Illustrations, Quotes and Lectionary Reflections (Easter 6C)
by Various Authors
 
The Peace of Christ in a World of Chaos
Sermon Starter


John 14: 23-29 
 
One of the best newspaper cartoons of all time is Calvin and Hobbes. 
One day Calvin and Hobbes come marching into the living room early one morning. 
His mother is seated there in her favorite chair. She is sipping her morning coffee. 
She looks up at young Calvin. She is amused and amazed at how he is dressed. 
Calvin’s head is encased in a large space helmet. A cape is draped around his neck, 
across his shoulders, down his back and is dragging on the floor. 
One hand is holding a flashlight and the other a baseball bat.
 
“What’s up today?” asks his mom.
“Nothing, so far,” answers Calvin.
“So far?” she questions.
“Well, you never know,” Calvin says, “Something could happen today.” 
Then Calvin marches off, “And if anything does, by golly, I’m going to be ready for it!”
 
Calvin’s mom looks out at the reading audience and she says, “I need a suit like that!”
That’s the way many of us feel as we see the news and deal with life. 
Sometimes this world seems quite violent and people seem to be at each other’s throats. 
A suit like that would help, so we can say with Calvin, “Whatever may come my way, 
I’m going to be ready for it! Bring it on!”
 
Well, I don’t have a suit like Calvin’s to give you this morning, but I do have word 
for this morning: 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.
 
There is a defining phrase in that statement. One that tells us what kind of peace it is 
that Christ gives us. Listen to it again and see if you can pick it out: “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.” The defining phrase is: “Not as the world gives.” 
Do you see how that defines God’s peace? The world promises peace 
through the rule of law. Law and order is the only way for a society and a people 
to experience peace and law and order must be kept by the aggressive use of force. 
That’s the only way that the world can bring about peace.
 
But here is how Jesus will give you peace. If you obey his word He 
and the Father will come to you and make a home with you. Right in your heart. 
Not by force but by choice. They will abide in your heart bringing peace. 
The world’s peace is peace through strength. The Lord’s peace is peace through surrender.
 
We have all been asked by our children: if you could have any wish what would it be? 
I think the most common answer given is world peace. Peace is important. 
Jesus makes a point to tell his disciples that he going to leave them with peace. 
Peace is part a vital part of our faith. Let’s look a little closer at what Jesus means by peace:
  1. First, there is the Peace the World Gives
  2. Second, there is the Peace the Lord Gives
  3. Third, there is the Obedience We Give

Live in the Light

I love a quotation and paraphrase of Martin Luther: “Can a rock that has been 
in the sun light all day not fail to give off warmth and heat at night?” 
Can a rock that has been in the warmth and heat of the sun light all day 
not fail to give off warmth and heat at night? Can a Christian who has lived 
in the sunlight of God’s love not fail to give off warmth and love? No. 
That is why you have to have first things first. You don’t say to others, 
“Start loving each other. Be nice. Be nice. Be nice.” No, no, no. 
First, we need to live in the sunlight of God’s love. We need to bake in the sunlight 
of God’s compassion. We need to absorb God’s light into us. 
And then…we start to give off the love. May your light shine on me, God. 
May your love shine on us, God, so that there will be peace in our family and on the earth.
 
(by Edward F. Markquart from The Father Is Still Living in Me)

A Greater Power Watching

 There was a nature show on television about a black bear that gave birth to two cubs. 
One cub died right away. Three weeks later the mother died and the remaining cub 
was left to fend for itself. An orphaned cub in that condition is like a walking buffet 
for predators. And of course the camera immediately showed a hungry-looking mountain lion.
 
One day the orphan cub encountered a giant male black bear. 
The little cub cowered at the bear's sheer mass. The larger bear peered around 
and seemed to realize that the mother bear wasn't anywhere to be found. 
He gave the little cub a friendly nudge. The camera then showed the little bear 
happily trailing along after the larger one. The adoption papers were signed, 
sealed and registered at the county seat in that nudge. Papa bear proceeded 
to show the cub how to grub for insects and how to catch fish 
and how to scratch his back against a tree.
 
One day the two bears became separated. The cub began to cry and looked frantically 
for his new father, but couldn't find him anywhere. The cub approached a stream 
where he'd learned to fish and something caught his attention. 
He looked up to see a mountain lion ready to pounce. That same mountain lion had stalked 
the cub for the entire show. There was no way that mountain lion would've gone 
for that cub with Papa bear around, but now....
 
