Where are the words of peace?

Egyptian Muslims protecting
Christian churches

Like everyone, I am saddened at the tragic and violent events in Egypt. As a preacher, I found last Sunday's gospel lesson Luke 12:49-56 difficult to work with, to say the least: Jesus declares he comes not to bring peace but division, to set parents against children, and worse.

It was tempting to skip, to preach on something else. But I did my best. Below is my offering from the pulpit.

In the days ahead, my postings here will be less often. I am deeply immersed in writing the book about my abolitionist ancestor, the Rev. George Richardson, that I began nine years ago and put on hold. He lived in a time of great division: the American Civil War. He fought for justice and the emancipation and education of slaves. Peace without that was a false peace.

My sabbatical allowed me to regain the spirit and the words for this project, and I feel it important to finish. My morning writing time will be mostly devoted to writing the book. I will keep you posted on it, and post other items from time to time. Just not as often.

Here is my sermon from last Sunday:

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Shalom. Salaam. Peace.

The words of peace are very hard to hear in our world right now. Very hard.

Egypt is being torn apart by political and religious strife, and many have died. Syria is in the depths of a seemingly unending civil war.

Our own country remains at war in Afghanistan and there are threats of war with Iran. The words of peace are very hard to hear in our world right now.

And the words of peace are very hard to hear in today’s biblical lessons. Instead of words of peace, we get the Book of Isaiah – and words that echo in the Battle the Hymn of the Republic:

“He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword.”

Instead of words of peace, we get the Letter to the Hebrews with descriptions of torture and flogging, and a stern admonition to “run with perseverance the race that is set before us.”

Nor to we get a warm, fuzzy, peaceful Jesus today:

“I came to bring fire to the earth,” Jesus thunders, “and how I wish it were already kindled!” Today, the good shepherd seems to be in someone else’s pasture:

“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”

Oh my.

Jesus, most assuredly, is not giving advice on child rearing or solving family dysfunctions. Now, let me pause and tell you I don’t pick these lessons. For those of you unfamiliar with our peculiar way of doing things, these biblical lessons come from what is called “the lectionary,” and the lessons are assigned on a three-year cycle.

You will hear the same lessons today in Lutheran, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic churches, and many other churches.

Today, whether we like it or not, we get a sword, not a plowshare. No peace, no shalom, no salaam.

Or do we?

There may be another way to hear this. It may be that God’s peace is very different than how the world thinks of it.

It may be that God’s peace is not about power and politics, not about armies, but about justice for those who are oppressed, poor, exploited, wounded, and living in the low places. Sometimes being an agent of God’s peace means going into the heart of conflict because it is precisely in those places where God walks with the lowly.

And it is in precisely those places that God’s kingdom breaks through.

A friend of mine, Craig Klein, a deacon who lives up on the North Coast of California, terms passages like this: “God in the sharp points.”

It is on the sharp points that we are most acutely aware of God breaking open our hearts for others around us.

It is very tempting to avoid the sharp points because they are painful. Conflict is unpleasant and messy and worse.

And Jesus knows us well.

We might be tempted to build walls around ourselves by building walls around the church, and insulate ourselves from the conflicts and heartbreaks of the world.

But those heartbreaks walk right through this door whether we like it or not.

The absence of conflict is not peace, it is not shalom, it is not salaam. Sometimes the absence of conflict is acquiescence in, or wishful thinking about, that which wounds us and others. Sometimes the absence of conflict is acquiescence in evil.

The Gospel calls us to see the sharp points of our time, because it is in the muck of conflict where God finds us and shows us a way to real peace.

Real peace is not letting those who exploit people and pollute the earth get away with it.

We are called to build a world where the wounded are healed, the refugees are rescued, the poor are fed and those held in human bondage are freed.

We are called to make no peace with the forces of oppression.

The sharp points can break open our hearts and allow us to respond to the world in ways we never imagined possible.

Jesus never promised this would be easy. But each of us has the gifts to do our share to bind the wounds of the world.

