Brett C. Blair
One person armed with the Gospel of peace can change the world. Telemachus did. Who was Telemachus? He was a monk who lived in the 5th century. And his story is a story of courage. He felt God saying to him, "Go to Rome." He was in a cloistered monastery but he put his possessions in a sack and set out for Rome. When he arrived in the city, people were thronging in the streets. He asked why all the excitement and was told that this was the day that the gladiators would be fighting in the coliseum, the day of the games, the circus. He thought to himself, "Four centuries after Christ and they are still killing each other, for enjoyment?" He ran to the coliseum and heard the gladiators saying, "Hail to Caesar, we die for Caesar" and he thought, "this isn't right." He jumped over the railing and went out into the middle of the field, got between two gladiators, and tried to stop them. The crowd became enraged and stoned the peacemaker to death.
When the Emperor of Rome, Honorius, heard about the monk he declared him a Christian martyr and put an end to the games. Legend has it that the very last Gladiatorial game was the one in which Telemachus died.
Jesus said, "Have salt in yourselves - be at peace with each other." Sometimes it seems we have gladiatorial games going on inside the church, inside our homes, at work? And the games have been going on for as long as we can remember! Who will be a Telemachus? Who will be the monk who jumps into the arena, sacrifices himself, and brings peace? Peace can be made but it sometimes comes at a heavy price.
My question this morning is why are we so often at odds with one another? Why don't we have peace in our lives?
I
First, we do not have peace in our lives because we fight to protect our own turf. Here’s a good story: A man who was walking across a bridge and came upon another man standing right on the edge, about to plunge to his death. The first man shouted "Stop! Are you a Christian?" "Yes, as a matter of fact I am." "Well so am I. Are you Catholic or Protestant?" "I'm Protestant," "Well so am I. Are you Episcopal or Baptist?" "I'm Baptist." "Wow... I am too. Are you Southern Baptist or American Baptist? "I'm Southern Baptist," "Me too, that's amazing! Are you original Southern Baptist or Southern Baptist reformed?" "I'm Southern Baptist reformed." "I can't believe it, so am I." But tell me are you Reformed Southern Baptist of the reformation of 1879, or reformed Southern Baptist of the Reformation of 1915?" He answered, "Reformed Baptist, reformation of 1915.” To which the first man said, "Die you heretic," and he pushed him off the bridge.
Turf wars can be so petty. Jesus encountered this in his disciples. One day as they are walking around the area of Capernaum, John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, comes up to his master and gives a report. Teacher, he says, we were out among the people and we saw a man who is not one of us. He was driving out demons and he was dong this in your name. Now we know that he has not been trained like we have. He has not been chosen as we have so we told him to stop. Do you hear what they did? They pushed him off the bridge.
It is obvious that the disciples expected to be congratulated. “Good for you!” they expected, “After all, we can’t let this Kingdom of God business get out of hand.” How little they understood where Jesus’ teachings would soon take them. They were the chosen people, the Jews, but soon the doors of Judaism would open to the world. Moses saved the Jews but Jesus would soon save the world. The Jerusalem Temple was the house of God but the Church around the world would soon house the Spirit of the Lord. Israel was God’s nation but those borders would soon be gone and a new Holy Nation without borders would be established. History would soon replace the Priest in the Holy of Holies with the priesthood of all believers. The disciples wanted to protect their turf, maintain control but Jesus had a better way. They were to be the facilitators not manipulators of a new kingdom. If others come along with gifts and talents do not hinder them. In Jesus’ words, “Whoever is not against us is for us.”
Here is an interesting statistic. The Society of International Law, in London, observed that during the last 3,550 years of recorded history there have been only 268 years of peace. That means that since the beginning of recorded history, the entire world has been at peace less than eight percent of the time! What is even more interesting is that during this time in excess of 8000 peace treaties were made--and broken. My friend, that represents a lot of turf wars.
Why do we not have peace in our life? Because, at any cost, we fight to protect our turf and we fight to get the turf of the other fellow. And this leads us to our second point.
