As Paul wrote to the Philippians, the relationship between the church and its social/cultural setting was never far from his mind, as he thought about what this young church needed to hear. Being fairly confident that this community of faith would likely come under the same persecution from Rome that he was experiencing personally (you recall that he wrote this letter from prison where he was jailed because of his faith) he is at great pains to remind the Philippians of their place as God's people in God's world. They are not to retreat into a cocoon. Instead they are to think carefully and discerningly about their relationship and interactions with the culture and society into which they were born and in which they are now born anew. Let's review a few of these instances:
1. Earlier, in 2:15, Paul characterized the mission of the Philippian church as those who shine like bright lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. The calling of God's people to reflect his gospel in word and deed is often characterized as being a light to the world (e.g. Matthew 5:14) and in Philippians Paul's intent in invoking this metaphor seems to be one of positive challenge. Suffering and persecution will come but he is hopeful that the Christians at Philippi will not yield to the temptation to succumb to despair and cynicism, but instead will continue to shine forth as bright lights to those who have not yet come to know God's love through faith in Christ. (For a more detailed discussion of this see the Homily Recap from (Tuesday, September 8, 2009)
2. In 1:27-29 we have another example of Paul encouraging the Philippians to stay on mission in the face of suffering. 1:27 could be translated this way: “Let your civic conduct (politeuesthe) be marked by your commitment to the gospel of Christ” (translation from Jeph Holloway, Cross and Community: Philippians as Pauline Political Discourse, Christian Ethics Today, Issue 42). Moreover, the Philippians, in the face of suffering, are to in no way "be intimidated" or diverted from their mission, as they are encouraged (v29) to view the story of their lives as belonging to the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Jesus lived to bring the love of God to others and did not allow suffering to divert him from the mission of God; the Philippians Christians belong to that story, hence they are not only those who believe in Jesus but suffer with him. Fred Craddock's words are helpful: "They cannot assume that outside opposition in and of itself will create internal unity. Even if it did it would be a unity defined by the opposition. Therefore the church must struggle together for the 'faith of the gospel'. If they cease to act and simply react, then it is no longer the gospel but the culture that gives the church its identity (From Philippians Commentary, Interpretation Series)". (For a more detailed discussion see the Homily Recap from Monday, July 6, 2009.)
Finally, in the remarks before us this week (4:8-9) we have yet another example of Paul's concern that God's people not imagine that their loyalty to Jesus should be construed as a call to escape from a dynamic involvement in their social/cultural setting. Our first clue that Paul has this in mind comes from the list of virtues he mentions. The list, what it covers, the way it is written, its grammar and its formatting all point to the fact that he is borrowing his language and categories from the Graeco-Roman world of ethical discourse, teachings on the good life. It was common in the great philosophers of Greek and Rome to talk about what is honorable, just, pure, etc. So, Paul is saying, understand your identity as a Christian not as a call to escape from the world but as a way to engage constructively the honorable, the just, the commendable wherever one finds it. As Christians, we should be eager to partner with those outside of the church to make contributions to the common good in the arenas of social justice, works of mercy, the arts, etc. It is unattractive when Christians make it seem that they believe that only the Christians are making important contributions to the world.
With regard to the relationship between church and culture, I have found N.T. Wright's remarks to be helpful:
'From the beginning no serious Christian has been able to say ‘this is my culture, so I must adapt the gospel to fit within it’, just as no serious Christian has been able to say ‘this is my surrounding culture, so I must oppose it tooth and nail’. Christians are neither chameleons, changing colour to suit their surroundings, nor rhinoceroses, ready to charge at anything in sight. There is no straightforward transference between any item of ordinary culture and the gospel, since all has been distorted by evil; but likewise there is nothing so twisted that it cannot be redeemed, and nothing evil in itself. The Christian is thus committed, precisely as a careful reader of scripture, to a nuanced reading of culture and a nuanced understanding of the response of the gospel to different elements of culture. You can see this in Philippians, where Paul is clear that as a Christian you must live your public life in a manner worthy of the gospel, and that whatever is pure, lovely and of good report must be celebrated – but also that Jesus is Lord while Caesar isn’t, and that we are commanded to shine like lights in a dark world. There are no short cuts here, no easy answers. Prayer, scripture and complex negotiation are the order of the day."N.T. Wright
Questions for discussion:
1. When are you tempted to be a chameleon (see above)? What makes you susceptible to this temptation? How can you guard against it?