The camera zoomed in on the cub. He automatically mimicked the posture 
of his adopted father when threatened. He stood on his hind legs and bared his teeth. 
Then, in the exactly the same way his new father would have done, 
this cub let loose a mighty growl that should have reverberated throughout the forest. 
But, only a tiny bear cub squeak came out.
 
Well, you know what was coming. But, to everybody's astonishment the mountain lion 
lowered his head and ran off in the opposite direction.
 
The camera panned back to the proud little cub still standing tall on his hind legs. 
And then all the viewers saw what that little cub could not: a few yards behind him, 
at full, ferocious height, his sharp, white teeth bared in a snarl, stood Daddy bear. 
He may not have made a sound, but he was there.
 
And even though the cub couldn't see his father, his father stood guard, protecting his young. 
The little cub had power available greater than anything he could produce on his own. 
There was a greater power watching over him.
 
Jesus said, [21] "They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; 
and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."
 
(by Billy D. Strayhorn from What Difference Does It Make?)

Selfish and Altruistic at the Same Time
 
Speaking about how human beings spend their time and thus may be pictured in novels, 
E. M. Forster says, "When human beings love they try to get something. 
They also try to give something, and this double aim makes love more complicated 
than food or sleep. It is selfish and altruistic at the same time, and no amount of specialization 
in one direction quite atrophies the other" (Aspects of the Novel [Orlando: Harcourt, 1927] 50).
 
On the verge of his departure from them, Jesus says to his loved ones, 
"If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father 
is greater than I" (John 14:28b). This is so hard! How can the disciples rejoice that Jesus is leaving? 
What makes possible that kind of atrophied selfishness and robust altruism?
 
(by Mary Hinkle Shore from Enough)

The Overwhelming Future
 
This week someone left a cartoon on the Xerox machine at my office in which 
a man was lying on the couch of a psychiatrist. When the psychiatrist asked the client 
what his problem was he confided that he had all kinds of fears about the future. 
“Doctor,” he began, “I’m worried about the energy crisis, inflation, the situation in the Middle East, 
political and social upheaval in Africa, our diplomatic relations with China …” 
I wish I could remember all of the concerns of the man in the cartoon; there were at least a dozen. 
In the final frame the psychiatrist responded, “Shut up and move over,” 
after which he proceeded to get on the couch with the patient.
 
A cartoon such as this would be much more amusing if it did not contain so much truth. 
The problems of the future are almost overwhelming. Those in a position to know the facts 
are privately saying that things are not nearly as bad as they seem—they are worse. 
Public officials seem to have taken the same approach to our national problems as many doctors 
do with a terminally ill patient—keep the unpleasant truth from them as long as possible.
 
Jesus doesn’t hold to that particular philosophy.
 
(by Bob Deffinbaugh from Facing the Future: A Prescription for Peace)

The “Christianity and” Syndrome

C.S. Lewis once said that the same thing happens in Christianity; it’s what you add to it that ruins it. 
In fact, C.S. Lewis called it the “Christianity and Syndrome;” where we link our faith to some other cause 
to which we are partial and say “this is the center of our faith.” And so we hear from our pulpits 
that the main focus for us must be Christianity and Marxism, or Christianity and Capitalism, 
or Christianity and Social Action, or Christianity and Gun Control, or Christianity and the Republican Platform, 
or Christianity and the Pro-life Movement or Christianity and the Twelve Step program 
or Christianity and Homosexual Rights movement or anything else you might want to insert there. 
And the fact is, that as soon as you add an “And” to Christianity you have lost your focus. 
A Christian worldview speaks to all of those important issues; but every one of them is peripheral 
to who we are. We are not Christians AND something else; we are Christians, 
and we let our faith guide us in all other decisions of life.
 
(by Gregory T. Riether)

A Place of Peace
Jesus was preparing his disciples for tough times. He was about to ascend to the Father 
and they would be on their own -- left to find their way through this world alone. 
And yet, they would not be alone. For he would be with them in the presence of the Comforter, 
the Counselor, the Holy Spirit. In 1520 Ferdinand Magellan battled for an entire year 
to find a passage around South America. There at the very tip of the continent, 
in its icy waters he encountered some of the worst weather anywhere on earth. 
Raging seas, towering ice floes, and a mutinous crew plagued his efforts. 
When he finally made his way through those straits (which today bear his name -- 
the Straits of Magellan), he entered into a great body of water that lay beyond, 
and as he and his men lifted their faces to heaven and gave thanks to God, 
he named the new ocean "The Peaceful One -- the Pacific Ocean."
 
