Photo: Ruins of Capernaum
I've been thinking about People of Peace from a different perspective. Clearly, based on what Jesus told seventy-two of his followers when he sent them out to share the Kingdom message of God’s love (Luke 10:1-16) people who welcome you in, want to serve you and listen to what you have to share, are the people of peace with whom you should stay and invest. For us it is great to know this, that in our lives, God is preparing people for relationship with us. He does the work. The people of peace Jesus is talking about are not just nice, kind and tolerant, they open their homes and lives. They hang out at the meal table, sharing what they have and who they are.
Jesus also said that if you are not welcomed and there are no people of peace, shake the dust off your sandals and move on. I think of it like a kid who innocuously twists his ankle in a baseball game and the coach says, “Shake it off.” Really meaning move along and don’t stand around whining. This permission and even freedom to move along when we are not welcomed is something I talked to some friends about just this week who are frustrated in friendships they've been pursuing.
However, Jesus says more as this passage of scripture continues. His comments should give us all pause to examine whether we are indeed people of peace. He said if there are no people of peace in a place, the town will be worse off than Sodom, a city destroyed by fire. Jesus warned the cities of Korazin, Capernaum and Bethsaida that in not being welcoming people of peace their cities would be destroyed. Jesus knew what he was talking about. Centuries ago these cities were destroyed, and even to this day guess what? They still lie in ruins; piles of dead lifeless rocks.
You can check out some of the ruins of Capernaum here (I was just there two weeks ago) and of Bathsaida here.
So what does this warning about people of peace mean to us or even a faith community or church? These were great cities, sometimes known as the orthodox triangle, cities where lots of devoutly religious people lived who had plenty of knowledge of God and adhered to the rules. Jesus did many miracles in these cities, and yet the people still refused to acknowledge and welcome him. They heard him speak and saw healings, and maybe they were even amazed, but they were still unchanged. They didn’t follow him in radically loving, serving and pursuing justice for one another. Upon hearing Jesus’ news of who he was they did nothing. Imagine that according to Jesus their plight was to be worse than the cities where the blatantly sinful people lived.
There is a lot being written right now about consumerism in the church and how people often have more difficulty switching toothpaste brands than churches because church has often become about what meets needs. I talked to a friend this morning who after a while being frustrated trying to find a church that perfectly fits their family’s wants is realizing that it is really about the people of a church somewhere needing them. They are seeing themselves shifting from being consumers, to being producers, an opportunity to be more like Jesus.
No question it is difficult with all we manage and juggle in life, but when we are contributing and blessing others through sharing our lives, we can see God at work in us and through us. This is when we are people of peace and our relationships, communities and churches will not be buried as lifeless piles of useless ruins and rubble.
"Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all- it is dead and useless." James 2:17
CHECK IT OUT: LUKE 10:1-16
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