2. When are you tempted to be a rhinoceros (see above)? What make sou susceptible to this temptation? How can you guard against this?
3. Can you give a good example of what it looks like to constructively engage the culture as a Christian or as the church?
Monday, November 16, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
when Peace=Security and Security becomes an Idol
I recently heard Tim Keller, the Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, speak about his new book, Counterfeit Gods. In the book he helps his readers understand that at the heart of the human condition is a sinful tendency to make idols out of just about anything. In his book he taps a rich vein of contemplative theologians within our Christian tradition as he explores our susceptibility to place the weight of the affections of our heart on everything from sexual gratification to the addiction of pleasing people. As I heard him talk and reflected on the passage we are looking at Philippians right now I thought about how many of us are tempted to make security and safety into an idol. In Philippians 4, Paul promises that the Christian who relies upon the Lord in prayer will be guarded by the peace of God. The word which is often translated, "guard", is a Greek word commonly used in military contexts, invoking an image that God's peace would be, for the Philippians Christians, a garrison around them. But he is telling them this as he is in prison and even as he is warning them that the same persecution will come to them. So, the question arises naturally, what is the peace of God that is promised? We talked about this some last week (for that discussion please consult the previous homily recap) but for the sake of continuity I include here the last paragraph from that recap:
"Jesus mourns well and Jesus hopes well; and, he does so with us, in us, and through us. This is at the heart of what it means to be guarded by God's peace in Christ Jesus. Guarded in a peace that passes understanding is not about being comforted by an idea or an abstract truth; it is about being comforted by Jesus himself as we are drawn more and more into his life. Rather than attempting to escape pain and suffering as we so often do through all manner of sinful and destructive behavior, Jesus weeps with us and for us, inviting us to do the same. Rather than shying away from the pain of others or simply trying to make them feel like everything will be OK, Jesus shares in their suffering and beckons us to do likewise. Instead of offering intellectual answers to the problem of pain, Jesus embraces us in his love and brings us to the hope of the resurrection. Instead of taking on the identity of a victim, Jesus unites us to him as one to whom the future is open to redemption."
So, the peace of God that affects us is not the absence of pain, fear, suffering, and even persecution. Neither is the experience of God's peace a stoic face-down of pain. Rather, the peace of God is the presence of Jesus in the midst of fear, suffering, and adversity. But it is not a static experience of Jesus' presence that Paul has in mind, for the actions and movements of the Philippian Christians are in view: "let your gentleness be evident to all". It is fair to say that Paul is concerned that the Philippian church not let their fear and anxiety eclipse their mission to give and receive Christ's love to one another and to those outside of their Christian community. So, the garrison of Christ's peace which will guard them does not guard them so that they may be safe from harm and danger, but their confidence in their ultimate destiny in Christ frees them to continue to give an receive love even in terrible times.
As Christian people in Chicago today our fears and anxieties are different in many ways from the church to which Paul wrote this letter. Each of us is responsible to hear those edifying words and think imaginatively and prayerfully about how they apply to our own circumstances.
In instances of anxiety and fear over loss of jobs and financial security, health, relationship struggles, etc. we must be careful to be honest about our fears and sadness and not pretend that the peace of God and the hope of the resurrection keep us from sadness. Moreover, as a Christian community we must be the sort of community which encourages honesty over fears and struggles and offers sympathy and empathy to those who struggle. Not allowing these fears to eclipse our mission to love and be loved as Christ has loved us does not come at the price of denying our frailty and confusion. I think what is to be prayed for and striven towards is a dynamic equilibrium (dynamic equilibrium, I think comes from C.F.D. Moule and is not original with me) wherein we grieve "but not as those who grieve without hope"; we grieve but we also have joy in the midst of the grief. We grieve but we still love and receive love.