II
Second, we do not have peace in our lives because we destroy the weak among us. Before we look at this point I want to draw your attention to the text, versus 38-50. At first glance it seems Jesus is covering several unrelated topics. There is the disciples concern about the man whom they do not know driving out demons. Jesus addresses those concerns. Then he instructs them not to cause little ones to sin. It would be better to be thrown into the lake tied to a millstone than to do such a thing, he warns. Then he tells his disciples to cut off their hand if it causes them to sin. Better to be crippled in this life than thrown into hell in the next. Finally a forth idea is presented. Salt. Be like salt Jesus says, be at peace with one another.
These ideas seem thrown together, four sayings of Jesus cobbled together by Mark, unrelated to one another. But maybe not. It would not be unusual in first century Palestine to compile several sayings together onto a single document. Papyrus, the paper of the day, was expensive and every square inch was utilized. But let me suggest that there is a relationship between these four images that Jesus presents. The relationship is found in the very last verse of chapter nine. In the command, “be at peace with one another.”
Have salt Jesus says. Be like salt: Preserve what is best. If others are working for the Kingdom, don’t stop them. He is saying, don’t fight turf wars in my name. Those who follow me and are weak, the children, the defenseless, the poor, protect them. Make sure that they too have peace in their lives. Have peace in your own life. Don’t let sin war among the members of your body. Be salt. Preserve what is good by being at peace. Peace! Peace between God and man and peace between one another.
So this second teaching fits in nicely. Do not cause, Jesus says, one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble. You have no doubt heard the poem “A Bag Of Tools” by Roy Sharpe:
Isn't it strange
That princes and kings,
And clowns that caper
In sawdust rings,
And common people
Like you and me
Are builders for eternity?
Each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass,
A book of rules;
And each must make --
Ere life has flown --
A stumbling block
Or a stepping stone.
This is a wonderful summary of the Gospel text. Each of us is given a bag of tools. And each of us must choose whether we will be a stumbling block bringing sin into lives of others, or a stepping stone bringing peace and holiness. Peacemaking is about stepping stones.
III
First, we do not have peace in our lives because we fight to protect our own turf: Jesus we saw someone who is not one of us doing work in your name and we stopped him. Second, we do not have peace in our lives because we destroy the weak among us: Jesus all these children, poor people, sick, and widowed who are following you, we are keeping them away so we can get your work done. And third, we do not have peace in our lives because we will not let go of that which destroys us.
How do you think you are doing in the area of sin? Are you doing what Jesus suggested; that is, are you getting rid of those things which bring sin into your life? Think about that for a moment. Now how do you think God sees your efforts? If you have done any serious photography you know what time-lapse photography is. It compresses a series of events into one picture. Such a photo appeared in an issue of National Geographic. Taken from a Rocky Mountain peak during a heavy thunderstorm, the picture captured the brilliant lightning display that had taken place throughout the storm's duration. The time-lapse technique created a fascinating, spaghetti-like web out of the individual bolts. This is how our sin presents itself before the eyes of God. Where we see only isolated or individual acts, God sees the overall web of our sinning. What may seem insignificant -- even sporadic -- to us, and passes with hardly a notice, creates a much more dramatic display from God's panoramic viewpoint. The psalmist was right when he wrote, "Who can discern his own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me." (Psalm 19:12-13).
How are you doing in the area of sin? Have you had any victories lately or have you had mostly failures? Let me tell you how to have victory: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if you eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”
Now what in heaven does this mean? It means this. Drastic sins call for drastic measures. We should be so intent on eradicating sin that we will cut out, remove, do away with any stumbling block. If you cannot control your addiction to pornography cut off your internet connection. If you cannot control your spending habits cut up your credit cards. If you cannot live a chaste life end the relationship. If you cannot control your drinking buy no more booze and run no more with those friends who are corrupting you. Bad company corrupts good morals. Cut it off! Shut it down! Turn it off! Say goodbye! Sin is radical and it must be dealt with in radical ways.
You see, we must be at peace with one another; we must try to bring peace into the lives of others; and, we must be at peace with God. Have salt in yourselves, Jesus said. Have salt.
If there are any chemist here this morning you know that sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is a poisonous gas that can stand by itself. Chlorine is what gives bleach its offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride. What is sodium Chloride? Salt. Common table salt. The substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor. The substance we use to add spice to meals. Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various doctrines. On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous. Spoken without love, it can turn people away from the gospel.
When truth and love are combined in an individual or a church, then we have what Jesus called "the salt of the earth," and we're able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith. A faith that proclaims peace between God and man and peace between you and me. Amen.
