Peace Through Sacrifice
Sermon
THE SEVENFOLD PATH TO PEACE
SEVEN LENTEN SERMONS
I have held in my hand the only known existing acheological evidence in the world, that crucifixion was actually practiced, as the Bible and other literature asserts.
At the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem, Joe Zias, a nephew to one of our group and custodian of the Dead Sea Scrolls, handed to us a hand-wrought iron spike about six inches long and with the tip bent over at right angles. There were some fragments of wood on the spike, but most startling was the fact that the spoke had been driven directly through an ankle bone.
Apparently, when the victim was crucified, the spike had struck a hard knot in the upright beam and had bent over. When his family went to retrieve the body for burial, they could not pull out the spike and had to cut off the beam and bury a portion of it with the spike still in place through the ankle.
It is doubtful that any of us could be any more in touch with the sheer brutality and pain and suffering of crucifixion than I was when I held that spike in my hand and looked at the ancient bone. The self-offering of God, in that moment, took on for me, a more harsh reality.
The Lord of the universe is willing and has always been willing to take on the most brutal aspects of humanity in order to hold a mirror up to our face. In the reflection, God intends that we will not be pleased with what we see, and will then make the decisions to choose a better way.
It is that better way, which is the Sevenfold Path to Peace we have been pursuing during these Sundays in Lent. Thus far, it has been my purpose to convince you of the following:
• Peace is attainable because it starts within us.
• Peace is desirable because we all need justice.
• Peacemaking does not just happen, it is intentional.
• Peace is Shalom, God's tough love.
• Peace is receivable when we confess our anger, fear, and grief, when we stop worshiping the false god named Security,and when we gain a world view, such as God has, which sees beyond our short-sighted human barriers.
Today's step on the Sevenfold Path is the sixth, which suggests that peace comes through sacrifice.
First, some biblical perspective.
Jesus approached Jerusalem on Palm Sunday from the east. He arrived from Bethany, having come around the southern flank of the Mount of Olives, through the olive grove, such as the one still there on the edge of the Kidron Valley. According to Luke's rendition of the story, it would have been in that vicinity he would have received the enthusiastic greetings from the crowd shouting,
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.
But remember, there is no evidence that Jesus gave anything, but the most sober response, to hopes he raised among the people. He continued up the road which runs from south to north from the valley, traversing the hill to the Golden Gate. Ancient tradition holds that it is through the gate which the King of Israel entered to assume his authority. Some centuries ago, the Moslems bricked up the gate, so no one could go through it and claim kingship over them. Even while I was there I saw a Moslem guard chase a tourist away from it.
Jesus entered through the Golden Gate, and was carried up the ramp on the inside by his young animal, to the level of the Temple courtyard.
Most certainly he had in mind the words of Zechariah the prophet, who set the stage with the picture of such a humble entry, and then said of Jerusalem:
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
No wonder Jesus, then able to see the rest of the city to the south and west, wept and said,
Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes ...
Jesus knew, as did Zechariah before him, that peace is not made from either ancient or modern chariots, war horses, or battle bows.
What was hid from their eyes was that the peace which Jesus would command from the River Jordan to the ends of the earth, would be the result of his approaching sacrifice. What is especially germane to this series of sermons, and which we often miss in the celebration of Palm Sunday, is that peace was at the very center of the prophecy of the event, and foremost in the mind of Jesus.
"Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace."
Jesus already had in mind the final sacrifice which had to be made in order that his authority would extend to the ends of the earth. He had to have known that part of that sacrifice was a hand-wrought iron spike through the ankle bone.
Secondly, it will be helpful to understand something of the nature of sacrifice ...
Frederick Buechner, my favorite theological wordsmith, makes it short and simple:
SACRIFICE - to sacrifice something is to make it holy by giving it away for love.1
We've grown up with the idea that a sacrifice is hard to do, even painful, that it is done with great reluctance, if not actually extracted from us by intimidation or outright threat.
Sacrifice in Buechner's terms, and, indeed, in biblical terms, sees beyond the short term loss, beyond the security of possession, beyond the sentimentality of retention. Sacrifice is more nearly the willing offering of all one has, all one is ... for the sake of the long-range vision, because the vision is so much more hopeful, fulfilling, satisfying, than the short term suffering.
