Sermon for Easter 3 -
The Rev. Scott Duane Grossmann.
Vicar of Mt. Olive -
*Ding, ding, ding, & ding* - I played this sound for chapel this week for the preschoolers and asked them to close their eyes and I said what does this make you feel, when you hear these sounds,
When they open their eyes a little voice from the back of the room says, “perfect’, makes me feel perfect.
How preciouses right?
That's exactly what we’re seeking, isn’t it, a perfect feeling, a piece of the peace.
The title of my sermon
“My Piece of the Peace”
Jesus says:
‘Peace be with you”
In English its peace not war or have a piece of cake or Shalom In Hebrew, means peace.
Namaste" which is often said here in Max’s yoga classes, is Hindi, a greeting with hands together with a slight bow, literally means "I bow to the divine in you."
“In you” being the key words here.
To make it easier in our Lutheran tradition we found that the best way to get a group of Lutherans quiet, is by saying,
“peace be with you” and everyone in the room says “and also with you.
In seminary these past four years my classmates and I would be talking in class - and that was always interrupted with “peace be with you’ by the professor, and in return, out of instinct, we would say “and also with you".
The professor had got our attention and there was silence.
(oh, the craziness of seminary days!)
I’ve seen that happen around here @MTO as well, as in any traditional Lutheran gathering. Its kind of funny - to any visitors, it might seem a bit strange.
So for all in the room today, we don’t want to exclude anyone, I will say “Peace be with you” - and you will say “and also with you”. Now were all caught up in the tradition, be assured there will not be a test.
Luke who wrote todays message was incredibly intelligent, exceedingly fluent in Greek, writes of two definitions of peace: Peace be with you - and- have a piece of fish.
And as I was studying Greek translation while learning how to read Greek, having not been is school for over 30 years - at the rip age 55 learning another language & being dyslectic, the confusion came in all translations, from a full year of Greek and Hebrew into English. It was like playing
telephone to me! Remember those days when you would whisper something to somebody over here, They would pass it on in a whisper to the next person and so on and it was like ‘She went to the store’ And by the time it got all the back, over there It turned out to be “He’s such a bore"!
So in honor of my Greek class , from Luke’s gospel peace translation In Greek is one word pronounced I- Ray-Nay- or Irene for peace that's why Irene was a popular baby name and Ko-ma-tea, means piece,…. As in a piece of me.
(Sorry Got to get some use out of my education) .
In the English dialect, we say peace and piece same pronunciation different spelling, different meaning, and We all know in the English language we have many definitions for one word.
God’s Christ of peace or, "P- I-E-C-E" as a "PIECE in ME" in English has double meaning.
Like I am telling you what I mean, without being mean.
And no wonder people say its hard to learn English!
I unpack the word peace or piece. today.
Peace not war or heres a Piece of cake?
As piece & peace sounds the same, two different spellings two different meanings. Pretty elemetry. In Greek, the time this was written….two different spelling and two different meanings, two different pronunciations so not to be confused.
Peace I-Ray Nay, Irene in Greek translation is a state of natural tranquility within you or, the state of national tranquility from the rage of war. And a piece of my presance between individuals brings harmony, contentment, and ecstasy.
Confusing, try a full year of Greek translation.
in Luke’s translation,
Both lead to a piece of peace in our salvation.
And in our Christianity it is in “the Christ within” tranquil state of the soul to be assured of salvation through Christ with -in each one of us.
Do you have a piece of the peace is the question ?
and
The answer is "we all do".
“Peace be with you” Jesus Says out loud, appearing in a locked room, Jesus showing up after he was killed, still looking like Jesus in human form. Speaking specifically in the essence of Christ’s. So to gradually let his disciples receive him, as he is there to give us the power to move on our own, with the teaching of Love thy neighbor. It becomes a passing of the baton.
Although on the other hand we recognize the fear from the disciples or our own skepticism or even frustration and doubt
To the point where, they weren't sure how to react or would we.
The message was peace be with you assuming you have to find it.
Or was it a piece of me already in you
Oh those seminary theological questions?