One person armed with the Gospel of peace can change the world. Telemachus did. Who was Telemachus? He was a monk who lived in the 5th century. And his story is a story of courage. He felt God saying to him, "Go to Rome." He was in a cloistered monastery but he put his possessions in a sack and set out for Rome. When he arrived in the city, people were thronging in the streets. He asked why all the excitement and was told that this was the day that the gladiators would be fighting in the coliseum, the day of the games, the circus. He thought to himself, "Four centuries after Christ and they are still killing each other, for enjoyment?" He ran to the coliseum and heard the gladiators saying, "Hail to Caesar, we die for Caesar" and he thought, "this isn't right." He jumped over the railing and went out into the middle of the field, got between two gladiators, and tried to stop them. The crowd became enraged and stoned the peacemaker to death.
When the Emperor of Rome, Honorius, heard about the monk he declared him a Christian martyr and put an end to the games. Legend has it that the very last Gladiatorial game was the one in which Telemachus died.
Jesus said, "Have salt in yourselves - be at peace with each other." Sometimes it seems we have gladiatorial games going on inside the church, inside our homes, at work? And the games have been going on for as long as we can remember! Who will be a Telemachus? Who will be the monk who jumps into the arena, sacrifices himself, and brings peace? Peace can be made but it sometimes comes at a heavy price.
My question this morning is why are we so often at odds with one another? Why don't we have peace in our lives?
I
First, we do not have peace in our lives because we fight to protect our own turf. Here’s a good story: A man who was walking across a bridge and came upon another man standing right on the edge, about to plunge to his death. The first man shouted "Stop! Are you a Christian?" "Yes, as a matter of fact I am." "Well so am I. Are you Catholic or Protestant?" "I'm Protestant," "Well so am I. Are you Episcopal or Baptist?" "I'm Baptist." "Wow... I am too. Are you Southern Baptist or American Baptist? "I'm Southern Baptist," "Me too, that's amazing! Are you original Southern Baptist or Southern Baptist reformed?" "I'm Southern Baptist reformed." "I can't believe it, so am I." But tell me are you Reformed Southern Baptist of the reformation of 1879, or reformed Southern Baptist of the Reformation of 1915?" He answered, "Reformed Baptist, reformation of 1915.” To which the first man said, "Die you heretic," and he pushed him off the bridge.
Turf wars can be so petty. Jesus encountered this in his disciples. One day as they are walking around the area of Capernaum, John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, comes up to his master and gives a report. Teacher, he says, we were out among the people and we saw a man who is not one of us. He was driving out demons and he was dong this in your name. Now we know that he has not been trained like we have. He has not been chosen as we have so we told him to stop. Do you hear what they did? They pushed him off the bridge.
It is obvious that the disciples expected to be congratulated. “Good for you!” they expected, “After all, we can’t let this Kingdom of God business get out of hand.” How little they understood where Jesus’ teachings would soon take them. They were the chosen people, the Jews, but soon the doors of Judaism would open to the world. Moses saved the Jews but Jesus would soon save the world. The Jerusalem Temple was the house of God but the Church around the world would soon house the Spirit of the Lord. Israel was God’s nation but those borders would soon be gone and a new Holy Nation without borders would be established. History would soon replace the Priest in the Holy of Holies with the priesthood of all believers. The disciples wanted to protect their turf, maintain control but Jesus had a better way. They were to be the facilitators not manipulators of a new kingdom. If others come along with gifts and talents do not hinder them. In Jesus’ words, “Whoever is not against us is for us.”
Here is an interesting statistic. The Society of International Law, in London, observed that during the last 3,550 years of recorded history there have been only 268 years of peace. That means that since the beginning of recorded history, the entire world has been at peace less than eight percent of the time! What is even more interesting is that during this time in excess of 8000 peace treaties were made--and broken. My friend, that represents a lot of turf wars.
Why do we not have peace in our life? Because, at any cost, we fight to protect our turf and we fight to get the turf of the other fellow. And this leads us to our second point.
