"Blessed Are the Peacemakers." A meditation for the Interfaith Prayers for Peace" at Littlefield Presbyterian Church.

Some of the leaders and participants at Interfaith Prayers for Peace at Littlefield Presbyterian Church, 2018.

"Blessed Are the Peacemakers"

Matthew 5:1-16

         The verses we just heard are from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.” We heard Jesus speaking what we call the Beatitudes:  "Blessed are the poor in spirit...  the mourners...  the meek... the merciful...   Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you....  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven."^[1]

            Blessed are you who mourn. 

            For those of us who long for a better, more peaceful world, this is a distressing time. There are so many things to mourn.

            More than 400 children who were separated from their families at the southern border are still separated from their families.

            The mass shootings happen so often that we don’t even hear about most of them.

            People struggle to deal with the ways trauma from assault changed their lives, and the hashtag #Why I didn’t report is trending in social media.

            The list could go on and on…

            There are so many things to mourn.  Like poverty and injustice, in our communities, in our nation, and in the world.

            In the United States of America--one of the richest countries in the world. children remain the poorest age group. According to the Children’s Defense Fund, nearly one in five children--12.8 million in total-- were poor in 2017. Over 45 percent of these children lived in extreme poverty at less than half the poverty level.

            3 million children in the U.S. live in families surviving on $2 a day per person.[1]

            The federal poverty threshold is $12,140 for individuals and $25,100 for a family of four. One in seven people in the United States live below the federal poverty threshold. That’s 13.9% of the population, or 44.7 million. According to this federal threshold, a single adult making $12,141 is not poor, though they are considered “low income.”   The wealthiest 1 percent of American households own 40 percent of the country’s wealth, which is more than at any time in the past fifty years. [7]
            When we look around and see all the injustice and need, it can feel overwhelming and despairing.  But we don’t have to work alone.  I find myself mourning all this violence and need, and longing to do something. 

            So, what can we do? 

           We can begin by praying together and forging bonds of friendship and solidarity… getting to know one another better… opening our hearts and minds to one another… and finding ways to work together to change the world. 

            Sometimes, it’s a matter of seeing a need and working together to relieve suffering and let people know we care, like the time a group of interfaith friends gathered needed items for Syrian refugees and got together in somebody’s basement in this neighborhood and packed them for sending them.  People of different faiths work together with Project Dignity to feed desperately poor people in Detroit and address the needs of women and children through Zaman International.

            More than fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. declared in his famous speech “A Time to Break Silence” that, “True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”

            Last May, on the Monday after Mother’s Day, in our nation’s capital and in state capitals around the country, people who are committed to work for a fairer society gathered to launch the first phase of a new Poor People’s Campaign. This is an interfaith movement, made up of older people and younger people, Jews, Muslims, Christians, people of other faiths and people of goodwill who aren’t part of a religious community. It’s a movement that gives voice to people who are directly impacted by poverty and injustice, that brings people together in solidarity as we work together in a series of actions to try to change the conversation in our nation about systemic injustice.

            There’s hard work to be done.   But we can work together to make a difference.  There are values our faith traditions hold in common—values that have to do with love and justice and peace. 

            For all people of faith and goodwill, this is a time for us to find ways to come together and work for a better, more peaceful, merciful, and just world--for everyone.
            As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We must learn to live together as brothers [and sisters] or perish together as fools."

            Our commitment to peace and justice and reconciliation, and our love for our own children, demands that we provide a better inheritance for them.” There’s hard work to be done.   But we can work together to make a difference.

             After worship, we invite you to stay for a time, to enjoy some refreshments and conversation.   We hope you’ll make a new friend today.  Talk with one another about your families—especially your children or grandchildren and about what kind of a world you want to leave for them.

            Talk about what teachings from our various faith traditions inspire and challenge you…and about what common ground you see in our various traditions. Talk about the people who inspire you and challenge you in your commitment.

            Let’s renew our commitment to change the world-- beginning today. 

            Amen!

Rev. Fran Hayes, Pastor

Littlefield Presbyterian Church

Dearborn, Michigan

September 23, 2018

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[1] Child Poverty, at Children’s Defense Fund website:  https://www.childrensdefense.org/policy/policy-priorities/child-poverty/

      

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[1] Child Poverty, at Children’s Defense Fund website:  https://www.childrensdefense.org/policy/policy-priorities/child-poverty/

"Why Interfaith?" From an Interfaith Panel Discussion on May 6, 2017

"Why Interfaith?"

