Instrument of Thy Peace Prayer A Summer Sermon Series 2019
This summer I thought I would preach a
series of sermons on the Prayer credited to St. Francis, known as the “Instrument
of Peace” prayer. Listening to the news, reading the papers and the internet,
it was quite obvious that we need peace. Even my own family and our church
family has been hit by sudden deaths and so we are all deeply in need of peace.
We have probably all felt a need for comfort
and a desire to reduce the stress and noise that surrounds us. A prayer
offering peace is much needed.
St. Francis was only 44 when he died, but he
left a huge legacy that has even grown with time. Both Catholic and Protestants
admire his teaching and influence. We need the upside-down nature of this
prayer, which reflects the upside down Kingdom that Jesus offered us in the
sermon on the mount.
Matthew 5:1-12 The Message (MSG) You’re Blessed
5 1-2 When Jesus saw his ministry
drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him,
the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and
taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:
3 “You’re blessed when you’re
at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
4 “You’re blessed when you
feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the
One most dear to you.
5 “You’re blessed when you’re
content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find
yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
6 “You’re blessed when you’ve
worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll
ever eat.
7 “You’re blessed when you
care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
8 “You’re blessed when you
get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in
the outside world.
9 “You’re blessed when you
can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you
discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
10 “You’re blessed when your
commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper
into God’s kingdom.
11-12 “Not only that—count
yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak
lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close
for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give
a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all
heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and
witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.”
Francis was born into a well to do family in
Assisi, Italy in 1182/3, records weren’t kept the same way we do. His family had
resources because his father was a merchant of cloth, and did pretty well at
it, Francis was something of a rascal. He got into some trouble and was rescued
with his father’s help. He even joined the army, hoping to become some kind of
hero.
In those days a lot of the battles were
between cities, and Francis was captured by the enemy. One strategy at the time
was to hold the prisoners for ransom. He was imprisoned for a year, before his
father came to pay the ransom to get him out. Francis was becoming more familiar
with the challenges of life and not having everything go his way.
After a conversion experience of sorts, he
felt compelled to help the poor around him. He did so by giving away his father’s
resources. His father tried to stop that by taking him to a church court, run
by the bishop. In the trial before the Bishop, Francis decided that he would
disconnect from his family in order to be fully available to God, so he stripped
down to nakedness, folded his clothes and gave them back to his father and
declared his total dependency on God.
He really began his ministry when he heard a
voice from God saying to him, “Repair my church.” He began to collect money to repair the
building, which was in disrepair, but God spoke to him again about the need to
repair his church, not the building. He soon realized that this was a spiritual
dimension and began to truly focus on God. To hear from God he became open to
the beauty of nature as a sign from God. He connected to all dimension of
nature, and in many ways we know him for his love of animals and creation. Even
we celebrate a blessing of the animals in early October, to coincide with his
death date of Oct. 3 1226.
We can see how his influence calls us to be
mindful of all of Creation.
This prayer is surely in the Spirit of
Jesus, whom St. Francis wanted to emulate, and reflects much of St. Francis
teaching. But, the prayer did not come from him. It first appeared in a local
church newsletter in France in 1919, as Europe was recovering from World War I.
It was much needed then, as it is needed now. The prayer caught the globe by
storm and it was shared and spread around the world very quickly.
Lord,
make me an instrument of your peace:
where
there is hatred, let me sow love;
where
there is injury, pardon;
where
there is doubt, faith;
where
there is despair, hope;
where
there is darkness, light;
where
there is sadness, joy.
O
divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to
be consoled as to console,
to
be understood as to understand,
to
be loved as to love.
For
it is in giving that we receive,
it
is in pardoning that we are pardoned, I
and
it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
So, to find peace this summer we begin by
looking at ways we need this gift from God. Have you ever felt the need to
overcome hate? Has it been directed at you, or have you witnessed it?
Remember when you were injured, either
physically, or emotionally, or found out just how limited your resources are
for fixing life’s challenges?
Remember moments of doubt? Was it doubting
your friendship, or doubting your family? Was it even related to doubting that
God could help you, or doubting your level of faith to handle the crisis?
Remember your last moment of despair or
sadness? We who have been close to those who suddenly died recently can
certainly give a witness to that pain.
Have you had moments in darkness? Was it not
knowing where you were going or because you could not figure out the right
choices to make? That depth of darkness can be from a variety of sources. Out
of that darkness, you probably began to wish for someone to console you, or
needing to be understood, or needing to be loved?
So you can identify with the need for the
Instrument of Peace. You can recognize the desire to have the Spirit of Jesus
provide a way to overcome, or reverse or flip right side up what seems so upside
down.
One of the gifts of peace is the work of
Jesus to reconcile us to God. As we share in Holy Communion this morning, we
remember that Christ is offering us the peace which passes all understanding.
In this Bread and Cup, his Body and Blood, we receive the very nature of Christ
to find Peace. We taste and swallow and welcome into our being, the Spirit and
the presence of the one who is an Instrument Peace.
I hope you feel this gift today. And come
back this summer as we explore more deeply the benefits of each of the phrases
in this great prayer. Amen.
Blessings, Pastor Jeff
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