This morning’s Gospel lesson is from the famous Sermon on the Mount of Jesus. It is a magnificent 3 chapter long sermon of Matthew’s Gospel. It covers everything from soup to nuts, you might say. Begins with the Beatitudes encourages us to turn the other cheek, and in this morning’s Gospel diagrams for us the path to personal peace, prosperity, and blessing.  DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR LIFE Jesus tells us. WHO AMONG YOU CAN ADD ONE DAY TO YOUR LIFE BY WORRYING? Instead, SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

That’s the great fear for the Christian Church – and on this Memorial Day weekend – for our country! That we will forget the source of our power, that which sets apart the Christian church from any other social agency or non-profit organization. That we will forget to seek first the kingdom of God – as a church and as a nation.

Also in this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus promises BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS, FOR THEY WILL BE CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD. On this Memorial Day weekend, though, it is not peace we call to remembrance and proudly remember. It is war. Battle after battle. War after war. Sacrifice after sacrifice. And this morning we find ourselves again praying for the protection of our soldiers engaged in yet another conflict – one that appears to have no conclusion in sight, but instead intends only to change venues. How do we justify a war in a Christian country, with a Savior who glorified peace, who bade us turn the other cheek, who Himself wouldn’t fight back when accused of treason and false doctrine and political insurrection? A Savior who wouldn’t defend Himself against unspeakable torture. Meanwhile, we go to the ends of the earth and take up arms to defend the defenseless.

Well, we recall that Jesus also explained DO NOT SUPPOSE THAT I HAVE COME TO BRING PEACE TO THE EARTH. I DID NOT COME TO BRING PEACE, BUT A SWORD.  In fact, it is all in the definition of peace. God’s definition – our definition. In fact, the sword that Jesus brought into the world was and is the sword of the Gospel – the promise of forgiveness and eternal life that cuts so deeply. When we think sword, it is our nature to assume that Jesus carried with Him the sword of the law, the sword of justice, the sword that would take vengeance on the sinner. Wrong sword.

You see, the sword of the law, if there was such a thing, fits more comfortably in our system of rewards and punishment. In other words, for better or worse, it is natural for people to think we’d be comfortable with our hope for eternal life being in our own hands. Letting go and trusting in God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice. Well, that’s a leap of…well, of faith.

The famous salesman and motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar tells the story of how in 1958 America’s first commercial passenger jetliner began with the flight of the Boeing 707. About a month later a passenger on a piston engine, propeller driven DC-6 airliner struck up a conversation with another passenger, who happened to be an engineer at Boeing. The passenger brought up the new jet airplane and the Boeing engineer enthusiastically reported how he had participated in bringing the jet to market and helped with the extensive testing of the new jet. He was very proud of the finished product and its superior capabilities. The passenger asked if he had flown on the new 707 jetliner and he replied UH NO..I’M GONNA WAIT UNTIL ITS BEEN IN SERVICE FOR AWHILE.

Zig, of course, points out that a lack of trust in the product makes one’s testimony borderline fraudulent – certainly meaningless. And for us God followers who are called to a leap of….well, of FAITH, it isn’t enough to marvel at what God has done for others or what God has done in the past on behalf of our country. It isn’t enough to sit by and wait for God to forcibly inject YOU with faith.

There was a young Jewish boy who lived in Germany in the early 1800s. His father was a successful businessman and the family was active in their synagogue. But then they moved to another city in Germany and the boy’s father announced that they would no longer attend the synagogue although they would still practice their Jewish faith at home. Instead, dad announced they were joining the Lutheran Church. The boy was surprised and confused and asked his father why? His father explained it was for business reasons. He told young Karl, THERE ARE SO MANY LUTHERANS IN THIS TOWN THAT I CAN MAKE GOOD BUSINESS CONTACTS AT THE LUTHERAN CHURCH. IT WILL BE GOOD FOR BUSINESS.

That boy, who was taught to hold his Jewish faith and heritage in high regard, obviously became very disillusioned. In a very real way, the spiritual within him died a slow death. In time, he turned against a religion of any kind with a vengeance. The boy grew up and moved to England and became a prolific writer. His name was Karl Marx and he became the father of communism. He wrote the famous COMMUNIST MANIFESTO in which he famously referred to religion as the opiate of the masses.

Your testimony and your witness and your personal pledge of allegiance to our Christian country under God DOES matter. When we define peace as an absence of conflict, absence of anything that might be an obstacle to your personal agenda, that surely is not that for which God sacrificed His only Son to remedy.

Now, turning the other cheek is a quiet witness of your faith that can be positively earth shattering. But God’s mission is not about peace in this world. In fact, Jesus suffering and death hardly signaled an end to violence and bloodshed. There has been more violence and destruction the last 2000 years within a 50-mile radius of the hill where Jesus was crucified than maybe anywhere else on earth. The old evil foe and the sin which infects us won’t allow peace among nations or among people.

But make no mistake, God does have in mind a peace for us. It is a peace in the midst of conflict.

Despite what some may think, YOU do NOT want to be held responsible for your admittance into eternity. Enter Jesus Christ, and the promise of forgiveness, the olive branch of reconciliation. The peace that we pray for as a nation sadly can never be a peace at all costs. Every liberty we enjoy has been bought with the price of soldier’s blood; every achievement of our society has been at great cost by previous generations.

But God’s peace favors you in your struggles and battles of everyday living. Make peace with your current troubles whatever they may be. God’s peace is not the peace of surrender, but the peace of victory. So, may God’s hard to define but easy to receive peace keep our hearts and minds on the true path of faith on into eternity. AMEN