CELC The Sixth Sunday of Easter

The Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 16, 2004

Psalm 67

These are the words of a mother whose son is serving as an officer in the Marine Corps. Michael will soon be going back to Iraq for his second tour.

She writes in a letter: “Please keep Michael in your prayers. He is headed back to Iraq by mid June. I only pray that this ends soon. Tom was in Viet Nam and Tommy was a year old at the time and that was awful but I can't even begin to tell you how really awful it is when your son or daughter is over there in harm's way. I think God is probably tired of listening to me - He probably says, ‘Oh no, here comes that broken record again.’"

Reading Psalm 67 you hear the ancient people of God praising God in thanksgiving for all the blessings they have received. As the words of the Psalm become your words you might even think it is the fourth Thursday in November rather than the third Sunday of May.

I must confess to you that I am not in the mood to be praising God in thanksgiving. With stunning pictures of the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and then retaliatory beheading of Nicholas Berg, sadness has enveloped me. The war in Iraq is not just dangerous, it is depressing and distressing.

But, Psalm 67 is the appointed Psalm today, and Christian worshippers do not act from feelings, but from faith. So the words of Psalm 67 are so very important to us today. They remind you that God rules over all. God is sovereign. Verse four says it so well: “…for you judge the peoples with equity and guide all the nations upon earth.” The Psalm assures you that God is guide and judge, discerning what is in the hearts of all people. God even sees the hearts of those who do horrible things to prisoners and those who murder.

In light of the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and the revengeful killing of Nicholas Berg, you want to make final and ultimate judgments yourself. Well, if you don’t, I must confess I certainly do. How sad it is that a few soldiers have so embarrassed and diminished America by treating prisoners so badly. How unthinkable it is that a few took justice into their own hands and beheaded the enemy of their eyes. You want to condemn them all to the worst of punishments.

But, that is not our calling. We need to leave the ultimate judging to God. We live in a world of ambiguity. We cannot see as God sees. God will judge their hearts and will decide ultimately what will be done with those who abuse and those who murder. Yes, you are to judge tentatively, but not ultimately. God, who judges with equity, will do the final judging.

And thanks be to God that the final judgment is one done in the cross of Jesus Christ. You know that far too often your hearts are not far from the same thoughts and actions that were in the hearts of those who abuse and kill. Perhaps you are a bit more civilized and do not act on your thoughts; they are the same thoughts, though, and Jesus tells you that the thought is as good as the deed. Placed in similar circumstances you are not certain that you might be capable of the same deeds as those who abused and killed.

So, our sovereign God comes in the cross and loves everyone: the doer of evil, the recipient of evil and even those who just think evil thoughts. And it is not a love that is friendship or the driving force that couples us in marriage. No, it is the redeeming love that comes with forgiveness and grace. That is, forgiveness and grace even for the unjust and the most reprehensible of people let alone you and me. This is resurrected life in Christ.

The result of the redeeming love of the cross, given to us by our sovereign God, is that you remember ultimate judging is God’s business. The redemptive love of God in the cross does even more, though, it brings grace that banishes fear from your life and empowers you to love others. The redemptive love of God in the cross empowers you to seek justice for the poor, the oppressed, and the victims of war, whoever they may be.

Now you can see why Psalm 67 calls us to praise God for ruling over this world through a cross of redemptive love. War and the consequences of war are not the final word. God in Christ has the final word and it is a word of forgiveness and love. It is a word of resurrected life.

At war, we cannot guarantee Michael’s safety for his mother. You can, though, pray as she does, not only for his safety, but that each of us might be an instrument of peace. In the love of the cross each of us can call upon our President and others to end the war and get on with peace. As we do that we become instruments of God’s peace in Jesus Christ.

You probably learned the words of John 3:16 when you were just a child: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” Here is the promise of God that the greatest blessing of all is yours: abundant life in Jesus Christ. In thanksgiving, let us raise our voices in praise. In thanksgiving, let us raise our voices in prayer. In thanksgiving, let us raise our voices for peace. Amen.

Pastor Robert F. Holley