

How about the only passage from the book of Leviticus that is quoted multiple times in the New Testament?

Jesus says it is “like” the Great Commandment, the one about loving God with all one’s heart, strength, soul and mind.

John agrees, when he suggests that a person who does not love a fellow human, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

Paul says that all of the commandments are summed up in this one saying. Elsewhere he says that it fulfills the law.

James calls it the Royal Law, and refers to it as the perfect law that gives liberty.

Love your neighbor as yourself. A greater commandment than all the Ten put together; and you know, it doesn’t even mention God.

Just God’s image.

Bless God, America!

What Jesus said: see Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 19:17-18, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:25-37.

 

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 

— Paul (Romans 13:8-10)

 

Do not seek revenge, or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:18)

When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 19:33-34)

The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself. —Galatians 5:14 (Paul)

If you really keep the royal law found in scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing right. — James 2:8

I’m honored to be here and share a few thoughts with you today. We’re here to affirm and celebrate the value of community, to make it known that all of us understand the truth embodied in a certain passage of scripture. Paul the Apostle says in one place, that when one member suffers, all suffer together, and when one rejoices, all rejoice together. Just as this is organically true with a physical body, I’m here to tell you that for all of us this is not just something to think about, it is a fact.

Sometimes we don’t know why we suffer. We might have plenty of food, a safe place to sleep, good family, a well paying job, and we might feel like just so long as we keep these things, no matter what happens with anyone else, we’ll be fine. And we might even work to see to it that we keep what we have even if it means someone else doing without; but the result, the spiritual and dynamic fact is, that to the extent we contribute to someone else’s suffering, we increase our own. The Bible tells us that Jesus came with good news for the poor, but that good news benefits rich and poor alike, because all suffer together to the extent that any of us suffer.

Because of this inescapable fact, it is in the interest of each one of us —essential for our well-being and happiness, not just in a spiritual way but in every way, to see to the good of all of us, and that’s why we’re here, to build community, to find out, if we can, where someone is suffering and where someone is rejoicing, so we can share in those hurts, lessen them if we can, and share in those joys and increase them if we can.

I’m here because God has been good to me, and given me benefits in my life that I didn’t deserve, rescued me from the ways I imposed pain upon myself. God gave me my life back after I had wasted it, and so I have nothing to do but to offer it back to him again and again. I’ve found that as I do that he keeps finding ways to bless me, but also keeps showing me how closely bound up my life is with the lives of those around me. I can’t do without you, and you can’t do without me; we’re stuck with each other, and that’s one of those things that God has said is good.

Here is what I believe about how much we belong together:

I am deeply connected with all of humanity, and with every person in particular.

So long as anyone remains unloved, I am lonely.

So long as anyone remains hungry, I am not satisfied.

But when my heart aches for the unloved, Christ is with me.

And whoever spends themselves on behalf of the hungry, Christ is with them.

Rev. Bob Buehler

It’s at http://www.uschristianflag.com and the flag itself is very interesting.

I won’t bother explaining every aspect of the flag, but you can find that here. The thing that always interests me is simply the phenomenon of why people have this need to place America firmly in the place of God’s new chosen. I won’t bother to point out the sins committed to make America what it is today (Native American resettlement, dropping nuclear bombs, etc.); someone else would point out the ideology of people settling in America for religious freedom, as well as to proselytize the Native Americans. And I don’t think it’s wrong to want the best for the place where you live.

I do think the problem is that we become so focused on being Americans, that the Christianity takes a back seat. And even the ugly co-mingling of the two still tries to place them as equals, which is just as idolatrous.

Being an American is not a bad thing, just as for Paul being a Roman was not a bad thing, but something to be used for the advantage of spreading the Gospel of Jesus. In the same way, we can use our influence (waning as it might be) as Americans to do the same, whether that’s using our economic power to spread fair trade, or even refusing to buy materials made in sweatshops.

The United States of America is NOT a Christian nation. It might have been founded by men with some Christian principles. It might even be populated by Christians in the majority. But nation’s by their very nature are not Christian. Nations cannot sacrifice themselves for the good of others; nations generally seek their own preservation, but that preservation is not eternal. All of the great empires have fallen: Persian, Greek, Roman, Ottoman, British, even the American Empire will fall.

My comment: It was perhaps an unfortunate naivety that was at work when fourth-century Christians looked to a secular emperor as the savior of the church, just because he was so kind as to officially end a policy of persecution, thus placing the churches under his personal imperial protection. We find, perhaps, a comparable naivety at work here. Ever since that time, from the Roman Empire under Constantine forward, the governments of Western civilization have been patrons and protectors of, or sought the patronage and protection of, Christianity: a state of affairs that, I would argue, has consistently compromised and weakened the effectiveness of the gospel message. The United States of America is perhaps a bit unique in that it suffers a collective amnesia in that regard, and many people in this country seem somehow persuaded (quite falsely) that America is the first, and perhaps only, specifically Christian nation in history; that Christianity and Democracy are one and the same (just as the nations of Christian Europe used to persuade themselves that Christianity and Monarchy went hand in glove; remember the Divine Right of kings?).

All that said, there seems in this particular effort an attempt at moderation, in that the emphasis on this flag does focus on the gospel being for all nations. But the question is one of method, and of what we think is meant by “this gospel of the Kingdom.” I am not encouraged by the association with Mr. Pat Robertson of the 700 Club, whose educational effort is called “Regent”: an indication of an idea that until the King comes, someone ought to be ruling in his stead. Who do you suppose they have in mind, and how does that square with what Jesus actually taught?

The sacred time between the crucifixion and the resurrection
when all paradoxes are at their peak
all contradictions brought into the open
the God of Life participating in Death
Holiness punished for sin
The eternal Word, silent

but on Sunday morning, not with fanfare and blazing glory
but in the silence of an empty tomb
a witness to a life unstoppable is born.