From an Interfaith Panel Discussion on May 6, 2017

Shalom....  Asalaamu alaikum…   Shanti…  Peace be to you all.

            I thought I’d start with a little history. Some of our local religious communities have been involved for years in interfaith endeavors.  So much of our interfaith work has been about relationships, so I’d like to talk about my experience with this.

            The congregation I serve--Littlefield Presbyterian Church-- has been involved in interfaith work since the late 1970’s. At this point, it’s one of the few remaining Protestant Christian churches in east Dearborn. 

            In the beginning, almost 90 years ago, it was a neighborhood church, in an area that was predominately Catholic. Over time, the neighborhood changed due to white flight and new neighbors moving in. Most of the new neighbors were Muslim. The congregation could have moved to the suburbs or closed, which is what some other churches did. But they did a mission study and decided they were called to stay where they were and be good neighbors to the people who were moving in, and to witness to God’s love where they were planted.  

            Littlefield called the Rev. William Gepford to help them in their “ministry of reconciliation”[1]  and to build mutual respect and understanding among Christians and Muslims, and over the years. Dr. Gepford was one of the pioneers in interfaith work in the metro Detroit area and beyond.

            In the early years, Littlefield invited their Muslim neighbors to a series of a gatherings, during which people got to know one another over meals and conversation.  Over time, they built relationships in the community and worked together on projects like the annual holiday food baskets that served up to 100 needy families.  Dr. Gepford worked with a team of interfaith leaders to plan the first interfaith Thanksgiving service, a tradition that continued many years until a number of communities were holding their own interfaith services.

            I was called to be the pastor of Littlefield in 1997  and became involved in the interfaith work.  When 9/11 happened, it gave many of us a renewed sense of urgency about nurturing our interfaith relationships.  

            Those first few days were fearful times.  The church put up a sign on the doors that said, “This is a Hate Free Zone,” and some of our neighbors asked if they could come in and pray.  We went to one anothers’ houses of worship to show our support.

           

            We continue to visit back and forth between churches and mosques, attending worship and meals and other events.  We offer one another care and support.  Our Muslim neighbors invite us to break the fast at Ramadan iftar meals.  We invite them to join us for our Christmas Eve Lessons & Carols service.

On the Sunday in September closest to the International Day of Peace, we hold a service of Interfaith Prayer for Peace.  We encourage people to practice “respectful presence,” which means that we participate in the parts we can, and listen respectfully and learn in other parts.[2]  We typically have a Jewish cantor, an Imam, and a Christian pastor, and we’ve also occasionally had someone from the Sikh or Buddhist community.  We experience elements from each tradition, and we pray together “with one voice” in a litany for peace in our communities, our nation, and the world. We make new friends over refreshments following the service.   

            Because Littlefield has worked to build relationships in the community, our Muslim neighbors trust us and send their kids to our annual Peace Camp in the summer. The kids build a neighborhood of peace and justice out of cardboard boxes, they sing songs of peace, and learn some peace-building skills. And we all make new friends.

            Our Dearborn Area Interfaith Network builds relationships and works together on some events.  On the first Thursday in May, we hold our annual National Day of Prayer Interfaith Prayer gathering.  Each January we sponsor an interfaith convocation in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King.

            Some years ago, when Terry Jones came to town to protest what he wanted to see as “sharia law” in Dearborn, he wanted to protest outside the Islamic Center of America.  Religious leaders from around the metro area gathered and encircled the mosque to show our support. 

            At a committee meeting a few days after our most recent interfaith service, several of our members talked about how grateful they are to live in Dearborn, to be neighbors and friends with people from Lebanon and Palestine and Bosnia and elsewhere. 

            As one of them said, “Isn’t following Jesus really all about love?” 

            I believe that’s true.  My Christian faith teaches me that “perfect love casts out fear.”[3]  When we get to know our neighbors, when we grow in understanding, we don’t need to be afraid of one another. 

            When we get to know each other, we discover how much we have in common.   As children of Abraham, Jews, Christians, and Muslims all worship the same God-- the God of mercy and compassion. We are all taught by our faith to love God and neighbor. We worship  the God who is one.   We are all "people of the book."   The "family tree" of our faith makes it apparent that we are family.  We're connected, all the way back to Adam and Eve, and we trace our ancestry back through Isaac and Ishmael to Abraham.     

