Peter Fitch, St. Croix Vineyard Sunday, December 4, 2016 Moments of Peace Peter Fitch, St. Croix Vineyard Sunday, December 4, 2016

2nd Sunday of Advent: Peace Many great passages in Scripture on peace Often there are references to OT prophecies of implements of war being turned into agricultural tools Sometimes there are references to prophecies that seem to be fulfilled in Jesus: (“this one shall be our peace”, “Prince of Peace”) In the NT there are some famous passages about the peace that Jesus promises to the soul and there is the great passage in Philippians 4 from St. Paul

Philippians 4:4-7 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

My normal tack Absence of War Prosperous and productive farm Shalom: justice and well-being spread throughout the world Peace in the soul in the midst of whatever is going on, including the worst circumstances (maybe the ultimate sense should be “all of the above”)

Today, different thoughts and then one more thing . . . Mother Theresa Peace begins with a smile

Albert Einstein Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding

Mahatma Gandhi An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind

Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha) Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

Dalai Lama obtain peace in the outer world until we make We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves

Jimi Hendrix When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.

My image for today . . .

Or, perhaps, this . . .

Moments of connection With wonder or beauty or deep truth . . . With love, and sometimes with emptiness With friendship, and sometimes with loneliness With meaning, and sometimes with questioning and doubt With joy, and sometimes with weariness With success, and sometimes with failure With health, and sometimes in sickness With God

From one of my unfinished books . . . But there was a moment . . . I remember walking across the campus late one night and being along but not alone. The sky or something behind it was alive and watching. Who knew? There was bigness and life and connection and thought and somehow we were together in this solitary walk. If I had known to do it, I would have taken off my shoes.

Back to Isaiah 9:6,7 6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

What happened on Friday It was David Moore’s birthday!

Message to David from a friend in Africa Was praying for you this morning as I read Neh. 8. Felt strongly to encourage you about this next season. Like Ezra, you will be asked to share/lead in a broader capacity. V4 says he spoke from a platform that was specifically built for that very moment, sound familiar? He is surrounded by leaders (also in v4) who are used in v8 to help explain God's heart. His words don't fall on deaf ears, rather, people stand & pay attention when he speaks (v5). All around him, people were grieved at how far away they seemed to be from all God wanted (v9). Ezra and Nehemiah (v9-10) tell the people to

rather rejoice at how close God is, instructing them to, yes, take care of themselves, but also to those that are forgotten. Revival breaks out, a nation is changed (v13-18). Ezra had spent his entire life in Babylon, not knowing everything was leading him to this moment. Six decades in, I have a sense everything has been leading you to this, the finest years yet. I believe you will lead and encourage with a renewed energy that is almost inexplicable. Looking forward to it...