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Shining the Light of Non-violent Peace in God’s Kingdom

(Isa 60:1, 3 NRSV) Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

The word Light appears 236 times in the Bible, mostly in reference to the inner light – that which is the source of wisdom or vision and results in action. In the time after Epiphany, light is the metaphor for God’s presence and for our mission.

In the eastern traditions, light is a predominant theme. Eastern spirituality is experiential. In the west, we depend on rational thought more than experience and I wonder sometimes if we have lost a sense of the holy in our daily lives. The biblical references to light not only invite us to be aware of the holy in our lives but to act as light in the world.

The on-going struggle in Palestine to resist the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, as well as the peaceful protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and now Syria are strong examples of failure of empires to maintain peace by force in the face of non-violent resistance. Are these events signs of the Light overcoming the darkness?

John Dominic Crossan, in his lecture in London before Christmas, spoke of the world’s vision of peace as victory with force. Jesus taught that God’s empire is a non-violent Kingdom of peace, in opposition to the Roman empire of peace by force. Perhaps we are witnessing the power of the non-violent peace in the global movements.

In answer to the question about what we as the church and individual Christians can do to change the world’s determination to use violence to achieve peace, Crossan said the church must understand its mission is to collaborate with God in his kingdom of non-violence. Epiphany reminds us the light still shines to overcome the powers of darkness – the Empires of this world – and that our mission is to bear that light.

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Being Faithful in the Storm.

I have been out in a boat on rough water a few times.  One of the scariest was in a small aluminium outboard.  I was following another more experienced boater, trying to stay in his wake to have a smother ride but the wind was blowing me off course into choppy water.  When the waves started breaking over the bow, I was getting a bit worried, more for the safety of my passengers than for myself.

Another time was in a tug boat on Lake Erie.  The boat was pitching and rolling as the waves broke over the starboard bow, driven by a southwest wind that had gathered speed down the lake.  I was not so nervous that time because the fellow at the wheel seemed calm and I trusted him.

We live in a world of storms.

Waves are rocking the economic system. We’ve seen companies crumble and others vanish. Financial institutions and car companies are receiving bailouts.  Stock values are in the cellar. Layoffs are multiplying.

Environmental and global winds are blowing harder.  Will there be enough clean air or water for future generations?  Will nations at war find peace?

And the church is in a recession also.  Increasing costs and tighter budgets are forcing churches to look at new ways of doing ministry and mission.

How should we respond to these storms as people of faith?

What does it mean to be faithful in the midst of the storm?

The first question for churches in times of crises is “Where is God in all of this?”

In the midst of some storms, it may seem like God doesn’t care.  That God isn’t even there.  But when Jesus says, “Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith?” we know that he is there, and we can face the storms.  Faith, despite all the storms we face, is confidence in God’s presence.

In times of crises, a faithful response is not about survival. It is about looking outward to the world with a voice of faith that brings calm in the midst of the storm.

Crises ought to bring out the best in Jesus people.  They provide us an opportunity to think more clearly about where God is in the crisis, to work more intentionally and strategically in Christ’s service and care more deeply for those with greatest need.  It is why we are here.  It is when the church’s faith matters most.