“My Peace I Give You!”
John 14:27

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Pentecost Sunday—June 9, 2019

Our text is today’s Gospel Reading, especially these words of Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Grace to you and PEACE from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Following the devastation of World War II, the United Nations was formed as a global peacekeeping force, to create and keep peace around the world.  But, sadly, as the cameras and correspondents take us around the world on the evening news, we see a world still torn, perhaps worse than ever, by war and bloodshed.  And even here in the United States, peace is often shattered by bloodshed.  For although we are not actually at war here in our land, we tragically see all too often our streets, workplaces, and even churches and schools become like combat zones.

And what about our homes?  What about our personal lives and relationships?  Husbands and wives break the marriage bond of love; children argue with their parents; siblings fight among themselves.  Even within the church arguments can arise which aren’t always handled in the most peaceable, Christian way.

We long for peace in our world, peace in our personal lives and relationships, but peace seems to be elusive.  The reason peace seems to be elusive is because we are looking for peace on worldly terms and with worldly eyes.

Jesus actually warned us, “In THIS world you will have TROUBLE.”  There isn’t now and there never will be true peace in this world, because the world and we who live in it are fallen and sinful.  Paul says in Romans, “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned . . . through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners.”  That is the root cause of the peace problem: Sin, death, and Satan have so infected our world that there can never be true worldly peace.

But, the Good News is, for YOU and all who trust in him, Christ conquers over sin, conquers over death, conquers over Satan; Christ destroys the root cause of the peace problem.  The reason Jesus came into our world was to bring peace to humankind.  “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

“MY peace I give you,” Jesus says.  The peace which Jesus gives is “not as the world gives,” not on worldly terms or seen with worldly eyes, but an inner, spiritual peace.  Paul describes this inner, spiritual peace in Philippians as “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.”  And he tells us the source of this inner, spiritual peace in Romans: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The peace Jesus gives comes from knowing, believing, and trusting the Good News that God is not angry with our world, and God is not angry with you.  Because Jesus came into our world to make peace between God and humanity, Jesus came into our world to make peace between God and you.  As Paul says in Colossians, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things . . . by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”  The cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ is God’s peace treaty with the whole world, God’s peace treaty with you.

In 1919 at the palace in Versailles, France a solemn peace treaty was signed, the conclusion of what people really thought would be the “war to end all wars.”  But, just 20 years later World War II began.  Historians tell us this happened because the supposed peace treaty was a sham, which only glossed over the real problems and root causes of the war.  The problems were still festering underneath, just waiting to explode.  This tragic sequence, World War I followed so closely by World War II, gave rise to a saying that is sad but often true in our world: “Peace is just that time between wars, when you recover from one and get ready for the next.”

When it comes to peacemaking, that’s the best the world has to offer, just a temporary cessation of hostilities.  But, God’s peace treaty with you is different.  “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  God’s peace treaty with you is different than any worldly peace, because he utterly destroyed the root cause of the hostilities. And God’s peace treaty with you can never be broken, revoked, rescinded, or the terms altered.

The terms of God’s peace treaty with you are spelled out here, in his Word, the Holy Bible.  They are totally one-sided terms, but totally in your favor.  “He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. . . God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not counting men’s sins against them. . . In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. . . .  The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  

God made you a party to this wonderful peace treaty in your Baptism, “the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,” through which God himself washed away your sins and made you born again as a believing child of God.  And God reaffirms this peace treaty with you every time you receive Holy Communion, through this Sacrament forgiving your sins and strengthening you in the true faith unto life everlasting.

“Blessed are the peacemakers,” Jesus says, “for they will be called sons of God.”  Jesus is calling you to witness for him in your life by being a peacemaker.  As Hebrews says, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone.”  Because you are at peace with God, you will “make every effort to live in peace” with others, you will “make every effort to live in peace” in your own life and relationships.

Paul tells Titus, “Remind the people . . . to be peaceable and considerate . . . to everyone.”  And in 1st Thessalonians, “Live at peace with each other.”  And in 1st Corinthians, “God has called us to live in peace.”  And in Colossians, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.”  And in Ephesians, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger . . .  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  That is the key to living at peace with others, “Forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Because you are at peace with God, you will “make every effort to live in peace” with others, you will “make every effort to live in peace” in your own life and relationships, you will “make every effort to live in peace” within your family.  As Scripture says, “Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.”  “Fathers do not embitter your children . . .  But bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”  “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases God.”  In your home and family and marriage, live in peace, and love one another. 

As Paul says in the famous “love chapter” in 1st Corinthians: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.” 

When hostility shatters the peace of your home, remember the life-long promise of love in the wedding vows: “To have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness, and in health; to love and to cherish; till death do us part.” 

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

“Now the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”