Real Peacemaking Requires a Lion and a Lamb

Transcription

1 Real Peacemaking Requires a Lion and a Lamb Bob Setzer, Jr. Pastor Knollwood Baptist Church Winston-Salem, North Carolina December 4, 2016 Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-7 Some years ago on my birthday, my dad gave me a call. I remember that day, he said wistfully. Really? I said. What do you remember? As matter-of-factly as if he were commenting on the weather, he answered, I remember you were the ugliest baby I had ever seen. I heard my mother gasp in the background and then say in a scolding tone, Oh, Bob. That s not true! It is true, my dad answered. He was the most wrinkled and ugly baby I had ever seen. I couldn t figure out which was funnier: that my dad would say such a thing or my mother s horror at hearing it. That s pretty much what it was like to grow up at my place. I grew up wedged between a lion and a lamb. My dad was honest and forthright and could roar with his fur standing tall. My mom was mostly cuddly, soft, and kind. Granted, dad could be tender and mom could get her ire up. But mostly he was the lion and she was the lamb.

2 I try to draw on both my parent s strengths because I ve learned in seeking peace with myself and others that sometimes a lamb is needed while sometimes only a lion will do. The biblical portrait of the lion lying down with the lamb portrayed on our second advent banner is found in our old testament reading for today. Isaiah writes of a day when God s justice and righteousness will triumph and all creation will return to the paradise that was at the beginning. The wolf shall live with the lamb and the calf and the lion shall lie down together. Interestingly, Isaiah never says the lion will lie down with the lamb. That image comes from the famous painting of the 19 th century Quaker preacher-artist, Edward Hicks, known as the Peaceable Kingdom. But you get the picture. The point is that normally opposing forces are brought into a surprising harmony as seen in those cute YouTube videos of a doe nuzzling a hound dog or a cow with a duckling on his back. Now typically, we ooh and aah at such depictions, whether we find them on YouTube or in the Bible. We think isn t that cute, without ever imagining God might actually intend for us to take such a challenge seriously. But what if for us, as for Jesus, both a lion and a lamb is what we are called to be? In the Bible, Jesus is called both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God. And in the gospels, we see him acting in both roles. When fueled by white-hot indignation, he cleansed the temple; he was as fierce as any lion on the African plain. And when he came to the defense of a woman who had anointed his head with costly ointment--while his disciples clucked their disapproval--jesus showed his teeth and growled, Let her alone! Why do you trouble her? She has done a good service for me. But Jesus could also be as warm and soft as a lamb, such as when he drew the children clambering onto his lap into his arms and blessed them. Of course, most of the time, Jesus was not either the lion or the lamb. Most of the time he was both. 2

3 In the C. S. Lewis classic, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Susan and Lucy ask Mr. and Mrs. Beaver if Aslan is a man. Aslan is Lewis representation of Jesus. Mr. Beaver answers, "Aslan a man? Certainly not. I tell you he is the king of the wood and the son of the great emperor-beyond-the sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion--the lion, the great lion. "Oh!" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion. "That you will, dearie, and make no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver. "If there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly." "Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy. "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about being safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. That s seems to me an apt description of Jesus: not safe, but good. He has a lion s courage and strength but a lamb s tender touch. Like the messianic king described in Isaiah s prophecy, His delight (is in) the fear of the Lord. With righteousness he will judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist and faithfulness the belt around his loins. This hardly sounds like the meek, mousy Jesus of much Protestant American piety. No, this is the Lion of Judah raring back on his haunches to protect the weak and stare down the strong. For this king knows that a secure, lasting peace can only stand on a firm foundation of justice for all. Sadly, during and in the wake of the most bruising campaign season in memory--and I m not just talking about the presidential election, but ugly state and local races too--we ve seen a 3

4 rise in violent rhetoric and actions in our nation: Women being accosted in public by slurs not suitable to repeat here; people of color being assaulted by the n word in graffiti and in person; recent immigrants trying to stay positive but sometimes fearing for their safety. The FBI reports that in the last year, hate crimes against Muslims, transgender people, African Americans, and Jews are dramatically on the rise. Now some people, mostly people like me who feel safe, say this is much ado about nothing, that there is nothing to fear. I hope they re right. But the fact remains that some of our neighbors are feeling vulnerable right now. And as followers of Jesus, the least we can do is to stand with and for those who are afraid. Like the 300 students at Baylor University who showed up to walk a young woman to class the day after she was shoved off the sidewalk by a male student shouting a racial insult. Or the woman who, after witnessing abuse in public and seeing the victim s black eye, strode boldly over to confront the aggressor. She challenged others to join her by saying, Do I have to do this alone? In the end, a group of bystanders surrounded the abuser and his victim until the police arrived and took him into custody and her to a shelter. No, sometimes a lamb isn t sufficient. Sometimes only a lion will do because in the Bible, peace isn t a warm, fuzzy sentiment meant for a Hallmark card. Rather, God s peace, God s Shalom encompasses our neighbors too, especially the widows and orphans, the weak and the defenseless, who need a just king and fierce protector like Jesus on their side. And yet, let us also give the lamb its due. For a lion not tamed by a lamb s tenderness is just a beast. It is the coming together--the lying down of the lion and the lamb--that is the mark of God s kingdom. In the qualities Isaiah gives us of the ideal, messianic king--upon whose shoulders, God s reign of peace and justice rests--we read of a humility and meekness like Christ s own. Not a meekness grounded in a fear of others, but a meekness, a humility, grounded in one s 4