            When we study history, we are aware of how each of our faith traditions has had a tendency to be exclusivist, and to believe that it has the only path to God.  But there have always been valued streams of thought which are very respectful of the religious behavior and ideas of other faith traditions.  I am glad to be a part of that movement.

            I’ve read a lot of helpful books on interfaith work. One I read recently is helpful:   The Interfaith Alternative: Embracing Spiritual Diversity. [4]   The author, Steven Greenbaum, talks about the concept of “right belief,” which he says has been an organizing principle of our spiritual paths for a very long time.  If a religious community believes that we have the only way, that we are the only chosen people, and that we follow the only right spiritual path, the result can be distrust, hatred and violence.   

             Greenbaum offers an interfaith alternative, which respects each spiritual path and recognizes what we all share in common:  the call to love and to be loving and compassionate.

            He suggests “Maybe dividing ourselves into righteous pockets of spiritual belief is not the best way to bring about love.”  We humans are great at building walls between ourselves and those who are different in some way. For too long, too many of us have been stuck in a paradigm that demands that we search for or protect the one “right belief.”  

            I think Greenbaum is right when he says “Who has the right belief?” is the wrong question,  and that we need to be more concerned with a different question: “How do we live as a result of our beliefs?”   We need to stop arguing about which religious tradition is “best” or “right” or “true,” and find ways to be in conversation with one another and to work together to honor God/Allah/Hashem or whatever we call the One God we worship, through works of compassion, mercy, and justice.

            How many of you know the story of “The Blind Men and the Elephant”?   It’s an Indian fable. We had a picture book version at our house when my son was young, and I bought a new copy recently.  The story originated in the Indian subcontinent and is widely known in many traditions, including Buddist, Jain, Hindu, and Sufi Muslim traditions.

            In various versions of the story, a group of blind men (or people in the dark) are led to an elephant to touch it, so they can learn what an elephant is like.  Each person feels a different part.  In some versions, their differences lead to violence, as each one is convinced he has it right and tries to dominate.  In some versions of the story, they stop shouting, start listening to each other, and work together to “see” the whole elephant. 

            I think it’s time we all become more conscious and more intentional about this.  It’s time we stop trying to defend our one right truth and find ways to be in conversation with those who may have experienced a different truth?    We need to heed the common call of all our religious traditions, the call to love and compassion.

            As we come to understand the depth of our neighbors' relationship with the God we both worship, we learn to respect and value their faith, even while we recognize and affirm our different paths.  

            For those of us who long for a better, more peaceful world, it’s painful to see so much of what’s going on-- to see the racism, Islamaphobia, and anti-Semitism in our world. We live in such a fearful time, and political rhetoric has magnified it. Fear breeds animosity and hate. Hatred breeds more fear. It’s a vicious cycle.  

It can feel overwhelming.

            Because I follow Jesus, whom I know partly as the “Prince of Peace,” I believe I am called to be a peace-maker. That means I need to be working for reconciliation and justice.  Working against racism… working to alleviate poverty… working to promote understanding between all God’s people.

            The more we come to know one another, the more we understand that we have common ground. A few years ago, a large number of Islamic scholars and leaders signed a document, A Common Word between Us and You, which affirms what we, as people of the book and children of Abraham, share in common.[5]

            A Common Word affirms the “Shema,”or the "Great Commandment" to love God completely and to love our neighbors as an important value we share in common. Wherever we find such common ground, it can help us find ways for us not only to live together, as good neighbors, in peace. It can help to deepen our friendship and help us to find ways to cooperate with one another and to work together in the public square for the common good. And we can leave a more just and peaceful world for our children and grandchildren.

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[1] 2 Corinthians 5

[2] https://www.presbyterianmission.org/wp-content/uploads/respectfulpresence1.pdf

[3] 1 John 4:18

[4] Steven Greenbaum, The Interfaith Alternative: Embracing Spiritual Diversity. (SkyLightPaths, 2015)

[5] http://www.acommonword.com/

Out of Ashes and Fear: Remembering 9/11 Fourteen Years Later

Throughout this non-stop busy day, I’ve been remembering 9/11 fourteen years ago.  I’d been doing some work from home with a morning show in the background before heading to the church office when the terrible, tragic events of the day began to unfold.  With a sick knot in my stomach, I gathered up my work bag and grabbed my 5-inch TV to carry to the office.  Like many of you, I was glued to the news that day, watching and praying. 