It might not be you, it is the Christ in you, what ever it is, its yours to use now
For the disciples this was a major shocking moment, recognizing that just three weeks ago, they had been witness to Jesus suffering and torture,…… experiencing sadness, loss,…. the suicide of Judes and the ultimate devastation, the crucifixion of Jesus in human form.
And now standing in front of them, is the Christ Jesus in resurrected form the dead.
You can’t write this stuff….
The disciples are seeing the resurrected Jesus, in Christ form, Which God was very clear in making sure that this is not a ghost sighting.
Christ is now free to get in all of us. And does. A piece of Christ is ours now.
A bit confusing right ?
But what Jesus brought to the room, we all seem to have a connection too, in any form of relationship, is that double meaning of peace, here’s a piece of me, and I bringing peace to you,
That comes with our first approach to any one.
We are very cautious of this even in our daily routine.
When people get up in the morning, there's a ‘good morning’ with almost a question, Like, is it going to be a good morning? I bring you piece of toast.
Or Hello is this a peaceful day? I hope it is.
I wrote a letter to my family just recently and I started the letter dear Mom and dad ‘this comes in peace’ as not to make any one upset.
All of Paul's writings to all the churches comes to his people in double meaning peace and gives aa piece of him to them, reminding us we are all one together, here in love.
Namaste.
A Christ piece of me, bows to the divine peace in you,
What we say is we are not addressing you in frustration, judgment or gossip in form of ridicule.
We present a piece of me, to you, in the peace you offer me, and I accept.
This is how we get on in life
We try to greet each other with the idea of warmth and comfort, ………
Here Jesus is standing in front of his disciples saying peace be with you, and really on the flipside of the word peace, is the comfort of a warmer side, there also is this interpretation and translation that Jesus says by my resurrection in Christ shows to you, that there is now a piece of me in you.
It has been given you - As, I died for you, to have me in you, forever. A piece of me, I bring you, I give you, with me, to you, and in return, this brings you and I peace.
Jesus, use this piece metaphor, throughout his preaching and certainly, when he was in his last days of making sure, the work that he had started, with his disciples, was not done and not finished , and with his disciples this message was going to continue.
He teaches us this, in the Eucharistic, in communion with each other, one bread, one, body. In an essence Jesus says this is a piece of me, As he breaks a piece of bread, a sip of wine, I give to you, a bit of me, a piece of bread, a sip of wine, do this, and take this piece of me, in remembrance of me. I am always with you.
So when Jesus enters the room and says “Peace be with you,’ He’s saying, a piece of the peace is yours right here right now in this moment Don’t be afraid. And when all is right with us, we hear the sounds of giving a piece of the peace back to our family’s,
To our friends, in all relationships, good, and bad, in challenging situations and all things. It brings us to a comfortable place knowing that there is a piece of me in you,
Even if I am not at peace with my self or the world, “We are not of this world’. Christ continues to remind us Our kingdom is with God not material man laws and judgment. And This can be confusing as well.
Because God knows I have frustration and disappointment. And I follow the rules and as many times when I struggle with being at peace, anxiety, stress, are right there. I honk my horn when I get upset, holding my fist up when someone cuts me off in traffic, I get annoyed when I see someone checking out who clearly has 10 items or more, in a 10 item’s or less line at he grocery store,
You see the Peace that surpasses all understanding, what does this mean? Ok, I’m not to understand it
But, honey, it can be is gone in a moment and hard to keep through out my day.
But I know where it is not, it is not outside me, its is not in my reactions to things but within me, I just need to axcess it.
I also know there is a piece of you in me
When a parent helps a child with homework, or some one visits me, or picks me up takes me to the doctor or to church or to a movie, I give a smile to a stranger. And extra love, to my love ones. As they gave a piece of themselves to me, simply there time can be enough.
You do that in your own family,
You do that in your own friendships,
In your own intimate relationships you give a piece of yourself, and when done
Without a ego boost following the good deed,
We feel the peace in our own lives.
And this goes beyond the comfort in knowing, that I'm not alone,
I might be frustrated in the moment
but there's a piece of you in me right here. And that's peace to move on with or stay still in.
My internship is soon coming to an end and When I finish up here, I don’t walk away, I take you with me and I stay with you.
When I’m lonely or I'm on a trip and fly far away from any one, I know, I'm fine, I know, expose the piece of God in me, the Christ light within is ignited.
