I begin with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.  “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice.” 

Every Miss America contestant knows it’s always a good answer to wish for world peace.  But the irony is we don’t seem to know what every Miss America contestant knows. Even though the people of our world want peace, they seem to be committed to revenge. 

What is the typical plot of most action movies?  Good guy loves wife/ child/ partner/ dog.  Bad guy kills/ kidnaps/ hurts/ threatens wife/ child/ partner or kicks his dog.  Good guy commits himself to getting even.  Overcomes horrendous obstacles and insurmountable odds, insert lots of special effects and some big explosions and ultimately the good guy defeats bad guy and rescues his dog.  All is right with the world, once again, and as a watcher of movies there is this sense of satisfaction.

Why is there a sense of satisfaction when the good guy finally blows up the bad guy?  There seems to be some kind of equation that needs to be balanced.  If the bad guy walked away unharmed at the end of the movie, you would assume there has to be a sequel.  Good has to triumph over evil or else we feel there is an imbalance in the universe! It is just not right.   The debt has to be paid.  We seem to want peace, but pursue retribution.  Why is that?  Why do we all long for peace, but, at the drop of a hat, seek retribution?

>A co-worker doesn’t hesitate to take advantage of us to further his career. We don’t want peace.  We want justice!
>An uncaring neighbor’s cat constantly uses your yard as his litter box. You don’t sing “Won’t you be my neighbor.”  You call the county animal control guy?
>A teacher, at school, is unfair to your kid and you don’t want get along at school. You want the guy fired?
>A relative attempts to cheat you out of an inheritance. You don’t want just to get along.  You want a lawyer?

Why do we say we want peace, but are so ready to get even? 

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At first this seems to be a paradox, an irony. But perhaps it is not.   Where does our sense of justice come from?  I have to think it is from God.

Psalm 33:3-5  Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.  For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

What is the Psalmist singing praise for?  A God who loves justice. Perhaps this sense of justice is how we are wired.  Maybe, Martin Luther King Jr. is right and there is a direct correlation between the two.  “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice.” 

One of my favorite movies is “The Prince’s Bride.” One of the characters in the movie is Inigo Montoya who says, “Hello. My name is Ingio Montoya you killed my father.  Prepare to die.”  When he finally delivers this line, he had been rehearsing all of his life, to the man who killed his father, Count Rugen, “Hello. My name is Ingio Montoya you killed my father.  Prepare to die.” Count Rugen says, “You have an overactive sense of vengeance.” 

I have to agree with Count Rugen.  Most of us have an overactive sense of vengeance.  How can we harmonize our innate sense of justice and still allow the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of peace in our lives?  That is the tough question of the morning.

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This morning as we look at the third fruit of the Spirit; peace, we find it has all kinds of usages.
World peace
Peace Treaties
Disturbing the Peace
Peace of mind
Quiet and peaceful
What did the hippies used to say, “Peace?” (two fingers)
Rest in peace
Hold your peace
Peace, be still
Justice of the peace; is that an oxymoron?

When Paul uses the word peace in Galatians 5:22 what kind of peace is he talking about?  Keeping the word peace in the context of Galatians, we find it is not biting and devouring each other.  Remember the verses right before and after the fruit section?

Galatians 5:15  If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Galatians 5:26   Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Peace in Galatians 5:22, is this getting along with each other in the body.  It is not biting and devouring, not provoking, or not fussing.

The Greek word peace is eivrh,nh.  It is more the Jewish “shalom” than the Greek stoic idea of serenity or peace of mind.  It carries the idea of whole and healthy relationships, rather than the absence of pain or trouble. Shalom is the blessing of home and relationship.  The word is used a bunch in the NT and it is a greeting; “Grace and Peace” and is mostly concerned with getting along and not inner serenity.

Peace as a fruit of the Spirit, here in Galatians, is a community meshing together to form the body of Christ in harmony of relationships!  That is what we want. But… we trip up on our own justice.  We still have our question, “How can we have peace when we have an overactive sense of vengeance?”   