Jesus was not above suffering or pain. He wept for the city, not only because of what it would suffer for having failed to recognize him, but for himself, because he knew what they would put him through. Later in the week, he agonized in the garden of Gethsemane over his approaching sacrifice. And, believe me, he suffered when that wrought-iron spike was driven through his ankle bone.
But Jesus also knew that he had to give life away for the love of you and me. It was in the giving that he made life holy for all of us.
Thirdly, the problem for you and me is one of how we go about appropriating Christ's sacrifice, which, in theological circles, is called the Atonement. That means, "at one ment."
Jesus said, "Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes."
What are those things which are hid from our eyes? The fact is - peace already exists! The problem is that we have not come to grips with that fact!
We have not opened our eyes to the reality of peace.
We have been unaware of the time of our visitation.
We have been tempted to believe that peace will be the result of our personal persuasion, our political power, our military maneuvering, or the individual and collective sacrifices we make to that end.
The fundamental conviction of Christians through the centuries has been that, through the sacrifice of Jesus, the chasm between ourselves and God has been bridged, and, in faith, we have been reunited with God. Therefore, what we do does not create peace, but affirms the peace which already is!
There is no fear of failure, no overwhelming anxiety, no angry or prideful reaction to a world which will not accept peace on our terms. Rather, there is a quiet certainty, a willing offering of one's being, because peace is at the Center.
Jesus is our Peace. His sacrifice has taken away the pain of our offering, so there can be peace in us. Our sacrifice is then, one bringing Christ to others ... by finding peace in ourselves, by being just, by being intentional, with Shalom, and with receptivity to peace on God's terms.
We symbolize that kind of peace month after month in our sacrament of Holy Communion. After the Prayer of Consecration of the elements, the congregation offers itself to God ...
In the strength Christ gives we offer ourselves to you, giving thanks that you have called us to serve you.
That is our sacrifice. It is the giving ourselves over to him who is peace, that peace might be within us, and thereby in the world.
When you and I have made this offering of ourselves to God, that Christ might be in us, we will then be ready to take the final step on the Sevenfold Path to Peace.
1. Wishful Thinking, Frederick Buechner (Harper & Row, 1973, New York, p. 83, used by permission).
At the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem, Joe Zias, a nephew to one of our group and custodian of the Dead Sea Scrolls, handed to us a hand-wrought iron spike about six inches long and with the tip bent over at right angles. There were some fragments of wood on the spike, but most startling was the fact that the spoke had been driven directly through an ankle bone.
Apparently, when the victim was crucified, the spike had struck a hard knot in the upright beam and had bent over. When his family went to retrieve the body for burial, they could not pull out the spike and had to cut off the beam and bury a portion of it with the spike still in place through the ankle.
It is doubtful that any of us could be any more in touch with the sheer brutality and pain and suffering of crucifixion than I was when I held that spike in my hand and looked at the ancient bone. The self-offering of God, in that moment, took on for me, a more harsh reality.
The Lord of the universe is willing and has always been willing to take on the most brutal aspects of humanity in order to hold a mirror up to our face. In the reflection, God intends that we will not be pleased with what we see, and will then make the decisions to choose a better way.
It is that better way, which is the Sevenfold Path to Peace we have been pursuing during these Sundays in Lent. Thus far, it has been my purpose to convince you of the following:
• Peace is attainable because it starts within us.
• Peace is desirable because we all need justice.
• Peacemaking does not just happen, it is intentional.
• Peace is Shalom, God's tough love.
• Peace is receivable when we confess our anger, fear, and grief, when we stop worshiping the false god named Security,and when we gain a world view, such as God has, which sees beyond our short-sighted human barriers.
Today's step on the Sevenfold Path is the sixth, which suggests that peace comes through sacrifice.
First, some biblical perspective.
Jesus approached Jerusalem on Palm Sunday from the east. He arrived from Bethany, having come around the southern flank of the Mount of Olives, through the olive grove, such as the one still there on the edge of the Kidron Valley. According to Luke's rendition of the story, it would have been in that vicinity he would have received the enthusiastic greetings from the crowd shouting,
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.