The real question is your light shinning bright or is it a slow burn, almost out.
it can never go totally out.
Can I axccess this piece of God at any time. The answer is yes
It's as simple as stopping in the moment,
in the consent of asking God can I be with you right here, right now,
Before I lose my temper, before I act irrational,
Before I use a altering mind substance to numb the pain.
Bring God into the moment, to your piece of the peace
There in lies the kingdom of God
Not the reverse, where we say,
God be with me, in a plea, no.
No, it is, can I be with you,
God is always there
Where are we is the question?
Can I please access the piece (double meaning) of Christ living in me. A piece of the peace.
The peace is always accessible because of what Jesus had done on the cross, he died for us, and for that reasons alone we are accessible to Christ
This is our message of comfort in any situation, always, no mater how big or small.
The fact is that a piece of Christ is in us. And when Axccessed, I experience the peace in this moment.
It comes in a sound unseen or in words spoken or in the silence, it comes.
My spouse says, I don't know is there really a lot of substance behind this metaphor, of double meaning piece peace is there a lot of meat on that bone to chew on.
So a couple days later it hit me and God presented a lot of meat on those bones,
When it comes to understanding the essence of peace within ourselves, the translation is we give a piece of each one, to the other in our marriage, and family, brings peace in our life and our home, the piece of me to you, and you to me, in intimacy as in together we share the peace,
As in the piece of Christ given to us as promised by God is our inheritance
There in lies the peace of God through Gods piece of Christ in us.
This piece (double meaning) was also extended to Jesus, in that room that day, It tells us in the Scripture as the disciples offered Jesus a, piece of broiled fish.
As theology goes, they speak of this piece of fish,
given to confirm Jesus as not a ghost.
To allow his disciples, and us to see that his organs were still all in tack,
But the resurrected Christ in front of them
in the form of humanness,
only for a short time longer,
Was offered a piece of broiled fish, And it was through every reading of Luke's Scripture the Gospel this week all speaks of a piece of broiled fish,
I see this through every word translation
“a piece” in every translation in Greek as well
It’s not just broiled fish, Or just fish - a piece could it be a piece of them selves as well
Every one of the translations speaks of the disciples giving Jesus a piece of broiled fish
In giving you a piece of something is evident in our way of sharing ourselves with each other,
As we all recognize that the disciples the majority of them were truly efficient in being fishermen
and if I was to give you something of me
it would be of my profession, something that is a God-given gift of what I know,
So for Jesus to have eaten that piece of broiled fish was also a way for him to say to them in the room,
I am part of you, you are part of me, a piece of me is with you and I receive your piece of you that you give to me.
Double meaning,
Have a piece of my peace.
I give you a piece of my peace
What a gift
The Christ in Jesus now resurrected to teach us for the moment to let go and move on with our work of the message
Is in the form of resurrected Spirit, Holy Spirit, not any laws governed my man,
but the spirit of life that we cannot, not ever, not have, as ours,
For it is in the world of our inheritance born within us, through Gods Christing love in Jesus - you see I think this is a real strong case after watching the show A D a TV show on NBC
It’s a show AD after death what happens after Jesus died and after the resurrection and Christ was put into the whole world. This scene I am talking about today in luke recently aired last week
It showed Jesus standing in the room with the disciples and they offered Jesus food but it was not a piece of fish, if anybody was watching you recognized that it was in the theology of offering bread, to break bread with each other was the essence of that scene,
But it wasn't theologically correct in the eyes of Luke the translator of the Greek language, the scholar.
I in truth resonate with Luke's translation
After studying the Greek element of the word I- ray- nay Irene meaning peace, for I see personally the importance of what that piece of fish meant,
As Jesus stood in that room saying peace is in you and you in me I bring peace to us today.
Ultimately it was also in you meaning the disciples giving a piece of themselves to Christ.
Who could be afraid of that?
And getting back to the Lutheran tradition Peace be with you And also with you.
And In my early days of seminary I always was fighting those words as I would say
peace is in you and also within me its our inheritance.
A piece of the peace is in you and also a piece in me.