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In our study of the fruit of the Spirit, I want us to memorize each of the nine fruits of the Spirit; let’s say them together: “Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control.”  Memorizing them makes them a part of who we are.  I also want to remember a saying that goes with each one. Each week we will add to our list with new statements to remember. 

The first fruit of the Spirit is? Love is acting on behalf of God, regardless of how we feel."  We discovered as we studied love that often times we don't feel like it, but we go ahead and do what God would have us to do, acting as his representative even when the feelings aren't there.  "Love is acting on behalf of God, regardless of how we feel."  (say it)

Last week we wrestled with joy.  At the Table we struggled with a definition and I am still not sure what a definition of Joy is but, here is our statement. It is not so much a definition as a how to experience it, "Joy is living who you are to the Spirit." (say it)

Perhaps, there is a clue about peace in the progression of the nine fruit.  Acting on behalf of God begins to move me toward peace with each other because when I act in love, it changes my heart and your heart.  Then when I begin to live as the Spirit sees me and I give my gavel to only the Spirit, I step out of the judging business.  That goes a long way toward getting along with each other.  Then after, peace is patience and kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. They all seem to be things we do to enhance the peace.  Wow!  We have just made a discovery!  This whole section in Galatians 5 is about getting along and having peace.  Perhaps all of these nine fruit revolve around peace.  Love and joy lead us to peace and the other 6 tell us how to do it!  Peace is found when we allow the Spirit to produce his fruit in us! 

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Still we have a problem; our overactive sense of justice.  What do I do with that?  There needs to be a balance in the universe.  Wrong needs to be punished. Evil needs to be stopped.  Justice needs to be for all, before there can be peace.  “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice.”  This phrase still haunts us. 

I have to go outside of Galatians to find the answer.  Paul doesn’t really deal with the justice problem in Galatians. So, let’s go to Romans 12.  Here is where Paul can really help us.

Romans 12:17-21  Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace (eivrh,nh) with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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Here is the bottom line. We leave our overactive vengeance with God.  God’s wrath will be just and fair and right.  Our revenge is usually flawed.  It typically is overdone and just escalates.  Your 1X hurt to me I respond with a 2X, which you, in turn, do a 4X to me and so on.  God will do it right.  In our dealings with each other we do not repay evil with evil. We, typically repay evil with more evil.  What should we do?  We let God handle that part and we respond by overcoming evil with good.  Wow!  How hard is that? We must really be convinced; really trust; really believe God will make all things right.  We leave room for God’s wraith and we stop the escalation of evil by responding with good. 

Peace is done by patience. I don’t overcome evil with evil. I am patient.
Peace is done by kindness.  I don’t overcome evil with evil. I respond with kindness.
Peace is done by goodness. I don’t overcome evil with evil. I respond by doing good.
Peace is done by faithfulness. I don’t overcome evil with evil. I know God will be just.
Peace is done by gentleness. I don’t overcome evil with evil. I respond gently.
Peace is done by self-control. I don’t overcome evil with evil. I control my overactive sense of vengeance! 

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When we find ourselves in situations when that sense of punishing evil, those feelings of vengeance begin to swell in our hearts, we then need a phrase to repeat. So what phrase do we want to use for peace, what are we going to take home and repeat to ourselves?  How about, “Peace is overcoming evil with good.”  Because we know God will make it right, we can respond with good.  When you feel this rising sense of wrong that needs to be righted, you need to remind yourself that God will make it right and that you should respond by breaking the revenge cycle by doing good.

What about our quote from Martin Luther King Jr.  “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice.”  The sense of justice, that is in our hearts because we are made in the image of God, needs to move us positively.  We work for justice in our world and in our community.  We need to act on behalf of God in protecting the innocent, intervening for the marginalized, standing up for right and opposing wrong.  That is how we work for peace.  But in the personal revenge and payback and getting even departments, we don’t follow the Inigo Montoya model. Rather we rely upon the Spirit and ask him how we overcome evil with good.  We then follow his guidance. 

Let me end with a famous prayer which we sing every week. It is attributed to Francis of Assisi prayer:

Lord,
Make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

0, Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much
Seek to be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying, that we are born to eternal life.

Los Alamos Church of Christ
Setember 27, 2009