I remember one of my Muslim neighbors saying that day, “O, Fran.  We’re so sorry.”  As if my gentle, loving neighbors could have had anything to do with that act of terror.  They couldn’t comprehend what happened that day any more than I could—how anyone, in the name of God/Allah/religion/faith could perpetrate such a thing.

We sent out a group email to the church list, and a group of us gathered that evening in the sanctuary to search for a word from God in the midst of the pain and terror, to hold hands, to weep together, and to pray.

We received a poster via email that read, “This is a hate free zone.”  We printed several  and posted them on the church doors.  Over the next few days, Muslim neighbors, some of whom were staying very close to home until they felt safe, would ask if they could come into our Presbyterian church and pray.  Some of them lit candles for peace.  I think they all felt safe and welcome in our sanctuary.

During the weeks and months that followed, people of faith from the Dearborn area and beyond gathered together in various houses of worship, in churches and mosques.  We shared our grief and pain, heard religious and community leaders struggle to share some wisdom, prayed, and looked for a way to move forward in hope.

Out of the terrible loss of that day fourteen years ago, out of the ashes and fear came a new or renewed commitment to work together to build bridges of understanding in our communities.  Several of our local mosques held open houses and invited the neighborhood to come and learn more about Islam.  The church I serve, Littlefield Presbyterian Church, had the first of a series of Muslim-Christian Dialogue Days. We began with an interfaith worship service in the morning, a time for lunch and conversation, and afternoon presentations from religious and community leaders. 

As a result of the interfaith and peacemaking work by various congregations and our Dearborn Area Ministerial Association (later Dearborn Area Interfaith Network), we have grown and strengthened relationships.  These relationships helped us to work together to respond effectively as a community when outside anti-Muslim activists like Terry Jones, Acts 19, and the “Bible Believers” with their pig head on a stick came to town trying to cause dissension.

The Interfaith Prayers for Peace that we will hold on Sunday, September 20 at Littlefield Presbyterian Church is our latest effort to bring people together, to celebrate our unity and diversity, to find common ground, and to pray together for peace in our communities, in our nation, and the world.  All are welcome.

"Remembering, Rejoicing, Re-committing": a sermon on John 21:1-17, for a celebration of 85 years of mission and ministry at Littlefield Presbyterian Church

"Remembering, Rejoicing, and Re-Committing"

John 21:1-17

“I’m going fishing,” says Simon Peter.  And others apparently say, “I’ll go with you.”    So, it’s back to life as usual. 

            Do you find yourself wondering--  why would the disciples go fishing just days after Jesus’ resurrection?            

            After the resurrection, the disciples had locked themselves into a room, because they were afraid.  But Jesus had come to them and said,  “Peace be with you.”  He showed them his wounds, and they recognized him, and they rejoiced!   Again, Jesus said, “Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  And then he breathed on them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”   The followers have been blessed and sent by the risen Christ. 

             So…    What’s going on here?  Shouldn’t the disciples be out preaching?  Shouldn’t they be fishing for people? 

            And why is the story here at the end of John’s gospel anyway?  The words at the end of chapter twenty sounded like they were the end:

            “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book.  But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in Jesus’ name.”[1] 

            Doesn’t that sound like the end?—like things were pretty well wrapped up?

            But it isn’t the end.   This is just one more reminder that the Bible isn’t tidy.  The work of the Spirit isn’t tidy. 

“After these things, Jesus showed himself again.” 

            The disciples had fished all night, but they didn’t catch anything.  At dawn, Jesus appears on the shore—but they don’t recognize him.  “Children, you have no fish--  have you?” 

            “No,” they shout back over the water. 

            “Cast your nets to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.”

            They throw out the net and soon it’s filled with fish.  Do you have a sense of déjà vu?  Haven’t we been here before? 

            In Luke’s gospel,  in chapter 5, the fishermen had fished all night and hadn’t caught anything.  Jesus says to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”  They caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break, and they were amazed at the catch.  At that point, Jesus told them, “Don’t be afraid.  From now on you’ll be catching people.”  And the disciples left everything and followed Jesus.”