In instances where we think of God's rule protecting us from harm we need to remember that we can turn security into an idol. Recently Miroslav Volf said the following at a lecture series at Yale's Center for Faith and Culture - the title of the series was "Are we Safe Yet?". One purpose of the series was to help Christians in the post 9/11 world think about how to tell when an obsession with security violates a gospel motivated affirmation of regarding a certain degree of vulnerability as quintessential to what it means to be human. Here is Volf: "vulnerability is obviously the reason why we pursue security. If we were not vulnerable, the question of security would never arise. I’m a theologian, and presumably I can say with some degree of confidence that God needs no security force to protect God’s throne. God is by definition inviolable. Human beings are not by definition inviolable. We need to have our existence and our well being secured. That is why those lights flash on the buses when kids get on and off of them; that’s why we lock our homes at night and sometimes also during the day; that’s why we have a police force, and so on. But vulnerability also touches on security in another way: human vulnerability places a limit on the pursuit of security. It determines in part, or at least shapes in part, the nature of what it means to be secure. For vulnerability is fundamental to who we are as human beings. To be inviolable is to be divine; to be human is to be, and I think is always to remain, vulnerable. You can almost put it this way, that vulnerability is the essential condition of human life. No vulnerability, no human life."
Now, many of you reading this will immediately evaluate some or all of what Volf says here in light of your political theory. Some of you will think he is right on, others will think he is not being pacifistic enough, while others of you will find the direction he is taking to be naive (it would be hard, though, to call him naive since he has served in the military in the former Yugoslavia, was persecuted for his faith under the communist regime, and witnessed the ethnic cleansing undertaken in the war Serbian/Croatian war). At any rate, I think that all of us, regardless of our view of America's place in the world around these issues of "security", need to be careful to remember that, as Christians, we confess that the mission of the church cannot be ultimately defined by a quest to be secure. It is rather the case that to follow Jesus is to embrace always a certain degree of vulnerability.
Finally, we talked on Sunday about how many of us can make being safe and secure against potential hurt into an idol. C.S. Lewis speaks chillingly about this in the Four Loves:
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.” - C.S. Lewis
Questions for discussion:
1. What does it look like to have joy in the midst of suffering? Can one be sad and joyful at the same time?
2. A friend comes to you and says: "I want to move out of the city because I don't feel safe here anymore. Can you help me think through whether this is consistent with the gospel?"
How would you help your friend? What questions would you ask? What principles could you offer?
3. Another friend comes to you and says: "I am not going to open myself up to anyone again after my last relationship ended the way it did. Am I justified in doing this?" How would you help this friend? What questions would you ask? What principles could you offer?
4. Another friend comes up to you and says: "I just spoke with Jezebel and she told me that I should get over being sad and walk in the peace of Christ. She said my faith was weak, but I am still sad in the wake of my family's recent tragedy. I want to have joy, what does that look like?" What would you say to this friend?
5. How can you tell if you have made security into an idol?
"Jesus mourns well and Jesus hopes well; and, he does so with us, in us, and through us. This is at the heart of what it means to be guarded by God's peace in Christ Jesus. Guarded in a peace that passes understanding is not about being comforted by an idea or an abstract truth; it is about being comforted by Jesus himself as we are drawn more and more into his life. Rather than attempting to escape pain and suffering as we so often do through all manner of sinful and destructive behavior, Jesus weeps with us and for us, inviting us to do the same. Rather than shying away from the pain of others or simply trying to make them feel like everything will be OK, Jesus shares in their suffering and beckons us to do likewise. Instead of offering intellectual answers to the problem of pain, Jesus embraces us in his love and brings us to the hope of the resurrection. Instead of taking on the identity of a victim, Jesus unites us to him as one to whom the future is open to redemption."
So, the peace of God that affects us is not the absence of pain, fear, suffering, and even persecution. Neither is the experience of God's peace a stoic face-down of pain. Rather, the peace of God is the presence of Jesus in the midst of fear, suffering, and adversity. But it is not a static experience of Jesus' presence that Paul has in mind, for the actions and movements of the Philippian Christians are in view: "let your gentleness be evident to all". It is fair to say that Paul is concerned that the Philippian church not let their fear and anxiety eclipse their mission to give and receive Christ's love to one another and to those outside of their Christian community. So, the garrison of Christ's peace which will guard them does not guard them so that they may be safe from harm and danger, but their confidence in their ultimate destiny in Christ frees them to continue to give an receive love even in terrible times.