In his words this morning, Jesus desires to lead us in the same way to a place of peace. 
It is his hope to direct our feet and steer our lives from the paths that would lead 
to hell to his place of peace. "Let not your hearts be troubled," he says, 
"neither let them be afraid."
 
(by Lee Griess from Sermons for Lent/Easter, CSS Publishing Company)

No Reason to Be Afraid

The late advice columnist Ann Landers use to receive something like 10,000 letters a month. 
When asked what seems to be the most common topic, she answered that most people 
seem to be afraid of something. They are afraid of losing their health, their job, 
or their family. They are afraid of upsetting their neighbor, alienating a friend, 
or committing a social faux pas. Many are even afraid when there is no reason to be afraid. 
Ours is a world of fearful people.
 
(by Lee Griess from Sermons for Lent/Easter, CSS Publishing Company)

I Want Peace

When Dante knocked at the door of the Franciscan monastery at Lunigiana 
he was asked, "What do you want?" He replied, "Peace!"
 
(Traditional)

This Gospel reminds me of my favorite G. M. Hopkins' poem:

"When will you ever, peace, wild wood-dove shy wings shut
Your round me roaming end and under be my boughs?
When, when Peace, will you, Peace? -- I'll not play 
Hypocrite to own my heart:  I yield you do come sometimes; 
But that piecemeal peace is poor peace.  
What pure peace allows alarms of wars, the daunting wars, 
		the death of it?
O surely, reaving Peace my Lord should leave in lieu
Some good!  And so he does leave Patience exquisite,
That plumes to Peace thereafter.  And when Peace here 
		Does house
He comes with work to do, he does not come to coo,
		He comes to brood and sit."

I recall the story of a little girl who, when trains were popular
transportation, was taking her first train ride with her parents. As night
descended, the mother took the girl, who was clearly quite anxious, and
placed her on the upper bunk of the sleeper. She told her little one that
up there she would be nearer to God and that God would watch over her.

As silence enveloped the young lady she became afraid and called softly,
"Mommy, are you there?"

"Yes dear," came the response.

A little later, in a louder voice, the child called, "Daddy, are you
there, too?"

"Yes dear," was the reply.

After this had been repeated several times one of the passengers sharing
their sleeper car finally lost his patience and shouted loudly, "Yes,
we're all here, your father, your mother, your brother, and all your aunts
and cousins; now settle down and go to sleep!"

There was a moment of silence and then, in hushed tones a little voice
asked, "Mommy, was that God?"

You may be someone who never had many doubts about God's presence in your
life. You might be someone who has always felt comfort from God and little
doubt about God's hand in your life. If you are one of these people you
are one of few, for most people fear. They fear the darkness, they fear
the day, they fear people, the law, family, friends, enemies, life, and
death. You name it. Fear is all around us. So Jesus made it clear to his
disciples that he wanted them to have peace and that he would leave that
peace with them.

(adapted from John M. Braaten in The Greatest Wonder Of All, CSS Publishing)

I am struck by something Lydia said in the Acts Scripture.  The Peace of
Jesus always seems to surprise us.  There is nothing that we can do to
receive this Peace in our own timing, it seems.  Perhaps, God waits
for the right time to give this gift of Peace (which often is the most
unlikely timing according to world standards).  Lydia says the words,
"Come and stay in my house."  For many, the Peace is given when we
first eek out those words, in whatever form the words might take ...
"Come and stay in my house".  For me, it was "Help me, God" ... the
first time I ever asked God for anything. A most unlikely time for
Peace-giving.   Whatever the words, it is an invitation.


Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who was executed by the Nazis, said, "Peace is the opposite of security." That's provocative, isn't it! "Peace is the opposite of security."

Most of us would answer, "No, you've got it wrong! If I just had this or that or the other thing, I would feel secure -- and then I would have peace. But I can't be at peace while I am out of a job -- or deep in debt -- or living without insurance."

But I suspect that Bonhoeffer would answer, "No. You wouldn't feel peaceful. Once you met that particular need, you would find another need. Peace isn't what happens AROUND you. Peace isn't what happens TO you. Peace is what happens INSIDE you-- down deep, at the core of your being."

Bonhoeffer knew whereof he spoke. Arrested for opposing Hitler, Bonhoeffer knew that his chances of surviving the war were slim -- but he knew that there was a chance. The war was going against the Nazis, and it was just a matter of time. But Bonhoeffer knew that his jailers were likely to come for him one day, and that would be it.

