The Church’s Gift to the World
As declared earlier on this blog, the Church of Christ, according to the Christian Faith, is the most powerful force on earth when she is healthy. The Church has been given a life and a message to give to the world. Because of all the dissonance in what the world is hearing today from the churches, that very gift is turned into something unlovely and undesirable and more than a few are rejecting what they perceive as the message.
As a recent post was meant to show, the message is not about do’s and don’t do’s nor is it about the externals of religion such as rites, ceremonies, and creeds. No, the message given to the Church for the world’s healing, is all about a person: the Lord God’s Anointed Son, Jesus. He himself is the one that must be communicated in our message and if He is not, then we have failed. It’s really that simple. He alone is the one who brings true and lasting peace to the nations. He is the Prince of Peace. The Gospel of Peace is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
T.M.Moore, in his column, Second Sight, wrote a series on the very subject of the good news of the Church’s message of peace. He began in the Advent season and concluded it in January of this year. It is so good that I quote from it and if you like what you read, you can follow the link back to the final article in the series.
The Good News of the kingdom of peace is certainly that—Good News—but it is not exclusively that. In the same breath that Jesus granted the gift of peace to His disciples, (John 16) He warned them that trial and tribulation lay ahead. The record of the apostles, and of the entirety of church history, is that our Lord knew whereof He spoke.
The prospect of peace, while available to all, is extended only to those who find favor with God. This was the announcement the angels made to the shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth. Frequently mistranslated, the angels’ announcement was not, “Peace on earth, good will toward men,” but, “Peace among those with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14). God parcels out His peace, from the depths of the soul to all our relationships, roles, and responsibilities, through all of culture and society, to those with whom He is pleased—to those, that is, who seek His peace in the kingdom of peace and through the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ. And this, of course, large numbers of people are manifestly unwilling to do. We may expect many of them, therefore, to oppose our agenda of peace, not because they do not wish for peace, but because they want peace on their own terms, apart from any obligation to Jesus or God…
In view of the certainty of opposition to our agenda of peace, how shall we keep peace as a priority within the community of faith? And what shall we do to seek peace, pursue the prospect of it, and allow it the primacy in our lives, in every area of our lives?
Full article at Parceling Peace.
May 16, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Of all my recent posts, I was hoping this one would get more attention that it did. The subject of peace, world peace, is one that is close to the center of my life and work. I thought the series T.M.Moore did was outstanding and frankly I thought more people would link to one or more of his studies.
T.M.Moore is one of my favorite writers in the area of Pastoral Theology. He is always practical showing a great desire for the risen Christ himself to minister through his writings. He has an unusual maturity as a spiritual guide and only rarely have I disagreed with him. So I continue to post out of who I am and hope in a small way to make a positive contribution to the task of seek peace, pursuing it with all people.
May 17, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I am also very respectful of the work of T.M. Moore. One of my long-time interests is the application of spiritual disciplines to daily life and I find one of Moore’s books, “The Disciplines of Grace,” one of the most readable and yet profound works on the subject. The chapters on prayer and spiritual friendships are especially helpful. I haven’t followed the links to the articles yet as I am swamped with work, but I intend to. I have a quotation from Moore’s book on my blog, in fact. I am at http://lifebrook.wordpress.com
November 30, 2016 at 11:42 am
Reblogged this on E4unity : A Prophetic Advocate for Unity and Peace.