Sermon preview, week of September 10, 2024
Elect Peace
This Sunday’s order
- Sunday
- Reading
- Ephesians 2:11-22
- Preaching
- Kendall Ellis
The readingEphesians 2:11-22
This is the sermon preview of sermon three of nine in the preaching series Elect Spiritual Fruit. To watch a recording of this message, visit FBCM’s livestream page.
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,”, from Ephesians 2:11-22 (NIV)
Read Ephesians 2:11-22
11Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 14For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility 15by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace 16and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. 21In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.
Berean Standard Bible, public domain
There is a pendant hanging in my office that I got as a gift when I began serving as a Resident Chaplain at Baylor University. In beautiful cursive letters, the pendant reads an opening line of a prayer commonly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”
As a former band woodwind player, I love the imagery of this prayer. I like to imagine what delightful music peace would sound like. I wonder what kind of life someone would have to lead to be an instrument in the condition to sing peace through each action. I wonder if it’s possible for an instrument of peace to appear as effortless as professionals playing in the symphony.
In this scenario, I might need to pray alongside St. Francis more often. If I’m an instrument of peace, my instrument probably sounds more like a tornado siren–loud, chaotic, and a bit off-key. What would your life’s instrument sound like? Would your life’s song resemble peace?
Of course, I realize that Francis wasn’t referring to musical instruments in this prayer.
He would’ve meant the broader use of the word: a tool which God uses to bring peace to others. But it’s a fun thought-experiment. As the popular chorus by Casting Crowns sings, “So may the words I say, And the things I do…Let my lifesong sing to You.” Words and actions are stickier than the catchiest commercial jingles that get stuck in our heads. As Christians, it should be a priority to have a lifesong that leaves those around us in peace.
This, of course, is not easy. In fact, this is another reason that I like Francis’ prayer. He asks God to make him into an instrument of peace. Francis realized the same thing that Paul realized in Ephesians: Christ is our peace; Christ makes peace; and Christ preaches peace.
No amount of self-care days is going to give me the peace I seek. They might give me rest, which is a different good. But alone, they can’t give me peace.
No amount of conflict-resolution conferences is going to give me the peace I seek. They might give me wisdom in how to respond to others who think differently from me. But alone, they can’t give me peace.
Peace isn’t something we can whip up like a cake with the right ingredients. You and I know that life isn’t exactly known for giving us the “right” ingredients anyways.
Peace is a person, and his name is Jesus Christ. As the prophet of Isaiah wrote about our Messiah, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,” (Is. 9:6 NIV). Just as the walls of Jericho crumbled as the Israelites sounded the trumpets of praise, so too do the hostile walls of division come down when we turn to Jesus to be our peace.
That’s the miracle of peace Paul saw among divided Christians and churches in the early church. And that is the miracle of peace that the Holy Spirit wants to cultivate in each of our lives today.
Reflection Questions
- What do you imagine peace looks and sounds like?
- What wall of hostility threatens your peace and divides your life today? How can you turn to Christ to be your peace while you wait for him to destroy that barrier?
- How do you pray for peace? Here is Francis of Assis’ full prayer that you can borrow when you struggle with words:
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;
And 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,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