As Christian people in Chicago today our fears and anxieties are different in many ways from the church to which Paul wrote this letter. Each of us is responsible to hear those edifying words and think imaginatively and prayerfully about how they apply to our own circumstances.
In instances of anxiety and fear over loss of jobs and financial security, health, relationship struggles, etc. we must be careful to be honest about our fears and sadness and not pretend that the peace of God and the hope of the resurrection keep us from sadness. Moreover, as a Christian community we must be the sort of community which encourages honesty over fears and struggles and offers sympathy and empathy to those who struggle. Not allowing these fears to eclipse our mission to love and be loved as Christ has loved us does not come at the price of denying our frailty and confusion. I think what is to be prayed for and striven towards is a dynamic equilibrium (dynamic equilibrium, I think comes from C.F.D. Moule and is not original with me) wherein we grieve "but not as those who grieve without hope"; we grieve but we also have joy in the midst of the grief. We grieve but we still love and receive love.
In instances where we think of God's rule protecting us from harm we need to remember that we can turn security into an idol. Recently Miroslav Volf said the following at a lecture series at Yale's Center for Faith and Culture - the title of the series was "Are we Safe Yet?". One purpose of the series was to help Christians in the post 9/11 world think about how to tell when an obsession with security violates a gospel motivated affirmation of regarding a certain degree of vulnerability as quintessential to what it means to be human. Here is Volf: "vulnerability is obviously the reason why we pursue security. If we were not vulnerable, the question of security would never arise. I’m a theologian, and presumably I can say with some degree of confidence that God needs no security force to protect God’s throne. God is by definition inviolable. Human beings are not by definition inviolable. We need to have our existence and our well being secured. That is why those lights flash on the buses when kids get on and off of them; that’s why we lock our homes at night and sometimes also during the day; that’s why we have a police force, and so on. But vulnerability also touches on security in another way: human vulnerability places a limit on the pursuit of security. It determines in part, or at least shapes in part, the nature of what it means to be secure. For vulnerability is fundamental to who we are as human beings. To be inviolable is to be divine; to be human is to be, and I think is always to remain, vulnerable. You can almost put it this way, that vulnerability is the essential condition of human life. No vulnerability, no human life."
Now, many of you reading this will immediately evaluate some or all of what Volf says here in light of your political theory. Some of you will think he is right on, others will think he is not being pacifistic enough, while others of you will find the direction he is taking to be naive (it would be hard, though, to call him naive since he has served in the military in the former Yugoslavia, was persecuted for his faith under the communist regime, and witnessed the ethnic cleansing undertaken in the war Serbian/Croatian war). At any rate, I think that all of us, regardless of our view of America's place in the world around these issues of "security", need to be careful to remember that, as Christians, we confess that the mission of the church cannot be ultimately defined by a quest to be secure. It is rather the case that to follow Jesus is to embrace always a certain degree of vulnerability.
Finally, we talked on Sunday about how many of us can make being safe and secure against potential hurt into an idol. C.S. Lewis speaks chillingly about this in the Four Loves:
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.” - C.S. Lewis
Questions for discussion:
1. What does it look like to have joy in the midst of suffering? Can one be sad and joyful at the same time?
2. A friend comes to you and says: "I want to move out of the city because I don't feel safe here anymore. Can you help me think through whether this is consistent with the gospel?"
How would you help your friend? What questions would you ask? What principles could you offer?
3. Another friend comes to you and says: "I am not going to open myself up to anyone again after my last relationship ended the way it did. Am I justified in doing this?" How would you help this friend? What questions would you ask? What principles could you offer?
4. Another friend comes up to you and says: "I just spoke with Jezebel and she told me that I should get over being sad and walk in the peace of Christ. She said my faith was weak, but I am still sad in the wake of my family's recent tragedy. I want to have joy, what does that look like?" What would you say to this friend?
