Lectionary Readings: Micah 4:1-8, Psalm 46, Romans 8:31-35, John 15:9-17
Call to worship:
The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace. James 3:17-18
A Prayer of Remembrance
Almighty and eternal God,
from whose love in Christ
we cannot be parted,
either by death or life:
hear our prayers and thanksgivings
for all whom we remember this day;
fulfil in them
the purpose of your love;
and bring us all, with them,
to your eternal joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
“Tell me the weight of a snowflake”, a coal tit asked a wild dove. Nothing more than nothing”, was the answer.
In that case, I must tell you a marvellous story”, the coal tit said. “I sat on the branch of a fir, close to its trunk, when it began to snow – not heavily, not in a raging blizzard: no, just like in a dream, without a sound and without any violence. Since I did not have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,741,952. When the 3,741,953rd dropped onto the branch – nothing more than nothing, as you say – the branch broke off.”
Having said that the coal tit flew away.
The dove, since Noah’s time an authority on the matter, thought about the story for a while, and finally said to herself: “Perhaps there is only one person’s voice lacking for peace to come to the world.”
In ‘New Fables, Thus spoke the Marabou’ by Kurt Kaufer
The dove is often regarded as a symbol of peace, but in Kurt Kaufer’s fable, she is also a creature of wisdom, insight and grace: gifts which according to the reading from Micah belong to another realm. For the invitation is to go up to the mountain of the LORD to receive wisdom, insight and grace.
These beautiful words reveal a longing for a unity amongst the nations which has yet to be realized and has persisted throughout human history: the desire to be able to turn weapons into agricultural tools, as a symbol of an ability to work together for peace.
Sadly, the history of human relationships shows that, as a species, Homo sapiens is a slow learner. Just from scripture, it is possible to begin with the time of the ancient prophets, and read of the Assyrians destroying the northern Kingdom of Israel; followed by the southern kingdom of Judah over whelmed by Babylon. In turn the Babylonians would later fall to the Persians; the Persians to the Greeks; the Greeks to the Romans; the Romans to Barbarians in the West and Turks in the East. And it goes on.
In fact, one American writer claimed in 2010, that Out of the 234 years of the history of our Republic, we have been at war for nearly half that time. There has not been a generation that has not known war, that has not experienced loss, that has not seen its sons and daughters’ lives cut short by the sword and the spear. (Mark Shaefer, ‘Swords into Plowshares’ American University United Methodist Community, 28/10/2010. http://www.aumethodists.org/worship/sermons/2010-fall/swords-into-plowshares/ (accessed 10.11.16)
The world itself has never known a time free from war. And where peace has existed, more often than not it has been maintained by force of arms, such as during the famous Pax Romana. So why would a writer, living during such a turbulent period in history such as Micah offer such a universal vision of peace?
A new age
At face value, this vision seems to be set in some nebulous, undefined future, its use in the context of the reign of the LORD is eschatological and refers to the messianic or coming age (4:8; 5:2-4, 7-9). In such a new kingdom, the messianic king would restore the fortunes of the people; and Jerusalem would become the centre of a renewed earth. The description of Jerusalem as ‘the mountain of the LORD’ reflects the theme of a glorious new creation, reflecting the divine original intention of primordial harmony of the universe (Genesis 2:10ff). Well so much for the technical stuff!
In a pandemic, we might look for something a little more relevant. And it is wrapped up with how you perceive God to be. Time after all, is a human construct and divine being is qualitatively different to linear chronology. This means that God’s kingdom will come in all its fullness, but it is also with us in the here and now. The hymn-writer, Charles Sylvester Home captured this sense of well-being:
All shall be well in his kingdom of peace;
freedom shall flourish and wisdom increase;
justice and truth from his sceptre shall spring;
wrong shall be ended when Jesus is king.
So, let’s look at the four freedoms suggested by the prophet Micah:
- Freedom from ignorance (God will teach us God’s ways)
It would be a fabulous thing if education were to be available to all children around the world. But the freedom here is quite specific; it is tied up with a knowledge of God’s law (torah), which in turn would enable human beings to seek wisdom, insight and grace in the way we relate to God, to one another and to the world around.
- Freedom from war (Neither shall they learn war anymore)
In terms of freedom from war, the words of this prophecy are so important that the text about swords into ploughshares appears in no less than three books of prophecy: Micah 4:3 Isaiah 2:4 Joel 3:10. War and violence mar lives and destroy communities, it is not cheap either economically or in terms of the cost to human life. It is at best a necessary requirement to preserve our way of life
- Freedom from want (everyone shall sit under their vine and under their fig tree)
In the most poetic language, Micah spoke about people sitting under their own vine and their own fig tree. Shocking images from Syria demonstrate the destructive nature of conflict, destroying human life and society. It is a fact of life, that war-torn countries have neither the time nor the energy to expend on agricultural activity. This is a luxury of peace-time. But this image is not just of a fortunate few benefitting from a time of peace, but everyone having plenty. With an increasing demand on foodbanks in one of the richest nations in the world, just how far are we from this ideal?
- Freedom from fear (no one shall make them afraid)
At one time, we saw endless stream of fleeing refugees packed into flimsy boats bobbing perilously in the Mediterranean. Now we see similar images of tiny boats trying to cross one of the busiest shipping lanes to reach England. Another type of fear was revealed by the Past Cases Review which investigated abuse of people within the Methodist Church. It came as a wake-up call to remind us that even within a place of supposed safety and security, human beings take advantage of the weak and vulnerable in our society.
Peace?
Visions of swords being beaten into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks, of people able to relax in the shade of their own vines and fig tree, of international disputes amicably settled, and the arrival of true shalom seem far from reality.
Yet before we point the finger at other people and nations, we must learn just how much our own lives are dominated by the sword. We respond all too easily with hatred and violence, with division and strife. What of those moments when we have responded out of anger or bitterness; when we encounter views that we find abhorrent and rather than just dealing with difference, we dismiss the person whose ideas do not accord with our own? We do not respond out of love.
Repurposing swords and spear into ploughs and pruning hooks
On a Remembrance Sunday, we are pledging ourselves to build a better world. Fashioning metal from one design to another, from one purpose to another takes proactive decision making, time and energy, but with the end result of the new and better world.
Kingdom of Christ, for your coming we pray; hasten O Father, the dawn of the day when this new song your creation shall sing: Satan is vanquished and Jesus is King.
Prayers of Intercession for Remembrance Sunday
Let us pray for all who suffer
as a result of conflict,
and ask that God may give us peace:
for the service men and women
who have died in the violence of war,
each one remembered by and known to God;
May God give peace God give peace
for those who love them in death as in life,
offering the distress of our grief
and the sadness of our loss;
May God give peace God give peace
for all members of the armed forces
who are in danger this day,
remembering family, friends
and all who pray for their safe return;
May God give peace God give peace
for civilian women, children and men
whose lives are disfigured by war or terror,
calling to mind in penitence
the anger and hatreds of humanity;
May God give peace God give peace
for peace-makers and peace-keepers,
who seek to keep this world secure and free;
May God give peace God give peace
for all who bear the burden
and privilege of leadership,
political, military and religious;
asking for gifts of wisdom and resolve
in the search for reconciliation and peace.
May God give peace God give peace
O God of truth and justice,
we hold before you those whose memory we cherish,
and those whose names we will never know.
Help us to lift our eyes
above the torment of this broken world,
and grant us the grace to pray
for those who wish us harm.
As we honour the past,
may we put our faith in your future;
for you are the source of life and hope,
now and for ever.
Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory
for ever and ever.
Amen
Worship at home 