II
Second, we do not have peace in our lives because we destroy the weak among us. Before we look at this point I want to draw your attention to the text, versus 38-50. At first glance it seems Jesus is covering several unrelated topics. There is the disciples concern about the man whom they do not know driving out demons. Jesus addresses those concerns. Then he instructs them not to cause little ones to sin. It would be better to be thrown into the lake tied to a millstone than to do such a thing, he warns. Then he tells his disciples to cut off their hand if it causes them to sin. Better to be crippled in this life than thrown into hell in the next. Finally a forth idea is presented. Salt. Be like salt Jesus says, be at peace with one another.
These ideas seem thrown together, four sayings of Jesus cobbled together by Mark, unrelated to one another. But maybe not. It would not be unusual in first century Palestine to compile several sayings together onto a single document. Papyrus, the paper of the day, was expensive and every square inch was utilized. But let me suggest that there is a relationship between these four images that Jesus presents. The relationship is found in the very last verse of chapter nine. In the command, “be at peace with one another.”
Have salt Jesus says. Be like salt: Preserve what is best. If others are working for the Kingdom, don’t stop them. He is saying, don’t fight turf wars in my name. Those who follow me and are weak, the children, the defenseless, the poor, protect them. Make sure that they too have peace in their lives. Have peace in your own life. Don’t let sin war among the members of your body. Be salt. Preserve what is good by being at peace. Peace! Peace between God and man and peace between one another.
So this second teaching fits in nicely. Do not cause, Jesus says, one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble. You have no doubt heard the poem “A Bag Of Tools” by Roy Sharpe:
Isn't it strange
That princes and kings,
And clowns that caper
In sawdust rings,
And common people
Like you and me
Are builders for eternity?
Each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass,
A book of rules;
And each must make --
Ere life has flown --
A stumbling block
Or a stepping stone.
This is a wonderful summary of the Gospel text. Each of us is given a bag of tools. And each of us must choose whether we will be a stumbling block bringing sin into lives of others, or a stepping stone bringing peace and holiness. Peacemaking is about stepping stones.
III
First, we do not have peace in our lives because we fight to protect our own turf: Jesus we saw someone who is not one of us doing work in your name and we stopped him. Second, we do not have peace in our lives because we destroy the weak among us: Jesus all these children, poor people, sick, and widowed who are following you, we are keeping them away so we can get your work done. And third, we do not have peace in our lives because we will not let go of that which destroys us.
How do you think you are doing in the area of sin? Are you doing what Jesus suggested; that is, are you getting rid of those things which bring sin into your life? Think about that for a moment. Now how do you think God sees your efforts? If you have done any serious photography you know what time-lapse photography is. It compresses a series of events into one picture. Such a photo appeared in an issue of National Geographic. Taken from a Rocky Mountain peak during a heavy thunderstorm, the picture captured the brilliant lightning display that had taken place throughout the storm's duration. The time-lapse technique created a fascinating, spaghetti-like web out of the individual bolts. This is how our sin presents itself before the eyes of God. Where we see only isolated or individual acts, God sees the overall web of our sinning. What may seem insignificant -- even sporadic -- to us, and passes with hardly a notice, creates a much more dramatic display from God's panoramic viewpoint. The psalmist was right when he wrote, "Who can discern his own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me." (Psalm 19:12-13).
How are you doing in the area of sin? Have you had any victories lately or have you had mostly failures? Let me tell you how to have victory: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if you eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”
Now what in heaven does this mean? It means this. Drastic sins call for drastic measures. We should be so intent on eradicating sin that we will cut out, remove, do away with any stumbling block. If you cannot control your addiction to pornography cut off your internet connection. If you cannot control your spending habits cut up your credit cards. If you cannot live a chaste life end the relationship. If you cannot control your drinking buy no more booze and run no more with those friends who are corrupting you. Bad company corrupts good morals. Cut it off! Shut it down! Turn it off! Say goodbye! Sin is radical and it must be dealt with in radical ways.
You see, we must be at peace with one another; we must try to bring peace into the lives of others; and, we must be at peace with God. Have salt in yourselves, Jesus said. Have salt.
If there are any chemist here this morning you know that sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is a poisonous gas that can stand by itself. Chlorine is what gives bleach its offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride. What is sodium Chloride? Salt. Common table salt. The substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor. The substance we use to add spice to meals. Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various doctrines. On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous. Spoken without love, it can turn people away from the gospel.
When truth and love are combined in an individual or a church, then we have what Jesus called "the salt of the earth," and we're able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith. A faith that proclaims peace between God and man and peace between you and me. Amen.