5. How can you tell if you have made security into an idol?
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
the Peace of God will guard your hearts in Christ Jesus
This week we came to a passage in Philippians which is very familiar to many of us who grew up with a knowledge of the Bible. Philippians 4:6......"Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I fear, though, that in some instances, we have become so familiar with this passage that we do not stop to think about what is really meant by these encouraging words. For instance, does Paul mean that if we pray in the way he exhorts us to that we will never or rarely worry, be sad, or doubt God's goodness in the midst of adverse circumstances? Does the peace that surpasses all understanding speak mainly to our interior emotional state or does it have as much if not more to do with the way we relate to suffering in our lives and the lives of others.
In order to get at what Paul means and doesn't mean in this passage we need to think about the peace of which is he is speaking as the peace of Jesus' kingdom, recalling that the Roman Empire celebrated the peace of the empire in quasi-religious language even as it celebrated Caesar as savior and lord. Just as Paul crafts his language in chapter 2 of this letter to remind the Philippians that Jesus is Savior, Lord, and King over against Caesar, here he proclaims Jesus' peace as the true peace of which Rome's peace is an absurd distortion, a parody. So, as we approach Paul's remarks about the peace of Jesus' kingdom let's begin by thinking together about what clues Jesus offers us in these words to his disciples in John 14: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives."
The world's offers of peace come in all shapes and sizes. Many of Jesus' contemporaries wanted him to draw on the resources of this world's ideas of how to achieve peace by taking up the vocation of a violent Messiah who would rule according to political power and military might. This approach was in the same family of peace ideas that Rome offered its subjects - to those loyal to the Caesar there would be peace. But this peace was propped up by the violence of a tyrant and did not extend to anyone who dissented. But Jesus, it seems, also has in mind how the disciples will perceive and be blessed by the peace he will give - not like the world gives.
Jesus' disciples and the Philippian Christians would undergo fear, confusion, anxiety, and discouragement as they had to wrestle with persecution and threats of persecution. Moreover, they were, in general, regarded with disdain by many, as they were perceived to be threats to the public life of the rest of the world. In the face of this trouble they are to "not let their hearts be troubled" and to trust in Jesus' peace which surpasses all understanding. As we unpack how Jesus' peace affects them (and us) I suggest that it is Jesus' compassionate presence with his people, through the Holy Spirit, that is the "peace of God which surpasses all understanding". This is suggested by the overall context of Jesus' remarks in John's gospel about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who unites us to the risen Lord Jesus, and by Paul's remarks that God's peace will guard us "in Christ Jesus" (see Philippians 4). "In Christ Jesus" is one of Paul's favorite shorthand phrases which expresses the deep theological truth that we are united to God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, as he is present to us through the same Spirit.
So, how is Jesus' presence with us a comfort? Here, I find Rowan Williams (from his book, the Truce of God) to be of help as he writes: "Christ's peace, then is given us as we are drawn into his world, as we enter his space. When we hear the good news of peace we do not comfortably relax in the confidence that a particularly tricky problem has been solved. On the contrary, we are invited to live in the world of Jesus - which means bearing as he did the tensions of knowing the full force both of hope and of grief.... we are aware of ourselves and the whole world as objects of an infinite compassion which calls us to the same compassion and sustains us as we try to embody it..... having seen how decisively in Jesus this faith can reconstruct the patterns of human relations and the forms of corporate life, we enter on the project of compassion, trusting in its re-creative power."
Jesus mourns well and Jesus hopes well; and, he does so with us, in us, and through us. This is at the heart of what it means to be guarded by God's peace in Christ Jesus. Guarded in a peace that passes understanding is not about being comforted by an idea or an abstract truth; it is about being comforted by Jesus himself as we are drawn more and more into his life. Rather than attempting to escape pain and suffering as we so often do through all manner of sinful and destructive behavior, Jesus weeps with us and for us, inviting us to do the same. Rather than shying away from the pain of others or simply trying to make them feel like everything will be OK, Jesus shares in their suffering and beckons us to do likewise. Instead of offering intellectual answers to the problem of pain, Jesus embraces us in his love and brings us to the hope of the resurrection. Instead of taking on the identity of a victim, Jesus unites us to him as one to whom the future is open to redemption.
1. Can you offer some examples from our cultural setting of bogus offers of peace which tempt you to turn away from the peace of Christ?
2. What role does prayer play in our participation in Jesus' peace? Read Philippians 4:4-7 before you answer this question.