Living like that could destroy a person -- could reduce him to a pitiful, shrunken, shell of a person. But that did not happen to Bonhoeffer. He did what he could, never knowing if it really mattered. He did what he could, never knowing what would come next. He wrote. He prayed. He ministered to the other prisoners. And when the guards finally came for him, he was able to go bravely.

He was able to do that because he had peace -- the peace that surpasses understanding -- the peace that comes from having God at the center of your life. That's the peace that Jesus offers us.


James Rowe was a prisoner of the Vietcong for five years -- one of the first Americans to be captured (1963). He was held, not in Hanoi in the far north, but in the U Mihn Forest, a Vietcong stronghold, in the far south. Often held in cages just three feet high -- not even tall enough to sit, much less stand, Rowe and his fellow prisoners suffered from malnutrition and diarrhea -- a double-edged sword that killed several of Rowe's fellow prisoners.

But on Christmas Day, the Vietcong gave the prisoners an extra ration of rice -- some fish -- a cup of milk -- a little sugar. It was really a political ploy -- an attempt to prove to the world that the prisoners were being well treated. But the Vietcong told the prisoners that the extra rations were a sign of their good will -- a sign that they were willing to allow the prisoners to practice their religious beliefs. But Rowe said, "I don't believe that any of us interpreted that as an opportunity to 'practice our religious beliefs,' because you can't ever stop a man from praying"

(James N. Rowe, Five Years to Freedom, 250).

"You can't ever stop a man from praying." Even in that hellish place, Rowe felt a heavenly presence. Even after being so absolutely cut off from the world he had known, Rowe felt able to speak to God. Even in the midst of his suffering, Rowe knew that God cared. Even when everything seemed hopeless, Rowe continued to hope that God would help him.


No one can get inner peace by pouncing on it, by vigorously willing to have it. Peace is a margin of power around our daily need. Peace is a consciousness of springs too deep for earthly droughts to dry up. Peace is the gift not of volitional struggle but of spiritual hospitality. Harry Emerson Fosdick


First put yourself at peace, and then you may the better make others be at peace. A peaceful and patient person is of more profit to himself and to others, too, than a learned man who has no peace. Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ


God takes life's broken pieces and gives us unbroken peace. Wilbert Donald Gough


If you've made a habit of communing with God when the sun is shining, you'll find it much easier to sing in the rain. Bill Pannell


Give me courage to show the dove in a world so full of serpents.

(from Henri Nowen, A Cry for Mercy)


HYMN STORY
Trust and Obey

One night at a Dwight L. Moody evangelistic meeting in Brockton, Massachusetts, a young man stood up to testify about his confidence of salvation. He said, "I am not quite sure," meaning that he wasn't really certain that God would save him from his sins -- and then he continued, "But I'm going to trust, and I'm going to obey" -- meaning that he planned to trust God for his salvation and to do what he could to obey God's will.

"I'm going to trust, and I'm going to obey." Daniel Towner was the song leader for that meeting. He was so impressed by the young man's testimony that he wrote down those words and stuck them in his pocket. Later, he wrote a friend, John Sammis. In his letter, he told about the young man's testimony and included the young man's words: "I am not quite sure, but I'm going to trust, and I'm going to obey."

Sammis quickly transformed those words into a hymn chorus: "Trust and obey, For there's no other way To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey." Soon he had five stanzas to go with the chorus, and he sent them to Towner, who composed the tune that we still sing today.

When I read that story, I thought about the young man whose quiet, spontaneous testimony inspired a hymn that has meant so much to millions of people all over the world. No one knows his name. I seriously doubt that the young man ever knew that his testimony had borne fruit.

I find that encouraging, because it reminds me that God can use every faithful word that we utter and every faithful deed that we do in ways beyond our imagining. I believe that, when we get to heaven, God will show us how much he has done with the little deeds and kindnesses that we have long since forgotten.

"I'm going to trust, and I'm going to obey." I can't think of a better life-plan than that.


The Person in Front of You

Jimmy Carter, in his book Sources of Strength, tells about interviewing Eloy Cruz, an admirable Cuban pastor, who had tremendous rapport with poor immigrants from Puerto Rico. "What is the secret to your success?" asked Carter. Pastor Cruz replied, "Señor Jimmy, we need to have only two loves for our lives, love for God and love for the person who happens to be in front of us at any time."

(by J. Howard Olds from Faith Breaks: Thoughts On Making It A Good Day, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.)