            So again I’m wondering:  Why are the disciples back fishing for FISH?

In John’s gospel, we have this fishing story with an amazing catch at the end of the story--  after the resurrection.  We hear Jesus saying “Follow me,” as though it’s a beginning.

            The first disciples were having a hard time figuring out how to live after the resurrection, so they were holding on to what was familiar to them. 

It seems they needed a new beginning—a new call.   So Jesus takes bread and fish and gives it to them, and they share a meal together.   Then Jesus says to Simon Peter, “Do you love me?”  Peter says, “Yes, Lord.  You know I love you.”  (Now this is the same Peter who denied Jesus three times on the night he was arrested, because he was afraid.)  Jesus says, “Feed my lambs.” 

            A second time, Jesus asks Peter:  “Do you love me?”  Peter says, “Yes, Lord.  You know I love you.”  Jesus says,  “Tend my sheep.”

            A third time, Jesus ask, “Do you love me?”  Peter says, “Of course I love you!”  Again, Jesus says, “Feed my sheep.”  

           

More than two thousand years later, we’re trying to figure out how to follow Jesus in this new time.   I don’t have to tell you that this is a challenging time for the church—and not only for smaller congregations like Littlefield.

The church in North America has been in decline.   We are in a time that I think can be spiritually bewildering… and discouraging.    I think a lot of people are wondering, with Ezekiel::  “Can these bones live?”

We are living in a time of huge change… and cosmic SHIFT:  technological, cultural, political, and religious.   Think about it:  When I was in the process of moving here to Dearborn 18 years ago, a few of us had email accounts.  Technological things that we take for granted now—websites, Google searches, Facebook, Twitter, Pintarest,  e-books, etc.—we didn’t have any of them 20 or so years ago. 

A few weeks ago, the Pew Research Center for Religion & Public Life reported in a massive study that 22.8 percent of Americans identified with no organized religion, a dramatic rise from 16.1 percent in 2007, the last time the nonprofit research group took such a sweeping look at religion in America.. [2]

Society is changing.  And, according to Harvey Cox, we are now experiencing the biggest shift in Christianity since the 4th century.   So it’s no wonder we feel bewildered… disoriented… and  maybe anxious or afraid.

It’s tempting to just go fishing.  And yet… there have been times of disruption and change and loss before, in the world, and here at Littlefield. 

             Back in 1960, Littlefield had 1,250 members.  But a lot of things started changing.  For a variety of reasons, mainline churches began to lose prestige and power and lost anywhere from a quarter to a third of their members.  This was just the beginning of some challenging times for Littlefield Church.

            Harry Geissinger came to be the senior pastor and brought strong visionary leadership the congregation needed.  The 1960’s and 1970’s were tumultuous times in our society, in the world, and in the church.  Life in the metro Detroit area was marked by social upheaval and a series of crises in the 1960’s, including block-busting and the 1967 race riot.  The congregation struggled with the impact of “white flight” out of its Detroit neighborhoods and significant growth in the number of Arab Americans in its Dearborn neighborhoods. 

            The changes in the community reduced the size of the Littlefield congregation.  Some churches might have packed up and moved to the suburbs. 

            But, as a mission study done during this time observed, “In the face of tremendous social changes going on all around it, Littlefield Presbyterian Church did not split apart or turn in on itself.  It didn’t close down or lose faith….”  

            In the mid- to late-seventies, a need emerged and was identified: to develop a relationship with our Arab-American neighbors, to bridge cultural differences and overcome misunderstandings among Christians and Muslims.  Since that time, Littlefield Presbyterian Church has taken a leadership role in carrying out a ministry of reconciliation.

            In 1979, Bill Gepford began his work as Director of Arab-American Relations in Dearborn and Assistant Pastor of Littlefield. This was a result of “a strong sense of mission and faith in the future…”  This pioneering program was supported by the General Assembly, the Synod of the Covenant, the Presbytery of Detroit, and Littlefield Church. 

             

            1986 was a big year at Littlefield.  The first Interfaith Thanksgiving Service was held at Littlefield, with participants from the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities, and the service continued for many years until many communities in the region started holding their own interfaith Thanksgiving services. 