But remember, there is no evidence that Jesus gave anything, but the most sober response, to hopes he raised among the people. He continued up the road which runs from south to north from the valley, traversing the hill to the Golden Gate. Ancient tradition holds that it is through the gate which the King of Israel entered to assume his authority. Some centuries ago, the Moslems bricked up the gate, so no one could go through it and claim kingship over them. Even while I was there I saw a Moslem guard chase a tourist away from it.
Jesus entered through the Golden Gate, and was carried up the ramp on the inside by his young animal, to the level of the Temple courtyard.
Most certainly he had in mind the words of Zechariah the prophet, who set the stage with the picture of such a humble entry, and then said of Jerusalem:
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
No wonder Jesus, then able to see the rest of the city to the south and west, wept and said,
Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes ...
Jesus knew, as did Zechariah before him, that peace is not made from either ancient or modern chariots, war horses, or battle bows.
What was hid from their eyes was that the peace which Jesus would command from the River Jordan to the ends of the earth, would be the result of his approaching sacrifice. What is especially germane to this series of sermons, and which we often miss in the celebration of Palm Sunday, is that peace was at the very center of the prophecy of the event, and foremost in the mind of Jesus.
"Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace."
Jesus already had in mind the final sacrifice which had to be made in order that his authority would extend to the ends of the earth. He had to have known that part of that sacrifice was a hand-wrought iron spike through the ankle bone.
Secondly, it will be helpful to understand something of the nature of sacrifice ...
Frederick Buechner, my favorite theological wordsmith, makes it short and simple:
SACRIFICE - to sacrifice something is to make it holy by giving it away for love.1
We've grown up with the idea that a sacrifice is hard to do, even painful, that it is done with great reluctance, if not actually extracted from us by intimidation or outright threat.
Sacrifice in Buechner's terms, and, indeed, in biblical terms, sees beyond the short term loss, beyond the security of possession, beyond the sentimentality of retention. Sacrifice is more nearly the willing offering of all one has, all one is ... for the sake of the long-range vision, because the vision is so much more hopeful, fulfilling, satisfying, than the short term suffering.
Jesus was not above suffering or pain. He wept for the city, not only because of what it would suffer for having failed to recognize him, but for himself, because he knew what they would put him through. Later in the week, he agonized in the garden of Gethsemane over his approaching sacrifice. And, believe me, he suffered when that wrought-iron spike was driven through his ankle bone.
But Jesus also knew that he had to give life away for the love of you and me. It was in the giving that he made life holy for all of us.
Thirdly, the problem for you and me is one of how we go about appropriating Christ's sacrifice, which, in theological circles, is called the Atonement. That means, "at one ment."
Jesus said, "Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes."
What are those things which are hid from our eyes? The fact is - peace already exists! The problem is that we have not come to grips with that fact!
We have not opened our eyes to the reality of peace.
We have been unaware of the time of our visitation.
We have been tempted to believe that peace will be the result of our personal persuasion, our political power, our military maneuvering, or the individual and collective sacrifices we make to that end.
The fundamental conviction of Christians through the centuries has been that, through the sacrifice of Jesus, the chasm between ourselves and God has been bridged, and, in faith, we have been reunited with God. Therefore, what we do does not create peace, but affirms the peace which already is!
There is no fear of failure, no overwhelming anxiety, no angry or prideful reaction to a world which will not accept peace on our terms. Rather, there is a quiet certainty, a willing offering of one's being, because peace is at the Center.
Jesus is our Peace. His sacrifice has taken away the pain of our offering, so there can be peace in us. Our sacrifice is then, one bringing Christ to others ... by finding peace in ourselves, by being just, by being intentional, with Shalom, and with receptivity to peace on God's terms.
We symbolize that kind of peace month after month in our sacrament of Holy Communion. After the Prayer of Consecration of the elements, the congregation offers itself to God ...
In the strength Christ gives we offer ourselves to you, giving thanks that you have called us to serve you.
That is our sacrifice. It is the giving ourselves over to him who is peace, that peace might be within us, and thereby in the world.
When you and I have made this offering of ourselves to God, that Christ might be in us, we will then be ready to take the final step on the Sevenfold Path to Peace.
1. Wishful Thinking, Frederick Buechner (Harper & Row, 1973, New York, p. 83, used by permission).
