THE STAR OF PEACE - LPNI

Dr. Daniel Paavola—Professor of Theology

Concordia University Wisconsin

Mequon, Wisconsin

July, 2020

But peace is harder to find. You certainly can’t buy it, but that doesn’t stop us from seeking it. Of course, how we pursue peace will depend on how we define peace. What setting, what time, what people do you need in order to say, “There. That’s peace?’  

Our three-part study will take on this pursuit of peace. We’re going to use a five-pointed star as our central image. Each point on the star happens when two lines intersect and it’s that intersection that brings us a point of peace. We have our expectations of what will bring peace. God meets us in that expectation and says, “Here. This is real peace.”

Let’s start with this idea:

As we start to look at peace, picture a common five-pointed star. Remember learning to draw a star like this. At least I learned that you drew an angle of about 45 degrees with the point at the top. Then take the end of each line and draw another line about 45 degrees, crossing in the middle. Stop and then connect these two lines with one horizontal line.  Anyway, that’s how I learned it.  Go ahead and draw a star or two and talk about how you learned to do it.

The star is our picture of peace. Of course, the star image likely brings us the thought of the Christmas star and the Wise Men coming to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, drawn by the light of the star.  We might also think of Jesus who identifies himself as the bright and morning star, Revelation 22:16. Picture yourself rejoicing at the sight of the leading star and also seeing Jesus as the bright, morning and lasting star.

We can also use the star as a picture of peace given how we just drew it. You drew your star by extending lines but then intersecting those lines five times. It is the intersection of each line that makes the five points and thereby makes the star. That intersection is the key for our study.

We are going to see five directions that promise peace. These are five ways in which we pursue peace as we might define it. But while we pursue peace in that direction, we need God to meet us, intersect our line and bring us to a halt. When God meets us, He’s going to give us a new understanding of peace. Put those five directions together with their five intersections by God and you have a star, the star of peace as God truly defines it.

So, let’s start in this first study with the rich man and his definition of peace, Luke 12:13-31. This man had a plan for peace. It was the pursuit of more and more. Imagine a line that extends out with the promise that the longer it is, the greater the peace. Consider these questions about the rich man and his plan:

I think that the rich man’s line of the pursuit of peace would have gone on a very long way. What’s enough for today won’t be enough tomorrow. What’s enough today might not be enough when tomorrow I see what my neighbor has. That line of getting more and more will just keep on extending if that’s how we pursue peace.  Paul has great words of caution about this in 1 Timothy 6:9: “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

To counter that pursuit of peace by gathering more and more, God intersects us with the words of contentment from Paul and the warning words of Luke 12. Read 1 Timothy 6:6-8: “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Consider also the warning words of Luke 12 at the end of the parable of the rich man, “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Consider these questions:  How does a peace built on many, many possessions become a place overburdened with a load that can’t be carried?

If peace is found in contentment, in the daily bread of a loving heavenly Father who knows what we need before we ask, what becomes our pursuit? Consider these questions as open-ended prayers:

Dr. Daniel Paavola—Professor of Theology

Concordia University Wisconsin

Mequon, Wisconsin

July, 2020

OPENING:  Do you remember those Wanna Get Away ads from Southwest Airlines?  There was some embarrassing moment when the character would give anything to escape what they had just said or done. The announcer then asked, “Wanna get away?” Of course!  I don’t even need a low airline fare. Just get me out of here.

Peace is getting away. That’s one of the two points and definitions of peace in this study. You don’t need to write a new Southwest Airline ad, but everyone loves a good story. So please start with these questions:

Paul has the natural inclination. Peace comes with distance, with removing the problem. He wants the greatest possible distance between himself and this thorn. Discuss these thoughts:

Note God’s answer which leaves the thorn in place, at least for the time being.

This theme is the opposite point on the star of peace. Make the “Wanna Get Away” point perhaps the far-left point and then go across horizontally to the opposite side for this point. The peace that comes by escape is the peace of being alone, away, and distant. But the peace of this point tries to bring everyone together.

This is the peace of “Can’t we all just get along?” This is the peace which is the hope of every mother and grandmother who plans Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter dinner for the whole family. Picture this large family all driving or flying in for the one day.

Wouldn’t it be reasonable that God would help us in this? Of course, we think of Jesus as the Messiah, the Prince of Peace as we find in Isaiah 9:6. We have the directions to seek peace such as we find in Hebrews 12:14, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” And Romans 12:18, “If possible, so far as it is depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

And yet there is the text from Matthew 12 for us to consider. We want peace that comes by getting everyone to agree, to get along, to avoid those questions or comments that bring tension. But what brings peace finally to the world? Jesus stepping into the center of our troubled world.