5 fear of God. Such a fear of God, a deep reverence and love of God, frees one to be truly present and attentive to others. Like a lamb that is not the least bit threatening, we can be quiet and still long enough for the other to speak and be heard. Thus, we read of Isaiah s promised king, His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear. No, this king, this lion with the heart of a lamb, will not listen or look superficially. He will listen and look deep so he can feel the depths of another s pain. I read a book this week that forced me to listen in a new way. Called Hillbilly Elegy, it is the story of J. D. Vance s nightmare of growing up poor in the rust belt. The basic premise of the book is that poor whites are feeling victimized and hopeless too. When coal mining dried up in Appalachia, many migrated to what is now the rust belt, only to see their American dream die anew. Now working class whites are one of the few social groups in America who believe their children will fare worse than themselves. Why is it, asked a Knollwood deacon, that we re so good at partnering with the temple or the mosque but not more conservative Christians? Why not an event or collaboration with some working class congregations in an effort to build relationships? Why not indeed? Listening to another s pain, fear, or need may mean opening ourselves to those who don t line up with our social, theological, or political fault lines. Indeed, that may be as close to a kingdom moment as we are likely to get in this painfully divided culture of ours: finding in the church a place and a people where listening is always the right thing to do, even if it is not the last thing to do. As Paul writes in Romans, Welcome one another just as Christ has welcomed you to the glory of God. And incidentally, he offered that counsel not to a congregation defined by a terrible sameness but to a rowdy bunch of Jews and Gentiles trying to figure out what their new kind of community should look like, and live like, and love like because of Jesus Christ. 5

6 On Friday night, I attended a CareNet function at Salemtowne honoring two Knollwood members, Chip Mims and Marjorie Holleman, for their long service to the CareNet board. For the uninitiated, CareNet is a statewide network of Spirit-based counseling centers helping clients learn, among other things, how to listen and to speak in love. At this event, CareNet s president--knollwood s own, Steve Scoggin--and its regional director, Barbara Saulpaugh, spoke about Chip and Marjorie. As many of you know, Marjorie is a little lady full of spunk and fire. As Steve described her, Marjorie would often say Steve, I don't know if that is a good idea which was code for that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. He continued, She had a polite southern way about speaking her truth in love... most of the time! Barbara Saulpaugh said before she met the anesthesiologist and big game hunter, Chip Mims, she was expecting a Grizzly Adams type character complete with a beard and buckskin jacket. But instead she met a quiet, dapper gentleman in khakis and a blue sports coat who could not have been more gentle and kind. And yet Chip too had a directness, a candor that proved invaluable in his service to CareNet, as well as to this church. I swelled with pride as did the many other Knollwoodians in the room at hearing how well this brother and sister from our community of faith excelled at speaking the truth in love. For speaking the truth in love is at the heart of our calling to bring the lion and lamb together. The church is supposed to be that place and that people where a seemingly fanciful dream of a peaceable kingdom might actually become a reality, as people with different attitudes, perspectives, and values are learning to listen and speak... in love. Part of what makes Knollwood, Knollwood, is this commitment to negotiate contentious times and issues with a Christ like grace. I suspect the divisive period we are now living in may test that capacity, as it has not been tested since the turbulent sixties. 6

7 But by the grace of God, this church has long been a community of faith where the lion and the lamb are sufficiently trustful to lie down together. As one newbie said after observing two friends, from opposite ends of the political spectrum, worshiping together at Knollwood, There is something special about this place. He was so right. Pray God, might it ever be so O Lion of Judah, O Lamb of God, teach us to live and speak your truth in the service of your love. Help us be a community of faith that gives both your peace and justice its due. Make us a place and a people where Isaiah s prophecy of a peaceable kingdom is actually coming true. In your most precious name we ask it. Amen. Bob Setzer, Jr. Pastor bob@knollwood.org Knollwood Baptist Church Winston-Salem, North Carolina 7