Defiant, Earnest Hope in a World Gone Mad
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14
On February 2nd, 1968, a Kentucky farmer and poet wrote the following poem, which he entitled, “February 2, 1968”;
“February 2, 1968” , Wendell Berry,
In the dark of the moon, in flying snow, in the dead of winter,
war spreading, families dying, the world in danger,
I walk the rocky hillside, sowing clover.1
Berry wrote this three days into the disastrous Tet Offensive of the Vietnam war, in a year that was to include two deeply tragic assassinations, worldwide rebellion, and a bitter election.
The Gospel text this morning is part of what is referred to as Jesus’ Farewell discourse because it is what he shared with his disciples on the night before his death. It is punctuated by anxious questions from his disciples about his impending departure, when Jesus ascends into heaven which is recounted in the book of Acts.
First Peter (John 13:36), then Thomas (14:5), then Phillip (14:8), and then Judas (not Iscariot) (14:22) ask for clarification about what Jesus is telling them. (Can’t you imagine sitting around the table for this discussion?)
Much of the discourse takes place before the selection quoted in our Gospel text for today Earlier in John 14, Jesus has promised not to leave his disciples orphaned (John 14:18). He promised to send another Advocate, the Spirit of truth, to be with them forever (14:16) and continue the work that he has begun. This Advocate , this Spirit of truth, is what we come to know and refer to as the Holy Spirit. The world does not recognize the Spirit of truth and thus cannot receive him (4:17), just as it has not received Jesus.
Jesus tells his disciples that though the world will no longer see him, they themselves (the disciples) will see him (John 4:19) because he will reveal himself to them (4:21). Which is confusing because if the world can’t see him, how will they be able to see him?
Our passage today begins right after Judas (not Iscariot) asks: “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” (4:22)
Jesus answers this question.
It is through the Holy Spirit, the Advocate or Paraclete (the Greek word paraclêtos signifies “called along beside”), that Jesus will continue to be present with his disciples. This Spirit will teach you everything and remind you of all that Jesus has said. How confusing! How comforting!
Because Jesus will be (and is!) present with them through the Holy Spirit, his disciples do not need to be anxious.
You do not need to be anxious! Berry wrote his poem in time of high anxiety in the world.
Anxiety. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year. Only 36.9% of those suffering ever receive treatment. Not every experience of anxiety means you have a disorder — but many suffer from unexplained, sometimes crippling anxiety. Often those suffering also experience depression. Anxiety can be complex to treat, but it is treatable, through therapy, medications, and other means of support.
We all feel anxious at times. Some of us more than others and I want to let you know you are not alone — nor is it anything to be ashamed of. I wish the cure were as simple as Jesus’ words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
While I know the cure is not as simple as this, I do think that we need to pay attention to this a bit. Because we have Jesus, because we have a Saviour, because the Holy Spirit is coming the disciples did not need to be afraid, nor do we need to be.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (14:27).
When Jesus meets his frightened and questioning disciples after his resurrection, it is with a greeting of peace (John 20:19, 21).
The Greek word for peace is eirênê, but this is surely a translation of the traditional Hebrew greeting shalom. Shalom signifies more than the absence of conflict; it speaks to an all encompassing sense of well-being.
It is the kind of peace which the world cannot give, but can only come from God.
We are all anxious about something, life changes and it produces anxiety. We lose those we love. Relationships change or end. Kids go away to school, they marry, new life is born and life changes. We grow older. We lose control of things that we used to feel we had control over. We sell our homes, we downsize, our bodies stop doing the things they used, things become more tiresome and difficult. We may lose our jobs or change jobs. The church shifts. Gas prices go up.
This peace that Jesus is speaking of, this is a peace that the world cannot give; it is a gift of peace that accompanies the gift of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus breathes into his disciples as he sends them out in mission (20:22).
The gift of the Holy Spirit. Which we will honor and recognize in a few weeks on the Day of Pentecost.