            The same year the congregation’s holiday basket project served 80 families and continued to do so until a few years ago.  One of the things that was so impressive about this program was how it brought together local organizations like ACCESS, Fordson High School and McDonald Elementary schools,  merchants, and others to work together to feed hungry people.

            In the late 1980’s, there were three classes of English as a Second Language being held at Littlefield, operated by the Dearborn Public Schools, and in 1990 the congregation began a cooperative relationship with the YWCA to offer a Head Start preschool program.  Both of these partnerships served the people in the community and provided supplemental income to help fund Littlefield’s mission. 

So it was a disappointing and anxious time when we lost both these community programs a couple of years ago.  We have another congregation renting space on weekends, and that helps.  But, as our finance committee has been telling us, “If nothing changes, Littlefield only has a couple of years.”

Now, I have to tell a little story.  At some point shortly after I’d moved here and bought a house, I was having a conversation with someone who said, “Well, we’re only going to be open for another 2 or 3 years.”

What I discovered was that a couple of our elders with business experience had looked at the finances a few years before that and projected that “if nothing changes, the church would have to close in 5 years.” 

That was 18 years ago.  Obviously, some things did change.

In the Presbyterian church, every time a pastor leaves, the congregation does a mission study.  After Del Meester left in 1994, the mission study said it well:  “Outreach to the community is at the heart of Littlefield Church’s ministry….Our primary challenge is the one that has always faced Christians:  to discern what God is calling us to do, and to reflect and model God’s love, justice, and peace…. The members of Littlefield believe that the work of the Holy Spirit among us gives us energy and mission and that we are called by God to re-invent and re-orient ourselves with regard to who we are and what to do as God’s people.“

A few months after I got here, Doris Edwards came to me with an idea for holding a Peace Camp at Littlefield, and by the next summer, in 1998, we held our first Peace Camp.  We’ve held one almost every year since, and are gearing up for Peace Camp 2015.

The events of September 11, 2001 changed all our lives and had a major impact on our congregation’s life, as we had a renewed sense of urgency about working to further understanding and cooperation between different religious groups. We had a series of Christian-Muslim Dialogue days in those years, as well as a number of educational forums.  In recent years, we have held an Interfaith Prayer for Peace service in September.   We find ways to come together to grow in understanding  and pray together for peace.

So here we are.  Today we remember and give thanks for 85 years of mission and ministry at Littlefield.  It’s easy to get discouraged when we look around at the small numbers.  But Littlefield continues to be a very special congregation with a unique mission. 

The new people who have joined us in recent years seem to think Littlefield is a special place.  We’re thrilled to have children again.   And for a small congregation, we have wonderful music. 

A little later in the service, we’re going to have some time for “rejoicing”, so we’ll continue to count our blessings then.

This is a challenging, sometimes confusing, sometimes anxious, but also exciting time to be doing ministry!  Things are changing, and we have so much learning and discernment to do, in order to serve Christ faithfully in this new time, with new possibilities. 

When we feel like giving up and going fishing, Jesus keeps showing up.

             Do you love me?  If you do, feed my sheep. 

Do we hear him calling?   Follow me.  The world needs you to be salt and light… and to love one another and your neighbors.

            Now to the One who by the power at work within us

            Is able to do far more abundantly

            Than all we can ask or imagine,

            To God be glory in the church

            And in Christ Jesus,

            To all generations, forever and ever.   Amen.  

  [3]

             

Rev. Fran Hayes, Pastor

Littlefield Presbyterian Church

Dearborn, Michigan

June 7, 2015

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[1] John 20:30-31.

[2] http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-becoming-less-christian-study-finds-unaffiliated-group-grows-n357561

[3] Ephesians 3:20-21

Blessed Are the Peacemakers: A sermon for an interfaith service

This is a one of two sermons preached on September 8, 2013 at Littlefield Presbyterian Church, in Dearborn, Michigan.  It was part of an Interfaith Service of Prayer for Peace and Unity held during our regular Sunday morning worship time.  We had most of the elements of a traditional Presbyterian worship service, in addition to liturgy from the Jewish and Islamic traditions.  We began with both the Islamic Call to Prayer and a Christian Call to Worship.  A cantor from the downtown synagogue sang scriptures and prayers.  A young man recited a passage from the Qur'an, and an imam preached.  At the end, I gave the charge, and the cantor sang the Aaronic blessing.  Then we all sang, "Let there be peace on earth." 

