Peace in Uncertain Times

This is the message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on Sunday, November 15, 2020.  The Bible verses used are Colossians 3:1-17.

            We live in strange, different, unusual times.  You know that, and you don’t need me to go through all the ways in which that’s true.  The world has changed a lot, and in many ways, from what it was a year ago, or even nine months ago.

            Change is not an easy thing for us to deal with.  Most of us like routine.  We can carry routine too far, of course, and allow our routine to become a rut.  But still, most of us like for things to stay more or less the same.  Even if things are not great, we don’t like them to change too much too fast.  We like to know how things are going to be tomorrow, next week, next month.

            It’s unsettling to live in a time of uncertainty.  We hope things will get better, we fear things will get worse, but we have no real evidence that convinces us of either one.  Yes, we believe that God is still in control, and that God is eventually going to win.  We even believe that, if we stay faithful to God and believe in Jesus as the Savior, we will eventually win, too.  But it’s that “eventually” that’s the tricky bit.  We can know things will be all right “eventually”, and still be unsettled and even fearful about what’s going to happen until that “eventually” gets here.

            In times like this, what we need, what we want, is peace.  We look for peace in lots of places.  We look for it in money or material possessions, thinking security can be found there.  We look for it in status, thinking the belief that others think well of us will make us feel better.  Sometimes we look for it in politics, thinking that if the “right people” are in control of the government, then somehow everything will be all right and we can be at peace.

            But peace cannot be found in any of those places.  True peace can only be found in one place, and that’s in faith in Jesus Christ.

            But maybe you think, wait a minute.  I have faith in Jesus Christ.  But there’s still all this stuff going on.  There’s still all this uncertainty.  I have faith, but with everything that’s happening, how can I possibly feel peace?

            The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, tells us.  He says, “Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

            When you think about it, all the things that have us concerned, all the things that get us upset, all the things that get us rattled and even fearful, are earthly things, right?  Whatever they are, whether it’s physical health or financial health or relationship problems or concerns about the country or the world or whatever it is, they are all earthly things.  They are not the things above.  They are not the things of heaven.  

            Now, it’s understandable why we have all these concerns about earthly things.  Earth is where we live, at least for now.  Earth is the only home we’ve ever known.  We have the hope and the promise of heaven, but we have a hard time really understanding what heaven actually is.  And besides, heaven is for someday.  Our concerns are for now, today.  And again, knowing that things will “eventually” be all right is not necessarily a lot of comfort when it seems like things are not all right now.

            But here’s the thing.  Paul is not saying we should ignore all earthly concerns.  He’s saying we need to focus on the things that concern both earth and heaven.  

            What are those things?  Paul lists them.  Compassion.  Kindness.  Humility.  Gentleness. Patience.  Bear with others.  Forgive others.  And over all those things, Paul says, put on love.

            Those are earthly things.  But they’re heavenly things, too.  They’re the things Jesus wants us to do.  They’re the things Jesus did.  And they’re the things that lead to peace.

            What do those things have in common?  Well, maybe a lot of things, but one of them is that they take our focus off of ourselves.  They are things we feel toward other people.  They are things we do for other people.

            It seems to me Paul is saying that’s how we can feel peace.  Take the focus off ourselves.  Put the focus on others.  If we do that, a lot of the things that make us feel unsettled, that keep us rattled, that keep us from feeling peace, will go away.  I mean, they’ll still be there, but they just won’t seem as important anymore.  We won’t have time for them.  We’ll be too busy focusing on others.

            So how can we do that?  Well, Paul tells us that, too.  He says this:

Be thankful.  Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

            The way we focus on others is to focus on God.  Learn from God.  Acquire wisdom from God.  Do that through psalms, hymns and other songs of the Spirit.  Take in everything the Bible has to teach us, so that Christ’s message will dwell in us.  When we do that, when Christ’s message really dwells in us, it becomes part of us.  When Christ’s message truly becomes part of it, we can no more get rid of it than we can get rid of a part of our body.  Christ’s message is no longer something we can choose to ignore.  We may not think about it every waking moment, but it’s always there.  It’s always part of us.

            When Christ’s message dwells in us, and becomes part of us, that message influences everything we do and everything we say.  It influences us even when we’re not consciously thinking about it.  It influences us even when we don’t realize it.  Because Christ’s message of compassion and kindness and humility and gentleness and patience and forgiveness and love is so strong, it’s so powerful, that once it’s in us we cannot help but be influenced by it.  We can ignore it, for a while, but Christ’s message will always come back.  It may come back in the form of regret or guilt or conscience or something else, but it will always come back.  Once Christ’s message truly dwells in us, it is a part of us forever.

            The key to it, really, is what Paul tells us next.  “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”  That’s how we feel peace in our lives:  by living them for Jesus.  That’s how we can stop focusing on ourselves and our problems:  by living our lives for Jesus.  If we do everything in the name of Jesus, we won’t have time to be focused on ourselves.  In fact, we won’t even think about that.  We’ll be too busy doing things for others in the name of Jesus.

            It sounds simple.  And it is simple.  But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.  Our “earthly nature”, as Paul puts it, is strong.  It’s powerful.  Even when we really try to live our lives for Christ, when we really try to do everything in the name of Jesus, our earthly nature keeps coming back at us.  It tries to pull us away from Jesus, and back to our earthly concerns.

            How do we avoid that?  Paul tells us that, too.  He says, “Be thankful.  Give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.”

            Being thankful to God keeps our focus on God.  Being thankful keeps us living our lives for Jesus.  Being thankful is what will give us lives of peace.

            How does being thankful do that?  Because when we focus on being thankful to God, we realize how much God has done for us.  And when we realize how much God has done for us, we realize how much God loves us.  And when we realize how much God loves us, we think about all the times God has been there for us.  

We think about all the times when we were worried, when we were concerned, when we were scared, when things in our lives were uncertain and that uncertainty had us rattled.  And then God was there.  God showed up, and somehow God made it all work out.  Not necessarily the way we wanted, but in a way that was best.

God has done that for me time after time after time.  And I suspect God has done that for you, too, time after time after time.  And when I think about that, I know there’s only one thing I should feel.  I should be thankful to God for all that God has done for me for almost sixty-two years now.  And I suspect, when you think about it, you’re thankful for God for all that God has done for you for all your life, too.

And when we feel that thankfulness, we also feel confidence.  If God has always been there for us in the past, why would God not be there for us now?  God does not set us up just to let us fall.  The same God who has been there for us all our lives is still there for us now.  God promises to never leave us or forsake us.  God will see us through everything we’re going through.  We don’t have to be afraid of what’s going to happen.  God will see us through all the chaos and uncertainty and fear that’s going on right now.  

Knowing that, we can take our focus off ourselves and our problems.  We can live lives of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love.  We can live our lives for Jesus.  And we can feel at peace.

The times are uncertain, but Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  If we trust him, take our focus off ourselves, and live for Jesus, God will take care of us.  And we will feel the peace that we all want in our lives.