APPLY:  While I hope that all your family gatherings look and act like a Norman Rockwell painting, remember that God brought the ultimate peace to the world through the very opposite of that peaceful scene. If your life isn’t the freedom from the thorn and your gathering has more barbed, sharp words than you want, remember how God forms peace for the world.  Take these prayers during those thorn-filled times:

Dr. Daniel Paavola—Professor of Theology

Concordia University Wisconsin

Mequon, Wisconsin

July, 2020

OPENING:  I should have bought this T-shirt when I saw it. Then I could put a picture of it here for you. But I passed on it and so I can only describe it. As you might know, I have been riding motorcycles for 50 years straight. I saw a shirt that showed an older rider riding a bike that is at least 30 years old. The caption on the shirt says, “The older I get, the faster I was.”

           I like that shirt. I’m sure that I’m guilty of what it says. When I tell our son, who also has ridden for many years, about my early years, I just might be a little faster in the story than I was in reality. And I don’t see this trend ending. Let me tell you, “the older I get, the faster I was.”

           That’s one of the themes for the last two points of peace. How do we see and tell the past? If we can arrange all the pieces, the peace we seek might finally come. It’s sure tempting to find peace in the retelling and rearranging of our past. Let’s see where that takes us and when and how God will meet us.

           But first, please discuss this idea of retelling and rearranging the past.

           When you meet someone for the first time, what part of your past do you enjoy retelling?

           Where did you put the precious things in your house? Where was the safe place where they couldn’t, or at least shouldn’t, get broken? I picture a collection of Hummel figurines safely put on the highest shelf.

           Now imagine breaking them. You and your sister for some reason knock the shelf down and shatter every Hummel. By the way, these are irreplaceable pieces. No going to Amazon or eBay and getting new ones. You stand there and have a desperate hope. What if we could put this all back together?

           When has this happened to you?  Did the Superglue or the epoxy cement actually work?

           We try this same frantic work when we return to our past and see the broken pieces. Telling our story to ourselves or to others is trying to glue our broken pieces with spiritual glue. We can hold the broken pieces together for a while but eventually we have to let go. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had much luck with Superglue. I’ve glued myself to the pieces but not the pieces to themselves.

           So, we try to find peace by retelling our past, glossing over the breaks and missing pieces, and hoping no one will notice. And then here comes God who says, “Look at what you did.” If we look, we will see every broken act that finally sent his Son to the cross. Let God say that same sentence to us at the cross at the moment of Jesus’ death, “Look at what you did.”

           And then he says, “Peace be to you.” Isn’t that the most amazing peace? God sees that our broken lives have taken the life of his Son. But when he sees that, he “makes peace by the blood of his cross.” Colossians 1:20. Peace comes not by our retelling the story, making ourselves look better. Peace comes at the brokenness of Jesus, at the moment of his death. Peace comes when we find ourselves most guilty and yet at the cross on Good Friday we are also completely forgiven. We find peace in God’s telling of his Son’s story, his death and his resurrection. In that story, we are not just better. In that story, we’re forgiven and at peace.

           “Why are we doing this?  This was not a good idea.”  I have heard those words many, many times. I have run 26 marathons and you can easily hear those words from many runners from about mile 15 on. It’s most common with people who are doing this just to get it off their bucket list, or who are doing this because their friend said they should. They’re going to be asking, “Why, why, why am I out here?” If the goal at that point is to stop running, to get to the finish line or simply to stop the pain, they might stop long before 26.2 miles is done. If you run to stop, you’ll stop your run.

           So why run marathons? Simply put, because you like to run. You run the marathon to run  long, to run with others, to run with the crowd cheering, and to run the entire distance. Sure, I was as glad to stop running as anyone when I crossed the finish line. But you train to run. You create mental images of yourself running. You don’t make images of yourself stopping.

           What’s the mental image of peace, running or stopping? In our text of 1 Thessalonians 5:3, those people want a peace that isn’t moving. They want peace that is security, fixed, in place, and going nowhere. That’s their definition of peace. Peace is when you can just stop, wherever you are, and say, “That’s it. Done.”

           But what image does Paul give instead in 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11? Read those words about a peace that’s active, not idle.

           Paul says that we are people of the light, not dark, of the day and not the night. How is there more peace in being alert and active than in closing our eyes and living in denial?

           Let’s close with these thoughts for our prayers as we find God meeting our desire for peace.

           Lord, we want to fix the past, retell our story, and make it all sound better. Remind us that our peace is not a fragile past glued together. Peace is found at the cross. Peace faces our brokenness and the brokenness of your Son. And there, at the shedding of his blood, you announce “Peace to the world.” Give us faith to trust those words and peace. Amen