Peace

Peace is elusive.

I don't mean peace in the sense of lack of warfare or cessation of violence (although God knows that too is surely lacking in our world), but in the sense of personal contentment and security and serenity.  I mean, when is the last time you were really filled with a simple, profound and overwhelming sense of peace within your heart, mind and soul?

The other night I was blessed with one of those too-few moments in life in which I was overwhelmed by that deep sense of peace that the scriptures call the "peace that passes understanding".  It had been a long week.  In addition to an overloaded schedule both at work and at home, I was struggling with a health issue that not only made me feel crappy, but actually made me kind of nervous.  I worried if this could be more serious than the typical health issues that come up in the course of a year.  As the week went on, I found myself seeking the one promise of God that has always seemed most difficult to grasp: peace. 

On Tuesday, after a meeting of my Pastoral Relations Committee in which they prayed for me, my ministry and my family, I went home, changed clothes and went out for my evening run.  It was a beautiful night...cool, crisp, a few clouds floating by on a pretty strong, gusty wind, stars and a full moon shining brightly.  When I finished my run, instead of hustling inside and jumping into the shower like I normally do, I left my headphones on and sat down on the grass.  The wind felt great.  The air was dry.  It was a perfect temperature.  I laid back and looked up at the clouds and stars and moon, felt the wind against my skin and the softness of the grass, listened to Alexi Murdoch on my iPod...and there and then it came.  Peace.  As strong and as real as if it were a person sitting down on the grass next to me.  It was such a wonderful, overwhelming feeling.  I closed my eyes, felt a wide smile erupt on my face, and just thanked God for His presence.  For His presence is peace.

It took a lot to eventually get up off of the grass and go inside to get ready for bed.  I fell asleep within seconds of hitting the pillow.  What a gift, this precious thing called peace is.  What a difference it makes as we journey through life.

Peace is elusive, but that doesn't mean it isn't freely offered and available for those who slow down long enough to receive it.

Burning Books

Pedro Berruguete, 15th century

It was a full 100 years before the Nazis came to power in Germany that the German author Heinrich Heine wrote the words, "Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings."  Sadly, these words would be prophetic with the Nazi reign of terror that began with book burnings and culminated in the flames of the Holocaust.

Burning books is nothing new.  The Church has done it before.  This painting by Berruguete recalls an earlier time in the life of the Church (13th century)when, in an attempt to combat heresy, the Church burned books associated with the Cathar movement.  Soon after, they stopped burning Cathar books and moved on to burning the Cathars themselves at the stake.

Historically, books haven't been burned simply because they were found to be disagreeable (exceptions exist of course).  They were burned because of fear.  Fear that the ideals and theology put forward in these books would somehow undermine the power of the group doing the burning.  So, logically, the next step after burning books was to go after the source of the ideals and theology found in those books, which of course, led to people.  Real, live, human beings.  And that's where Heine is right.  Burning books ultimately leads to burning bodies.

The Quran burning event, led by Pastor Terry Jones and the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainsville, Florida, that has now been, we're told, "postponed", is repugnant.  To have it associated in any way with Jesus Christ and those of us who claim to be His followers simply sickens me. The Jesus I know is about grace and love and mercy.  He speaks the Truth, but He does so around tables, breaking bread with those considered to be outcasts, teaching all who have ears to hear to love their neighbors as well as their enemies.

The sole thing that Pastor Jones has said that I agree with is this: "this event is neither an act of love nor an act of hate".  He's right.  At its core, it is an act of fear.  And as the Church of Jesus Christ we are called by Him to be about acts of love in this world.  To reveal God's mercy, grace and glory through acts of radical love. 

Any act that does not meet that standard is no act of the true Church of Jesus Christ.