Jesus, Our Peace (Eph. 2:11-22)

Jesus, Our Peace (Eph. 2:11-22)

       
As you may have heard, the "Peace Prayer of St. Francis (1181-1226)" is a famous prayer which first appeared around the year 1915, and which embodies the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi's simplicity and poverty:

        Lord make me an instrument of your peace
        Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
        Where there is injury, pardon;
        Where there is doubt, faith;
        Where there is despair, hope;
        Where there is darkness, light;
        And where there is sadness, joy.

        O Divine Master,
        Grant that I may not so much seek
        To be consoled as to console;
        To be understood as to understand;
        To be loved as to love;
        For it is in giving that we receive;
        It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
        And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

As St. Francis prayed, we need to pray that we may be used as an instrument of peace in this time of crisis and hatred between the countries and the people.

When I was a college student in Korea, I used to attend an English Bible study group called JOY which stands for Jesus, Others, and You, meaning that your serving priority should be Jesus first, then others, and then yourselves in that order.
One day in 1972, we invited an amateur gospel singer who was from the United States. He sang a wonderful song with a beautiful voice, which I never heard before. That was a famous song titled "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. My heart was touched very much by the melody and the words of the song.

        When you're weary, feeling small
        When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all.
        I'm on your side, when times get rough
        And friends just can't be found
        Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down.
        Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down.

        When you're down and out, when you're on the street
        When evening falls so hard, I will comfort you
        I'll take your part, when darkness comes
        And pain is all around,
        Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down.
        Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down.

        Sail on Silver Girl, sail on by
        Your time has come, to shine, all your dreams are on their way
        See how they shine, if you need a friend
        I'm sailing right behind
        Like a bridge over troubled water, I will ease your mind.
        Like a bridge over troubled water, I will ease your mind.

We can find the similar imagery from Jesus Christ. Jesus came to us to be a bridge over troubled water, to lay him down for us, and to ease our troubled mind.
In John 14:27, Jesus tells us, "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."
Jesus came to us to give his peace unto us, to comfort us, and to let us be harmonized in him, and to make us "one body of Christ."

Paul in Ephesians, a short epistle consisting of six chapters, uses the phrases of "in Christ," "in Christ Jesus," or "in the Lord" 32 times. Through this, he emphasizes that how important it is for anyone to abide in Christ. Before we knew God in Christ, we were dead through our sins and trespasses. We were children of darkness who once lived in the passions of the flesh, following the desires of body and mind. However, God, out of his  great love and grace, made us alive through our faith in Christ.

1. We were without Christ
We, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, were once those who were not chosen by God. We were called the uncircumcision, not the children of Abraham. We were without Christ Jesus who "was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel"(Mt. 15:24), having no hope and no God in this world.

2. We are brought near to God by the blood of Christ
God gave a light and a hope for us, the Gentiles, who had been without God, slaves under the power of Satan for over 4,000 years. He gave an authority to become a child of God, to whosoever confesses that Jesus is  the "Lord" and "Savior," leaning on his blood on the cross. Even if our salvation were extras, not planned from the beginning, we should be thankful to our God who gave us this grace. Otherwise, we would have been still in slavery. We, who were far off, are brought near to God by the blood of Christ.

3. Jesus, our Peace
Paul calls Jesus "our Peace." Jesus has done two things as King of Peace.
Firstly, he has broken down the middle wall of partition between the Jews and the Gentiles to make us both one. He abolished the jealousy between the circumcision and the uncircumcision, the conflict between those with the Law and those without the Law, and the enmity between the ones who were chosen and the ones who were not chosen.
Jesus created "one new man" in himself in place of the two, and made peace between them. In the past, only the Jews were the chosen ones, but now, anybody                                                  

who believes in Jesus can become a child of God. In the past, only the Jews were those who had a hope, but now a hope of salvation is given to anybody who confesses Jesus as Savior. "One new man" means Christians, i.e., the body of Christ, the Church. In the Church of Christ, there is no distinction between the rich and the poor, between the high and the low, and among Whites, Blacks, and Asians. We all become one new man in Christ.

Second, Jesus has reconciled us as "one new man" to God through his cross. Jesus has done first the horizontal reconciliation between us, the Jews and the Gentiles, then has made the vertical reconciliation between God and people in one body through the cross. Jesus' coming to us in flesh, dwelling among us, living his public life for three years, and dying on the cross were to become a reconciliating bridge between God and us. When Adam and Eve left God after their disobedience to His command, there was troubled water laid between God and men, and men could not get closer to God. Jesus built a bridge over the troubled water with his body so that men could access to God with boldness, crossing over the bridge, his body to restore their eternal life.

4. Through Jesus we access to the Father in one Spirit
Jesus came and preached peace both to those who were near, the Jews, and to those who were far off, the Gentiles. Jesus, who had come to the Jews in flesh two thousand years ago, now visits us in his Spirit. Through him we both have access to the Father in one Spirit.

Paul in 1 Corinthians says that 'we are God's field and God's building(3:9) and God's temple(3:16, 6:19).' Jesus became the cornerstone, the apostles and prophets were the foundation, and we are constructing a holy temple, joining together in the Lord. Each of us is a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. We build upon the foundation with gold, silver, and precious stone, so that our temple and dwelling place may stand firm on the cornerstone, Jesus, our Peace.

5. Epilogue
Jesus, our Peacemaker, continuously gives us his peace. We are called as apostles and ambassadors for Jesus to spread his Gospel of peace to our neighbors in the time of social and political unrest, especially since the destruction of the World                                                      

Trade Center by the terrorists on September 11, 2001. Without peace of Jesus in ourselves and among us, there will be no peace between God and us. Jesus is our Peace.