I tend to not think too much about peace. Much has been written about peace, both in speaking of an inward state of being and of a state of affairs. We all seek “peace” in our relationships with others. And as much as we seek peace, it seems that peace is allusive to many both in personal relationships and in the affairs of the world. Few periods in world history have been filled strictly with peaceful times, when one nation or people group was not fighting against another. Many in my generation have been fortunate enough to grow up in a time in America where we have not experienced war and we have never had to deal with a war that has taken place on our homeland. World War II was the last time American declared war — though the Korean War, the War in Vietnam, and the extended campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq all took our soldiers, they were never stamped with the congressional declarations of war. And while we are commanded to seek peace, “Blessed are the peacemakers," Jesus says in the Beatitudes, peace is sometimes hard to attain externally as well as internally.
Jesus says, “I do not give to you as the world gives”. This peace that Jesus gives, is not dependent on situation. I will repeat that, what Jesus is saying, is that this peace that he gives, is not as the world gives. It is not dependent on the situation. The peace he gives, is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the peace that comes with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is with you always — even unto the end of the age. The Holy Spirit will never leave you nor forsake you. So even in the midst of turmoil in the world around you, even when maybe things in your personal life are in an upheaval and things around you feel chaotic — there is a deeper peace that we as believers have. We don’t need to be overcome with anxiety. We recognize that bad things will and do happen, and in times that are not peaceful we can rest in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit dwells with in us and will never leave us, and we can have peace, knowing that God is with us. Quite literally.
I can imagine that the disciples were still not convinced that Jesus’ leaving could be a good thing. Jesus says that he is telling them these things now so that when they occur, they will believe. Indeed, it is only after the resurrection, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, that the disciples begin to understand and believe the words of Jesus (John 2:22; 12:16).
The whole of John’s Gospel manifests the fruits of the Spirit’s work among the disciples after Jesus’ death and resurrection in deepening their understanding of Jesus’ identity and mission.
We live with the benefit of the Spirit with us every day. We live with the benefit of understanding in totality Jesus’ purpose on earth. The Holy Spirit continues to make know to us the profound love of God for us. The Word became flesh and lived among us (John 1:14), and continues to make his home with us.
And so,
In the dark of the moon, in flying snow, in the dead of winter,
war spreading, families dying, the world in danger,
I walk the rocky hillside, sowing clover.1
We can sow some clover. In hope.
In the knowledge and peace, that God is ever with us.
Amen.
On February 2nd, 1968, a Kentucky farmer and poet wrote the following poem, which he entitled, “February 2, 1968”;
“February 2, 1968” , Wendell Berry,
In the dark of the moon, in flying snow, in the dead of winter,
war spreading, families dying, the world in danger,
I walk the rocky hillside, sowing clover.1
Berry wrote this three days into the disastrous Tet Offensive of the Vietnam war, in a year that was to include two deeply tragic assassinations, worldwide rebellion, and a bitter election.
The Gospel text this morning is part of what is referred to as Jesus’ Farewell discourse because it is what he shared with his disciples on the night before his death. It is punctuated by anxious questions from his disciples about his impending departure, when Jesus ascends into heaven which is recounted in the book of Acts.
First Peter (John 13:36), then Thomas (14:5), then Phillip (14:8), and then Judas (not Iscariot) (14:22) ask for clarification about what Jesus is telling them. (Can’t you imagine sitting around the table for this discussion?)
Much of the discourse takes place before the selection quoted in our Gospel text for today Earlier in John 14, Jesus has promised not to leave his disciples orphaned (John 14:18). He promised to send another Advocate, the Spirit of truth, to be with them forever (14:16) and continue the work that he has begun. This Advocate , this Spirit of truth, is what we come to know and refer to as the Holy Spirit. The world does not recognize the Spirit of truth and thus cannot receive him (4:17), just as it has not received Jesus.
Jesus tells his disciples that though the world will no longer see him, they themselves (the disciples) will see him (John 4:19) because he will reveal himself to them (4:21). Which is confusing because if the world can’t see him, how will they be able to see him?
Our passage today begins right after Judas (not Iscariot) asks: “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” (4:22)
Jesus answers this question.
It is through the Holy Spirit, the Advocate or Paraclete (the Greek word paraclêtos signifies “called along beside”), that Jesus will continue to be present with his disciples. This Spirit will teach you everything and remind you of all that Jesus has said. How confusing! How comforting!
Because Jesus will be (and is!) present with them through the Holy Spirit, his disciples do not need to be anxious.