Each one of us experiences the sharp points some time in our life. And that means each one of us has something to contribute from our own experience.

God gives us everything we need to do this work right here in this place and in our daily lives.

Lives really are changed by the Living Christ through you. People really are freed from what enslaves them, and God’s kingdom really is bursting alive through you.

We are called to “run with perseverance the race that is set before us.”

Shalom. Salaam. Peace.

Letter from the Anglican Bishop of Egypt

This came across my email a few minutes ago from the Anglican bishop of Egypt (and, yes, we have a province of the Communion in Egypt), and I bring it to you:

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

My Dear Friends,

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

First, I would like to thank you so much for your prayers, phone calls, and messages from around the world that you have sent in the last few days. I want you to know that these meant a lot to me personally and to your brothers and sisters in the church here.

In the midst of the turmoil which Egypt is going through, we have felt that the Lord is very near to us. We have experienced his peace, and we were assured of his protection. In most of our churches and homes, there have been prayer meetings for the situation and for our beloved country Egypt. All our churches are safe, although they have not been guarded by the security since Friday when all the security were withdrawn. This assured us that the one who protects the churches is the Lord of the Church.

I was touched to see young adults, Muslims and Christians, guarding the streets, homes, and our churches. They did not allow any thieves or looters to come near the area. They also arrested some of those and handed them over to the Army. I applaud our local Egyptian clergy and people who joined the youth in the streets in guarding homes and churches.

I admired all our expatriate clergy and diocesan staff who refused to leave Egypt in order to stay in the midst of the people who decided not to go, even when their Embassies encouraged them to leave and provided airplanes to do so.

Yesterday demonstrations were very peaceful, in spite of the huge number that gathered in the middle of Cairo. We praise the Lord that we have now the internet back, and we can communicate with you all. This morning the security also
returned to guard the churches as normal.

Yesterday, President Mubarak made it very clear that he will not seek re-election after he finishes his term in November 2011. He appointed Mr. Ibrahim Soliman as a Vice-President. He has a good reputation among Egyptians. This appointment ruled out the possibility of appointing the President's son as a successor. President Mubarak also appointed a new Prime Minister, Mr. Shafik who was the Minister of Civil Aviation (Egypt Air, etc?). He is a very good man and has done a lot of improvement in his previous Ministry. President Mubarak also called for a review for the Constitution to allow democracy; he also assured the people that those who were responsible for the violence, destructions, looting, escape of prisoners, etc? will be brought to judgment.

Our concern was that extremist groups would take advantage of the demonstrations to push for violence. We thank God that this did not happen. It seems that the majority of the youth who are demonstrating are aware of this possibility. Many of them started to see this possible risk. The youth who were interviewed by the television yesterday mentioned that all what they need is democracy. Many groups this morning are demonstrating in support of President Mubarak, the new government, and peaceful transfer of authority at the end of the Presidents term.

Egypt is a very important country in the whole of the Middle East, and whatever happens in Egypt affects the rest of the countries. I was amazed at how the President of Yemen, this morning, announced that he will not seek re-election and will not promote his son to be the next president. We pray that we can set a good example to the surrounding countries.

We appreciate your prayers for:

* Our churches and institutions, so that we can fix our eyes on God who is in control. May what is happening help us to draw nearer to God and to know that the time is short.

* The end of demonstrations, especially in view of the changes that President Mubarak announced. This will bring Egypt back to normal and the curfew will be ended.

* The new government, in order to achieve the desired targets in serving the people, especially the Minister of Interior who is now trying to re-build the trust with the people of Egypt.

* People to find their needs of food and health care.

* Wisdom for the youth, in order not to allow the extremists to stir them up.

* The families who lost their loved ones in the violence, and those who are injured.

* Our beloved Egypt to recover this turmoil.

Once again, thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement.

May the Lord bless you!

