Strength For Peace

Malachi 3:1 – 4
See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

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The purification that Malachi is prophesying has to do with the religious leaders. The tribe of Levi and all his descendants were set apart to carry the Ark of the Covenant; to stand before the Lord to minister; and to be priests to the people. Because they were the priests they didn’t get an inheritance like the other tribes. Their inheritance was God. They ate and drank the offerings that the people gave to God in sacrifice. At first they were vigilant but as time wore on many of them became corrupt. They demanded more of the people than God did. Because they weren’t allowed to have anything of their own they took the best of what everyone else had. The offerings that they presented to God, because of this, were not righteous. Malachi prophesies that God is sending a messenger to purify the priesthood so that the people will be free… so that the people can live in peace.

For some of us as Christians we understand this messenger as being Jesus, the one we call The Prince Of Peace. For others of us we see this messenger as being John the Baptist. In the Gospel of Luke we read,

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Luke 3:1 – 6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. John went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

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John the Baptist is a messenger. He is tough on the political and religious leaders of his day. John the Baptist points to Jesus. There are times in the gospels where Jesus points back to John. In some ways, there couldn’t have been one without the other.

Both brought distress to the leaders of their day. Both were called to bring wholeness to the people of God. Both died because of their unrelenting fervor and the audacity of their message. And both were bringers of types of peace. John, six months older than Jesus, was wild, insightful, and combative. Jesus was calm, thoughtful, and keen minded. John prepared the way for Jesus. He knew he was laying the foundation for the Messiah.

John brings peace by beginning the upset in the social and religious structures, a trend that Jesus continues in his ministry. This kind of peace-bringing isn’t calm and quiet. It is for a greater peace, something that everyone can share. Sometimes we think of peace as not upsetting the status quo or staying quiet so that nothing gets worse. God’s way of bringing peace was to expose the unrest, the conflict, and the powers so that there was a chance for true resolution. Too long the hypocrisy and corruption was covered over. Jesus was born to usher in a new covenant and to bring a new peace. In order for this to happen he needed John to lay the foundation.

This kind of calling is hard though. Peace isn’t passivity. It is getting in the way of corruption. Peace isn’t quiet. It is speaking out on behalf of those who have no voice. In Matthew and in Luke Jesus explains that they all think he has come to bring peace but no, he has come to bring unrest. Jesus is challenging their understanding of peace.

Along with this outward peace-bringing, the kind that stands in the way of  violence and often is violently opposed, there is another kind of peace. Internal peace. Here again we think in terms of stillness and calm. But this peace also can require a getting in the way of violence. Here though it is internal violence. Internal peace, or what Paul writes the Philippians in chapter 4:7 “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I like to call this the peace that doesn’t make any sense. It is this peace which will guard your hearts and minds.

A peace that guards your heart and mind. Whatever else kind of peace you are called to, the peace that guards your heart  and mind seems like a real good idea to me. John the Baptist must have had this peace when he confronted Herod and ended up getting his head lopped off. After John’s execution, Jesus had to have relied on the peace that guarded his heart and mind. I think he knew his own fate as well.  How else could he continue if not for peace guarding him? How else can you have strength to be a peace-bringer in the world?

Jesus’ ministry to “purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness” was for the sake of the people to be able to live in peace.

As we consider the babe in the manger, let us look deeply into his eyes. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, through peaceful means got in the way on behalf of others. He was born for it. It was his destiny. This is the Messiah, the Saviour, that we follow and that we celebrate.

The Levitical priesthood has been replaced by the priesthood of all believers. The writer of 1st Peter puts it this way, 2:
4“Come to Jesus, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and 5 like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Let us be purified for the work of following in the footsteps of Jesus, bringing peace through peaceful means, even when things get messy and scary. Even at those times, there is an inward peace that must be our foundation. The peace that surpasses our understanding – having peace at a time that doesn’t make any sense for us to have peace – will guard our hearts and minds.

Here are a few questions you can answer on your card for our tree. Or you can write what you want to about peace.

Peace
How is Jesus peace to you?
How does this community help you offer the peace of Christ to others?
How do you extend peace to others?