You do not need to be anxious! Berry wrote his poem in time of high anxiety in the world.
Anxiety. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year. Only 36.9% of those suffering ever receive treatment. Not every experience of anxiety means you have a disorder — but many suffer from unexplained, sometimes crippling anxiety. Often those suffering also experience depression. Anxiety can be complex to treat, but it is treatable, through therapy, medications, and other means of support.
We all feel anxious at times. Some of us more than others and I want to let you know you are not alone — nor is it anything to be ashamed of. I wish the cure were as simple as Jesus’ words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
While I know the cure is not as simple as this, I do think that we need to pay attention to this a bit. Because we have Jesus, because we have a Saviour, because the Holy Spirit is coming the disciples did not need to be afraid, nor do we need to be.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (14:27).
When Jesus meets his frightened and questioning disciples after his resurrection, it is with a greeting of peace (John 20:19, 21).
The Greek word for peace is eirênê, but this is surely a translation of the traditional Hebrew greeting shalom. Shalom signifies more than the absence of conflict; it speaks to an all encompassing sense of well-being.
It is the kind of peace which the world cannot give, but can only come from God.
We are all anxious about something, life changes and it produces anxiety. We lose those we love. Relationships change or end. Kids go away to school, they marry, new life is born and life changes. We grow older. We lose control of things that we used to feel we had control over. We sell our homes, we downsize, our bodies stop doing the things they used, things become more tiresome and difficult. We may lose our jobs or change jobs. The church shifts. Gas prices go up.
This peace that Jesus is speaking of, this is a peace that the world cannot give; it is a gift of peace that accompanies the gift of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus breathes into his disciples as he sends them out in mission (20:22).
The gift of the Holy Spirit. Which we will honor and recognize in a few weeks on the Day of Pentecost.
I tend to not think too much about peace. Much has been written about peace, both in speaking of an inward state of being and of a state of affairs. We all seek “peace” in our relationships with others. And as much as we seek peace, it seems that peace is allusive to many both in personal relationships and in the affairs of the world. Few periods in world history have been filled strictly with peaceful times, when one nation or people group was not fighting against another. Many in my generation have been fortunate enough to grow up in a time in America where we have not experienced war and we have never had to deal with a war that has taken place on our homeland. World War II was the last time American declared war — though the Korean War, the War in Vietnam, and the extended campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq all took our soldiers, they were never stamped with the congressional declarations of war. And while we are commanded to seek peace, “Blessed are the peacemakers," Jesus says in the Beatitudes, peace is sometimes hard to attain externally as well as internally.
Jesus says, “I do not give to you as the world gives”. This peace that Jesus gives, is not dependent on situation. I will repeat that, what Jesus is saying, is that this peace that he gives, is not as the world gives. It is not dependent on the situation. The peace he gives, is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the peace that comes with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is with you always — even unto the end of the age. The Holy Spirit will never leave you nor forsake you. So even in the midst of turmoil in the world around you, even when maybe things in your personal life are in an upheaval and things around you feel chaotic — there is a deeper peace that we as believers have. We don’t need to be overcome with anxiety. We recognize that bad things will and do happen, and in times that are not peaceful we can rest in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit dwells with in us and will never leave us, and we can have peace, knowing that God is with us. Quite literally.
I can imagine that the disciples were still not convinced that Jesus’ leaving could be a good thing. Jesus says that he is telling them these things now so that when they occur, they will believe. Indeed, it is only after the resurrection, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, that the disciples begin to understand and believe the words of Jesus (John 2:22; 12:16).
The whole of John’s Gospel manifests the fruits of the Spirit’s work among the disciples after Jesus’ death and resurrection in deepening their understanding of Jesus’ identity and mission.
We live with the benefit of the Spirit with us every day. We live with the benefit of understanding in totality Jesus’ purpose on earth. The Holy Spirit continues to make know to us the profound love of God for us. The Word became flesh and lived among us (John 1:14), and continues to make his home with us.
And so,
In the dark of the moon, in flying snow, in the dead of winter,
war spreading, families dying, the world in danger,
I walk the rocky hillside, sowing clover.1
We can sow some clover. In hope.
In the knowledge and peace, that God is ever with us.
Amen.