3. What role do you think being vibrantly involved in the community of the local church plays in being affected rightly by Jesus' peace?
4. In the last sentence we refer to the future being open to redemption? How does this keep us from identifying ourselves as victims when we suffer?
In order to get at what Paul means and doesn't mean in this passage we need to think about the peace of which is he is speaking as the peace of Jesus' kingdom, recalling that the Roman Empire celebrated the peace of the empire in quasi-religious language even as it celebrated Caesar as savior and lord. Just as Paul crafts his language in chapter 2 of this letter to remind the Philippians that Jesus is Savior, Lord, and King over against Caesar, here he proclaims Jesus' peace as the true peace of which Rome's peace is an absurd distortion, a parody. So, as we approach Paul's remarks about the peace of Jesus' kingdom let's begin by thinking together about what clues Jesus offers us in these words to his disciples in John 14: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives."
The world's offers of peace come in all shapes and sizes. Many of Jesus' contemporaries wanted him to draw on the resources of this world's ideas of how to achieve peace by taking up the vocation of a violent Messiah who would rule according to political power and military might. This approach was in the same family of peace ideas that Rome offered its subjects - to those loyal to the Caesar there would be peace. But this peace was propped up by the violence of a tyrant and did not extend to anyone who dissented. But Jesus, it seems, also has in mind how the disciples will perceive and be blessed by the peace he will give - not like the world gives.
Jesus' disciples and the Philippian Christians would undergo fear, confusion, anxiety, and discouragement as they had to wrestle with persecution and threats of persecution. Moreover, they were, in general, regarded with disdain by many, as they were perceived to be threats to the public life of the rest of the world. In the face of this trouble they are to "not let their hearts be troubled" and to trust in Jesus' peace which surpasses all understanding. As we unpack how Jesus' peace affects them (and us) I suggest that it is Jesus' compassionate presence with his people, through the Holy Spirit, that is the "peace of God which surpasses all understanding". This is suggested by the overall context of Jesus' remarks in John's gospel about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who unites us to the risen Lord Jesus, and by Paul's remarks that God's peace will guard us "in Christ Jesus" (see Philippians 4). "In Christ Jesus" is one of Paul's favorite shorthand phrases which expresses the deep theological truth that we are united to God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, as he is present to us through the same Spirit.
So, how is Jesus' presence with us a comfort? Here, I find Rowan Williams (from his book, the Truce of God) to be of help as he writes: "Christ's peace, then is given us as we are drawn into his world, as we enter his space. When we hear the good news of peace we do not comfortably relax in the confidence that a particularly tricky problem has been solved. On the contrary, we are invited to live in the world of Jesus - which means bearing as he did the tensions of knowing the full force both of hope and of grief.... we are aware of ourselves and the whole world as objects of an infinite compassion which calls us to the same compassion and sustains us as we try to embody it..... having seen how decisively in Jesus this faith can reconstruct the patterns of human relations and the forms of corporate life, we enter on the project of compassion, trusting in its re-creative power."
Jesus mourns well and Jesus hopes well; and, he does so with us, in us, and through us. This is at the heart of what it means to be guarded by God's peace in Christ Jesus. Guarded in a peace that passes understanding is not about being comforted by an idea or an abstract truth; it is about being comforted by Jesus himself as we are drawn more and more into his life. Rather than attempting to escape pain and suffering as we so often do through all manner of sinful and destructive behavior, Jesus weeps with us and for us, inviting us to do the same. Rather than shying away from the pain of others or simply trying to make them feel like everything will be OK, Jesus shares in their suffering and beckons us to do likewise. Instead of offering intellectual answers to the problem of pain, Jesus embraces us in his love and brings us to the hope of the resurrection. Instead of taking on the identity of a victim, Jesus unites us to him as one to whom the future is open to redemption.
1. Can you offer some examples from our cultural setting of bogus offers of peace which tempt you to turn away from the peace of Christ?
2. What role does prayer play in our participation in Jesus' peace? Read Philippians 4:4-7 before you answer this question.
3. What role do you think being vibrantly involved in the community of the local church plays in being affected rightly by Jesus' peace?
4. In the last sentence we refer to the future being open to redemption? How does this keep us from identifying ourselves as victims when we suffer?
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