 "Blessed are the peacemakers"

Matthew 5:1-16

Jesus said:  “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." 

For those of us who long for a better, more peaceful world, this is a painful, distressing time, a time of mourning, as we watch the violence that has claimed the lives of over 100,000 Syrians… driven over 3 million Syrians over the borders into refugee camps,  and displaced an additional 6 or 7 million Syrians from their homes. 
            The human toll in Syria — in deaths, displacement and refugees— is staggering.   Above all, I think it’s the images of the children that haunt us. 
            And yet—as Charles Blow reminded us recently in the New York Times[1]—there are millions of other children who die each year on this planet with little notice of malnutrition and of illnesses that could be prevented or treated if the world cared enough.
            Here in the United States, the Department of Agriculture released a report this week that found for the fifth year in a row that 1 in 6 Americans are “food insecure”--  many of them children.  Most of them receive assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, yet Congress is considering cutting back on that aid.
            Furthermore, a recent report by the Children’s Defense Fund pointed out:   “The number of children and teens killed by guns in 2010 was nearly five times the number of U.S. soldiers killed in action that year in Iraq and Afghanistan.

            I find myself mourning all this violence and need… longing to do something. 

            So--  what can we do?  In the midst of the violence and hatred and apathy in our society,  it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and despairing. 

            What can we do?  We can begin by praying together and forging bonds of friendship and solidarity… getting to know one another better… opening our hearts and minds to one another… and finding ways to work together to change the world. 

            There’s hard work to be done.   But we can work together to make a difference.  There are values our faith traditions hold in common—that have to do with love and justice and peace. 

            Jesus came to embody God’s love in the world.  When people came to Jesus and asked him which commandment in the scriptures was the most important Jesus answered, “’You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 

            In Luke’s version of this, he tells how someone said, “Who is my neighbor?”  and Jesus went on to make it clear in the Parable of the Good Samaritan that our neighbor is anyone God puts in our path--  even someone we might have considered to be an enemy.[2]

            One of the books I’ve read recently is The Gospel of Rutba:  War, Peace, and the Good Samaritan story in Iraq, by Greg Barrett. 

            Archbishop Desmond Tutu—one of my heroes—wrote the forward to the book, in which he talks about the animated film, “How to Train Your Dragon.” 

            The moral of the movie’s story has to do with taming our deepest fears in order to slay the prejudices we inherit.  Fear and prejudice, Tutu says, those are our dragons. 

            When the protagonist of the film, a Viking boy named Hiccup, stares into the soulful eyes of his flying, fire-breathing nemesis, he sees something vastly different from what the other villagers see.

            “Three hundred years and I’m the first Viking who wouldn’t kill a dragon.  I wouldn’t kill him because he looked as frightened as I was,” Hiccup confides to a friend.  “I looked at him and saw myself.” 

            Hiccup and the dragon soon forgive each other’s misunderstandings.  They bond in delightful acts of cooperation and compassion.  By the end, Hiccup teaches his warrior elders a lesson that is far more critical in the real world than in a fictional film. 

            As Archbishop Tutu says, these universal truths endure despite history’s aggressive denial of them.  If we will gaze into the soulful eyes of those we think are our enemies, we will find a child of God, and we will see that that new friend is, in fact, family.  Look deeper still, and a reflection will stop you.   Because it’s yourself you will see reflected.

            I love what Archbishop Tutu wrote in that forward:  “At our deepest best we are all rooted in a love that grows steadfast—generation to generation.  Like perennial flowers opening to spring’s first caress, so too humanity grows toward light.  Less graceful, and always groaning, but we are forever drawn to the peace of truth and reconciliation.  Agape, and our love for our own children, demands that we provide a better inheritance for them.”

After worship, we invite you to stay for a time, to enjoy refreshments and conversation.  I hope you’ll make a new friend today.  Talk with one another about your families—especially your children or grandchildren and what kind of a world you want to leave for them.

            U2 sings a song that begins like this:

            “Every generation gets a chance to change the world….”

            Let’s renew our commitment to change the world, beginning today.

           

           

           

           

           

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[1] Charles Blow, “Remembering All the Children.”  New York Times, Sept. 6, 2013/ 

[2] Luke 10:25-37; also Matthew 22:36-40; Mark 12:28-31