The Day of Pentecost – June 5, 2022
The Day of Pentecost – June 5, 2022
John 14:23-31
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give to you…”
(Jn. 14:27)
The world tempts you with peace of mind. The world tempts you with the cessation of war and conflict. The world tempts you with your labor’s completion. The world desires you to receive these temptations assuming you will accept them as the peace of God. But it is not to be so. All the world’s substitutes for peace are brought into being because of sin—the brokenness of this creation. All that brokenness flows from the hostility existing between humanity and God. The peace the world gives merely alleviates the symptoms but does nothing for the cause. The peace Jesus leaves with you… the peace Jesus gives you… resolves the hostility between your God and you sinners (cf. Eph. 2:16). Jesus bears the hostility to the cross. When the source of your anxiety… when the source of your war and conflict… when the source of your relentless labor… when the source of all that substitute peace is resolved in the cross of Christ, then you live with untroubled and fearless hearts. You have Jesus’ Word on it.
Prayers from one who desires, even covets, the peace of Jesus Christ…
Father, your Son Jesus Christ died so that I might have this name “Father” to call upon you. Grant that, as I am numbered among the daughters and sons of your divine household, I would indeed enjoy the peace that Jesus has left with me. Let peace be with me. Amen
Father, I need relief from my troubled heart… relief from the violence of war and conflict… relief from the unrelenting labor of securing my life in this sin-broken world…. Grant me the ears to hear that Jesus Christ takes away the sin of the world and gives his peace in its place. Let peace be with me. Amen
Father, the cross of Christ exposes me in my own contribution to the troubles of this world… how I afflict others’ peace of mind… how I bring conflict into their lives… how I make more and more work for them…. I stand exposed before you and confess these as my sins. Lord, have mercy and grant me the peace of forgiveness in Jesus’ name. Let peace be with me. Amen
Father, you would have this world be well-ordered even though it suffers the chaos of its sinfulness. You provide the laws evident in nature… the laws known through social customs and cultural mores… the laws promulgated by governing authorities… all to bring order and trustworthiness into the world. Grant that I contribute to this trustworthiness and not the world’s disorder. Let peace be with me. Amen
Father, you set before me my neighbor and confront me with my neighbor’s needs. Grant that I be of use without thought of recompense. Let peace be with me. Amen
Father, grant the peace of Christ Jesus descend upon the Institute of Lutheran Theology so the hearts of all who care about it may be untroubled and unafraid. Let peace be with me. Amen
Father, there is a day coming when the peace of Christ shall be self-evident, my joy complete, and the sorrows of this world past. Until that day, let peace be with me. Amen