And not until this sermon had I been so clear with why I am loving this part of the ministry of translation and interpretation
For it's not that we don't have the peace
It is that we don't use the piece of Christ we have.
The piece is always in us to be ax ccess,
So for me to say “peace be with you” refers to finding something you don’t have
Why do you have to find that piece, it is your piece that is already there,
It needs to be axccessed, nurtured, brought to the front, brought forward in each and every moment of living.
Not just sometimes when you really think you need it.
I truly feel that the words stated in this form,
“The peace of Christ is with you’ redefines
The piece, of the peace of God,
Always with you through the peace of Christ in you
And also in me,
We claim our inheritance, here and now. Not shy away, in embarrassment
No this Affirms to us, peace not war, or PI ECE a piece of God can never not be with you,
use it any time.
Isn't this what Jesus died for,
Don’t let it go to waist
Let out our own Christ in each of us. So this piece may flourish
That's our big attraction to super hero’s, they use their power
It is up to us individually as well as our community.
As we continue to nurture the living Holy Spirit in our own and through our collative piece of the peace the world is capable of having
And boy do we need it
The Christ in Jesus now resurrected to teach us for the moment to let go and move on with our work of the message
Is in the form of resurrected Spirit, Holy Spirit, not any laws governed my man,
but the spirit of life that we cannot, not ever, not have, as ours,
For it is in the world of our inheritance born within us, through Gods Christing love in Jesus and Jesus dyeing, to give it to us.
In knowing how the peace of God lives within you and me.
And In the us,
We continue to build upon it just as we do with our families, with our friends, with our enemies, through our own individual spiritual growth being most important. Through our prayer and mediation through our natural connection to God.
We bring that piece of God with us in all areas of our life, in love and work and service
We don't separate that peace of God, just from the fact I come to church to find peace or I enjoy Easter to find peace, or Christmas in find peace, no in everyday life its ours.
Knowing in my faith and believe I can take that piece of God with me into my workplace, into my every day, into my environment, into my frustration,
moment by moment, its working in me.
For that Gods promise through the sacrifice and death of Jesus bringing Christ into us.
That what we celebrate at Easter and every year
We will never, not remind each other,
as this is the gift of all gifts, ever.
Eight words Al-li-lu-ia, Christ is in us.
That why he was risen so
We all have a piece of the peace in us, to give this world,
The days of data collection are over we know the stories, its ours now, own it. Use it.
I want you to get it, to axccess it easily, I want you to receive it, I want to receive it.
The keys to the kingdom is in our truth and our peace, is in the kingdom of God right here, right now, in each of us,
Confusing as Greek was to me I see now
we already have it. its ours
There was a book out a few years ago now,
Called the secret, and everybody rushed to buy that book, because it had inside the key remedy to be content,
It was the secret to a happy life, so they say
I want To tell you the secret right now,
the secret is God is in you, Christ is in you and peace is with you, not trying to find it, its there
I hope you seek it out even today, use it, and be open to what power it has for you,
by coming to a spiritual traditional understanding in our faith
Is in the knowing of how to be active in chiseling away the excess baggage that we all carry,
That seems to cover that piece of Christ within
I pray that we chisel away to the beauty that lies underneath,
To the beauty that is covered with all,
the muck,
For underneath all of this is what Michelangelo says is already the perfect David statue, he said I just have to remove the excess marble.
God has done the rest
It is the same with you,
God created the perfect David in you already,
God doesn’t make junk.
And it is up to you to remove that debris and let your Christ light shine in and out of good life and bad life
As bad things happen to good people
But your piece of the peace is already within you, The Christ of God is in us,
So, “peace be with you?
No…… piece is with you,
And also with me
That’s the good news
In the Easter message
And that's the celebratory feeling that lives today, and forever
And, As the preschooler says, it is perfect, just perfect.
‘Peace is in you’
You say:
“And also in you’
In the name of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit
you have piece of the peace now, so use, use its power with honor!
One again happy Easter
Vicar Scott
The Rev. Scott Duane Grossmann
Vicar, Mt. Olive Lutheran Church
Santa Monica, California
Ding, ding, ding & ding
Sermon for Easter 3
April 18 and 19, 2015
Written by Rev. Scott Duane Grossmann
Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Santa Monica, California
