Restorative Peace
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
Psalm 85:1-2; 8-13 & John 1:14
December 4, 2011
Rev. Lou Nyiri
Prelude to the Scripture:
Our Psalm this morning contains the verb “to restore.”
This suggests a theme which speaks to the spiritual hunger within all of us – what could be described as having once known a very precious truth that has somehow slipped from our grasp.
The human dilemma is that we spend immense amounts of time groping around on our hands and knees in the dark, hoping to find a light that will reveal the meaning of life – we scurry around looking for a lantern or a flashlight; a match stick or maybe even a candle – something … anything that will light our path.
We spend our time searching for something out there when what we need is a Savior – the Light of the World – to come to us and reveal the truth…
Perhaps we need this Savior to remind us that the treasure we’ve been seeking isn’t the true treasure after all…it’s not something we can buy in a store or Googled and find on ebay…rather it’s given to us from above…
The Incarnational act – God coming to us ‘in the flesh’ in the cry of a tiny babe – is what we prepare for this Advent Season – for this is the ultimate evidence that God has not abandoned us…rather God loves us, is committed to us and indeed is among us…
Today we continue our Advent preparations by looking at “Restorative Peace.”
Listen now to God’s word for us this day…[Read Scripture]
I read recently about an online catalogue site – Restoration Hardware – which offers among its list of items for sale some of the following – maybe one of these is on your Christmas wish list?:
Obviously, Restoration Hardware is a high-end store where one can go if she/he wants to step back in time and buy something that reminds them of some golden age from the past.
Paris in the 1880s. Hollywood in the 1940s. The 1960s space race.
Sometimes we look back with longing, feeling that something precious has been lost.
We want a missing treasure to be restored.
And so what do we often do – we look through catalogues and search for just that right something which will bring us what we need. That one thing that helps it all makes sense. And while a $1,700.00 floor lamp – crafted out of solid cast aluminum and steel – is probably a good one – the bigger question is: Will it give us the light we need?
Wandering through life’s darkness, we stumble and fall, we hurt ourselves, we sometimes hurt others, we crash into obstacles and leave debris in our wake. We long to find a light for our path, a beacon of some sort to lead us home. And that is why in this season of Advent we light a candle – an Advent candle – one, two, three and four.
Each Sunday we light another candle as a way of saying, “Restore us, O God.”
Restore our hope. Restore our peace. Restore our joy. Restore our love.
Somewhere deep down inside of us we know we need restoration – restoration that can’t be bought from a catalogue.
Psalm 85 reminds us of this restorative peace we seek.
It begins with a line that was spoken by the Israelite people, back in their homeland after a time of Babylonian exile: “Lord, you were favourable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.” (v.1) They were thankful that their long captivity is over and that God has forgiven their iniquity and “pardoned all their sin.” (v. 2)
Still, something seems to be missing.
The emptiness they feel is similar to the void we often feel within us after we’ve received that which we’ve longed for – we earn the degree, we start the job, we move into the bigger house, we drive the new car off the lot – we know how fortunate we are, we appreciate God’s blessing toward us. Yet, we wonder why even though we thought this is what we wanted it still isn’t enough. We wonder why the good fortune in this life gives us everything except a sense of peace.
Saint Augustine may have had it right when he said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” (Confessions, Book I, Chapter 1)
True peace will continue to slip through our grasp like sand through a sieve until our restless hearts begin to rest in God. Serenity cannot be conferred in a degree, a promotion, a mansion or driven off the lot in a luxury sedan. It comes as a gift from God, and it includes forgiveness and the restoration of relationship with the Lord.
[9:30 worship – play the video clip WITHOUT AUDIO – when completed move to title slide]
Weehawken, NJ based artist Franck de Las Mercedes began to do something unheard of – he began to send boxes – artistically designed boxes around the world – for free. These boxes though are anything but ordinary. They are unique – each one being hand painted. The idea came to him when he used the packaging to send his other art work out and a postal clerk commented on the artistry of the packages. His priority boxes art series have been sent all over the world. The contents inside these packages – things like peace, hope, insight and love.
De Las Mercedes’ belief was to help us see and wonder what if the work of art and the gift you send someone came on the outside, for everybody else to appreciate.
His aim is to spark dialogue and challenge us to consider the ability we have to influence change as well as getting us to understand the fragility, value and priority given to things such as those mentioned above – peace, love, hope and insight.
The artist has mailed some 10,000 boxes to people around the world with just one request – that recipients send him emails with photos of themselves and the boxes.
His hope is that those who receive the boxes will devote themselves to thinking and conversing about intangibles such as peace, love and hope.
The abstract designed boxes will ship to anyone, anywhere in the world – just below the address is a label which reads: Fragile. Handle with Care. Contains Peace.
Believing we expect something of value to come in a box, like a shirt or a book or an iPad – especially at Christmas – it is eye-opening to receive a package empty of everything except a message that has no price, such as “Peace” “Hope” or “Love.”
“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
You see, when God sends a peace package, the box is never empty.
This verse from John’s gospel reminds us of this promise as well as the remainder of Psalm 85.
God the Lord will “speak peace to his people,” and will call for a response by the people to “turn to him in their hearts.” (v. 8) “God’s salvation is at hand” – the Psalmist reminds us – “that his glory may dwell in our land.” (v.9)
God is generous with peace and salvation; however God requires a response on our part.
The only way to benefit from this gift is to receive it by turning to God with open hearts.
Each of us is faced with a choice – do we accept this package OR do we “return to sender” unopened?
When we open the gift, a precious collection of treasures spills out –
“Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.” (vv. 10-13)
Packed into this gift is more than meets the eye. As we open this gift from God, we find God’s own self. For contained within this box is the entire character of God: Steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness, peace and goodness.
All these qualities are intertwined and mutually supportive. Love connects closely to faithfulness. True peace depends on the presence of justice and righteousness.
As one American leader said in the mid 20th century, “Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin.” The speaker of this quote was not a peace activist or antiestablishment radical. The speaker of this quote was someone who sat in this very sanctuary – Dwight David Eisenhower, five-star general and 34th President of the United States. And he was right – peace and justice are two sides of the same coin – both in the world as we know it and in the peace package that comes to us from God.
We need this gift now more than ever because we will not find peace shopping online at places like Restoration Hardware.
Rather, God speaks to us of a restorative gift that is non-material: Steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness, goodness … peace.
Through an act of self-giving divine love, God enters more fully into our lives, in the person of Jesus the Christ, so that we might find our rest in God.
We don’t need Hollywood lamps or space pens, aviator wing-desks or Eiffel Tower models.
What we need is right before us – the gift we can restore in our lives and the gift which brings lasting peace to our lives – is reclaiming the Christ of Christmas.
It’s a gift we can receive with gratitude and delight.
It is through the birth of Jesus that God speaks “peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.”
In the gift of Christ – through his life and ministry – the qualities we desire to know come together in new and profound ways: steadfast love and faithfulness meet, while righteousness and peace mingle together and “kiss each other.” (Psalm 85:8, 10)
And in the gift of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to respond with restorative peace ourselves. Now, what might that look like?
Well, maybe it could mean extending steadfast love to a child who is going through a tough time and maybe not always handling it in the best possible ways.
Maybe it means practicing faithfulness to marriage vows by being fully present in the relationship and making an effort to express appreciation to a spouse?
Maybe it means showing righteousness in school or at work by being honest and fair in all activities?
Maybe it means working for peace in relationships by looking for ways to reduce tensions and increase harmony?
Maybe it means investing less in store bought Christmas gifts and investing more in the people around us?
Who knows maybe if we do such things – this might be our best Christmas ever?
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