Yours in Christ,

+Mouneer

The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis

Bishop of the Episcopal / Anglican Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa President Bishop of the Episcopal/Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East

Egypt: We pray for God's nearness

Among my favorite writers these days is Barbara Crafton and her almost-daily meditations that she sends to friends (you can read Barbara's work and get a free subscription on her website HERE). She sent this reflection the other day about the events in Egypt and it is well worth the read:

WAITING FOR WORD
By Barbara Crafton

It was too early to turn on the radio -- Q was still asleep. But it was almost noon in Cairo, and I wondered what the news there might be. We fell asleep to two sounds, one very loud and one very quiet: angry Egyptians in the streets, burning cars and facing down riot police. And the careful tiptoeing of diplomats around the situation, the same gingerly response we heard last week in Tunisia. Yemen, too. Algeria. We hear nothing from Saudi Arabia, not yet -- who knows? But it is clear that a region long nicknamed "the powder keg" has, once again, ventured very near the flames. What will happen is anybody's guess.

Americans have a natural inclination toward those who wish to free themselves of despotic rule, a powerful mythology about ourselves and our origins that makes us reflexively sympathetic to them. And yet we know from experience that no revolution in the Middle East will be a copy of our revolution: different heritage, different culture, different lots of things. And this is a different century, for heaven's sake: think of how long it took for news of the difficulties in America to travel across the sea to the Court of St. James. And then think of Twitter.

And so what happens in Egypt or Tunisia might surprise those of us who have failed to give these events more than an approving glance -- and this is why the diplomats tiptoe. Just because both we and a new government in Egypt or Tunisia spring from revolutions does not mean that the newcomers will recognize us as natural allies. Quite the contrary: the new order in these countries may well be distinctly less welcoming to American interests than the old ones. Our old habit of propping up questionable leaders to the detriment of the local scene has backfired on us before, and it could do so again.

I think of the infant Christ, now a month old. Of his parents -- political nobodies, an ordinary couple who just wanted to raise their little boy in peace. Of how troubling it must have been to them when people reacted so strongly to their baby's presence -- when old Simeon broke into song in the temple, when foreign potentates showed up bearing gifts, how horrifying when they heard that other people's babies had been slaughtered for his sake. Yes, yes, I know that the December birthdate of Jesus was probably a later embellishment to the story, and I know that the Slaughter of the Innocents is not attested in any sources save Christian ones. But I am less interested in the journalistic truth of our story than in the story itself: a story of ordinary people caught in the web of world events they did not shape, seeking and finding God's guidance in the midst of them. We are not given a choice as to whether or not to be affected by politics -- like it or not, we will be.

And so I listen to the radio and wonder what will happen -- I, who have no worldly power to change a thing in the Middle East or anywhere else but my most immediate surroundings. And I remember that a Jesus in shackles told a very worldly ruler, one who had the power to put him to death, that his kingdom was not of this world. The categories of justice and power which the world recognizes are not the final word about either justice or power. This world is not the only world there is, nor is this life the only life. In it, we do not always win. Many people find it offensive when someone suggests that the country we love might not win every time, that we might not always be first. But nothing lasts forever. Nobody is first forever. We need not control everything. Indeed, we cannot.

What this means for our prayer about the world is similarly humbling: prayer is not incantation. It does not summon God to our side, a powerful but obedient genie who must do as we ask if we ask in the right way. Or if the right people ask. "God with us" does not mean "God on our side against someone else," as a political alliance with an earthly king would mean. Rather, it is a constant invitation to us to go deeper into what it might really mean to be righteous.

Nations will always act according to their perception of their own interests -- and that usually means their immediate interests, at that. This is the limitation of politics as moral yardstick -- standing alone, it makes a poor one. Righteousness is something different. We do not expect much of it in politics, yet we know that God is not far off from any human activity, and politics is nothing if not human.

And so we pray for God's nearness. And we wait for word.

Barbara will visit us at St. Paul's later this year to lead us in an Advent retreat. Stay tuned for more details as they unfold.