Sermons for the Month

Prescription For Peace
DATE: December 10th, 2006
SERVICE: Second Sunday in Advent
TEXT: Luke 1:68-79 and Luke 3:1-6
“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
There are some great stories in the Bible. Let's take, for example, the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. We did not read the entire account today, although we did hear most of it during the Wednesday evening devotion.
Zechariah was a priest and his wife Elizabeth was from a priestly family. I read this week that in earlier centuries priests had enjoyed much prestige in Israel, but by Zechariah's time they had little power or influence. So, this couple was of humble status, and because they had no children they would have been thought by their relatives, neighbors and friends as cursed by God for some sinfulness of theirs.(1)
Yet, just the opposite was true; they had found favor with God. The same angel that came to announce the birth of Jesus appeared to Zechariah a few months before his visit to Mary. As Zechariah offered incense in the Temple, Gabriel appeared and announced that their prayers had been heard and Elizabeth would bear a son who they will name John and who will be great in the sight of the Lord.
Zechariah did what most of us would do; he questioned how such a thing could happen when both he and Elizabeth were getting on in years, to put it politely. Gabriel reminds Zechariah that he has been sent by God to bring this good news; because he has questioned it Zechariah is struck mute, unable to speak.
Time passes and God's promise is fulfilled; the child is born. On the eighth day after his birth his parents follow the law and have their son circumcised; this also is when the child is named. The friends and relatives assume that the baby will be called Zechariah. But Elizabeth speaks up, since Zechariah is still mute; "He is to be called John." Please remember that this was a striking departure from the Israelite tradition of giving the first son the name of his grandfather. Also, having Elizabeth speak the name was another startling change from the custom of having the father make the announcement.(1) It should have been clear right then and there that something was different about this child.
Of course, those gathered did not take Elizabeth at her word, so they asked Zechariah what the baby would be named. He wrote, "His name is John". Then, as his voice returned, Zechariah spoke the prophecy that we read today from Luke 1.
This song has traditionally been called the Benedictus. Toward the middle of his proclamation Zechariah seems to speak directly to his son. When I hear his words they are set to music in my mind, since throughout seminary we sang the Benedictus during the Morning Prayer service. In the middle of the song a single voice would proclaim, "You, my child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way, to give the people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace."
Isn't that beautiful? Listen again to the last sentence. "In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace."
And so that baby John grew up to become the voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. He cleared away any obstacles which people had thrown in the path, obstructions like self-righteousness and apathy, so that everyone would see their salvation.
The Dawn from on high came to us as the baby we call Jesus. He is the light shinning in the darkness, the one who transforms the shadow of death with the brightness of forgiveness and love, and who guides us on the path of peace. But are we willing to walk in the way of peace?
On this second Sunday in Advent the theme is peace … a much-needed commodity in our lives and our world. In today's reading as the Advent candles were lit we heard that Jesus come to bring justice, wholeness and harmony to every relationship throughout creation. He wants to continually grant us peace in every situation. If that's the case, which I believe it is, then our role is to be open to and receive the peace that is offered.
But, we struggle with finding peace. Recently I've been reading a new book, published this year, titled Mother Teresa's Prescription: Finding Happiness and Peace in Service. I'm considering it for a book study this summer. It was written by Paul A. Wright, M.D., a cardiologist from Youngstown, Ohio, who writes this about himself in the introduction: "I am a physician, a healer by profession. Over the past two decades I have written thousands of prescriptions to help support, sustain and heal my patients' cardiovascular systems. Treating the sick has brought me much personal fulfillment and satisfaction, as well as material success. In 1992, however, I realized that something was missing from my life. It was that sense of inner peace and happiness that so many of us are seeking. I constantly felt stressed, short of time, impatient and dissatisfied." (2)
Perhaps some of us can identify with that. He goes on to say that he while he acquired that which is valued by our world it brought him no joy. He had the feeling that he was not doing well in God's eyes, and the one patient he could not cure was himself until he sought out Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
He tells his story - which I'm still in the process of reading - of encountering her ministry. As I skimmed through the book I came across a listing of ten "attitudes of Spirit" - a prescription, of sorts - that Dr. Wright noted while observing the qualities that sustain the Missionaries of Charity. He writes that following this prescription is the path to sustainable peace. (3) The attitudes are:

Commitment to community

Reverence for all human life

Compassion and love

Contentment and gratitude

Faith

Humility

Tolerance

Patience

Forgiveness

Honesty

I don't suppose that it is any surprise that we see in those ten attitudes the teaching of Jesus. Nor is it any surprise that making living them our priority is not easy. Dr. Wright said it well, "Accepting Mother Teresa's message and applying her prescription to your life is not a simple matter. It requires an intense passion for personal transformation, a fundamental change in the way you view the world and your place in it." (4)
There is no magic little pill that we can take that will create lasting peace. But, it can be found as we walk the way of Jesus, as we allow him to guide our feet into the way of peace. And, as amazing as it sounds, this is the prescription for peace not just for individuals, but for communities and even nations.
I began my sermon by saying that there are some great stories in the Bible. Sometimes it's difficult to remember that Zachariah, Elizabeth and their son John were real people who God used to create that story. The same is true of Mother Teresa and Dr. Wright and all of us.
We are the characters in God's story for this century, the people who - like John - prepare the way, receive the promise of peace and then make it a reality in our individual lives and in the world. On the first Sunday in Advent we announced that we are the signs of hope. Today we accept our role as peace receivers and makers.

AMEN
(1) Daily Reflections for Advent and Christmas by Sister Katherine L. Howard, 2006 by Order of St. Benedict, Collegeville, MN., pg. 38 and 46
(2) Mother Teresa's Prescription by Paul A. Wright, M.D., 2006 by Ave Maria Press, Inc., Notre Dame, IN., pg. 13
(3) Same as above, pg. 55
(4) Same as above, pg. 116