Peace Be to this House

Text: Luke 10:1-20

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

          You probably know that our Lutheran Service Book contains a number of Services and Rites. Beyond our Divine Services and other non-communion services, there’s the Rite of Holy Baptism and Confirmation. There’s the Funeral Rite and Holy Matrimony. But there’s also a few more that aren’t in your pew version of the hymnal, but are in our agenda. They include the Ordination Rite, the Committal Service to be used at the cemetery, there’s a blessing of a mother after childbirth. There’s even more, but one of the ones that I really like, and would like to use more often, is the Blessing of a Home. A lot of times this will be done when someone moves into a new house, but it’s also appropriate to be done really at any time that a blessing on the home is desired. So, if anyone’s interesting in a house blessing, I’m available.

Some people even have their house blessed annually, usually at Epiphany due to the connection of the visitation of the Magi to the home of the infant Christ. That also coincides well with the beginning of the year. New beginnings. Blessings and peace. And that’s really what the Blessing of a Home is all about. It’s a prayer that God’s peace would be upon the place and everyone who lives and visits there. Which is why the short service begins with the pastor saying “Peace be to this home and to all who dwell here” while making the sign of the cross as a reminder that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all present in this blessing and in that home.

Those words “Peace be to this house” could give rise to memories of all the peace you experience there, or they could be a reminder that there’s not as much peace in your home as you’d like there to be. Is there peace in your house? In the house next door? In the houses of your children and grandchildren? Is there peace in the household of your congregation? We all long for “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.” Peace in our houses, in our churches, in our lives. We all want it, but so often it’s elusive and fleeting. Although, there is a peace that is ours always. It’s a peace that we’re privileged to proclaim, in Jesus’ name and at His invitation. And it’s the same peace that Jesus instructs the 72 who He sent out ahead of Himself to proclaim when He commanded them, “Whatever house you enter, first say,

‘PEACE BE TO THIS HOUSE!’”

          There are no exceptions. Every single house needs peace. But to know what that means we need to understand that to have peace is more than just the absence of strife, tension and conflict. While the lack of these things might make the environment a better place for peace to flourish and thrive, the absence of something doesn’t necessarily bring about the presence of its opposite. There’s a whole line of mathematics that has spawned a whole lot of philosophy around the debate about whether the number zero is the presence of nothing, or the absence of everything. Without involving ourselves in that debate, we’ll just agree that even when there’s no conflict in the home, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s peace. Peace is much more than that. What we really need is what Paul described to the Philippians when he said that “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” It’s the same prayer I pray for you at the end of every sermon. Because it’s the only peace that’s lasting. That’s real. And it’s so much more than the absence of tension, and strife, and conflict.

When Jesus appointed those 72 missionaries “and sent them on ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to go,” He did this because He knew that there was a profound need for the peace that He wanted people to have. And that only He could provide. The peace that only comes through the saving knowledge of Jesus. It’s why He says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” The situation hasn’t changed today. And it’s why we still pray the same prayer he commands the disciples to pray. “Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest.” Because it’s by the willingness of disciples to share the peace that was first shared with them, that God’s peace continues to spread. Of course the work is God’s, but His missionaries are the voice, and the hands, and the feet of that message. The message of peace characterized by forgiveness, life, and salvation through Christ.

I use that word missionary very liberally. When you hear that word you often think of a family that’s packed up everything, raised funds and is now living in Africa among the locals and sharing the Gospel message. Those are missionaries, but every one of you is qualified, and called, to be a missionary too. Because everyone who has received the peace of Christ is called to proclaim it. Do you think Jesus had an application process for those 72 that He sent out? I don’t think so. I think the primary, perhaps the only qualification, for their selection was that they had heard the Gospel message of salvation in Jesus and believed it. Their willingness to take on the task tells us what we really need to know about their conviction. Because Jesus doesn’t sugar coat the job. “Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.” He doesn’t make it sound like a very appealing job, does He?

Everyone who has heeded God’s call to share the peace that comes only from Him knows what it’s like to be a sheep in the midst of wolves. In fact, simply being a Christian can make you feel this way much of the time. You can’t avoid the fact that the world is hostile to the message of peace as it’s proclaimed by those who follow Christ. And it’s strange because it seems like the message of peace is something we should be able to universally support. The problem is that the peace that Jesus calls His disciples to proclaim is an exclusive peace. It’s a peace that isn’t present simply because there’s a lack of strife, tension, and conflict. This is why even though there might be a temporary cease fire in the Middle East, there’s really no lasting peace there. Because the major combatants don’t know Christ, who is the only source of true peace. True peace can only be present when people know, follow, and proclaim the God who is peace. Those who convey this message will often be called exclusionary for a lack of willingness to include other paths to peace. But the truth is that there’s only one peace that’s real and lasting. And that’s the peace that knows the God who is on your side here in this world and who has prepared the way for your everlasting peace in eternity. It’s a peace that’s only possible through the work of Christ on your behalf and is only known in the knowledge of Him.

The same is true today for those who proclaim the Gospel message as it was in the day Jesus sent the missionaries out ahead of Him. Some will receive you and others won’t. “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.” As bearers of the peace of Christ you need to be prepared for those who will not receive it. But also be prepared that this peace will be received and treasured by many. And the reward is great when God uses you to share that message of peace with someone who is living without it. Also, the promise of the Great Commission, which echoes this sending from Jesus, is that as we proclaim this message He’s not going to leave us to do it alone. “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” We are preserved and protected by the One who sends us.

There’s a painting that has the title “Peace.” It depicts waves crashing against the jagged rocks. It portrays the violence of a crushing storm. It seems anything but peaceful. But down in a small corner of the painting, tucked away in the rocks, is a little bird sitting on her nest, totally oblivious to the storm that’s raging all about. Sometimes that’s what peace looks like in our lives. If you saw our house on any given day, the chaos would astound you. There’s 10 schedules to coordinate, plenty of tension, strife, and conflict. But I’d still say that we live in a house that’s filled with peace. The right kind of peace. “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.” The kind of peace that can sit in the midst of the chaotic storms of life. Where conflict and sin abound. And realize that with God as our rock of protection, we’ll be fine. And that’s also the kind of peace that realizes how magnificent a gift of God that is and then can’t help but share it with others.

          May that peace be upon your homes. And when you experience it, may you have the desire to follow God’s calling to share it with your neighbors. And may our home here at Emmanuel also be a place of this peace. That the peace you receive here through God’s Word and His Sacrament would be your strength to go out and say to whatever house you enter, “Peace be to this house!” Knowing that our God, who has given you this peace sends you out for a purpose. That you who know and abound in this peace may experience the joy of sharing that peace with others. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.