Corbett, Leonard P.

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 14Issue 2 Issues and Concerns in Ethics Article 711-1-1988And on earth, peaceLeonard P. CorbettFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Sermons is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationCorbett, Leonard P. (1988) "And on earth, peace," Consensus: Vol. 14 : Iss. 2 , Article 7.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol14/iss2/7And On Earth, PeaceLeonard P. CorbettS.T.M. Candidate, Interfaith PastoralInstitute, University of WinnipegText: Luke 2:14I know that Christmas is still a couple of months away. Butthere is one gift of Christmas that I would like to open now.It is the gift of peace. In the night sky over Bethlehem theangels proclaimed God’s blessing of peace upon the folk of theearth. That gift of peace came in the flesh and blood form of atiny babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.As such, it is a living testimony to peace in the Biblical senseas being not just the absence of war, but rather, safety andsecurity, harmony and goodwill, justice and righteousness.I am going to challenge you this morning to open up thatgift of peace. I am going to do this by putting a most painfulquestion to you. The question is ugly and blunt and offensive.How will your children die? Will they live to a ripe oldage like Abraham? Will they live out their three score and tenyears? Or will they die young and violently? Those of you whoare under twenty, how do you think you will die? And at whatage?These questions plunge us right into the center of peaceby forcing us to examine the opposite reality of one possiblefuture we will pass on to our children. I was confronted with aquestion like this a couple of months ago in a university class.Our professor handed out paper and crayons and asked us todraw two images; one of sex and the other of death. And thenwe were to break up into small groups and address the questionof which image was the more difficult to draw.Now, being clergy, you would think that the subject of deathwould be the less difficult for me to sketch. As a pastor, I have82 Consensussat with many folk who were dying. I have sat with theirfamilies. One of my professional functions is to preside overfunerals. I have been trained to minister to the dying andtheir loved ones. And even more significantly, as a Christian Ibelieve that my death will not be the final end, but rather, thegateway to eternal life.But on this particular evening I was stuck. The crayon inmy hand would not even join with the paper. So I turned tosex. And there I drew a beautiful scene of a lakeshore in thesummer. And then the words of Jesus came to mind wherehe talked about the mustard seed growing into a large plant,a plant that was so great that the birds of the air came andfound shelter in the shade of its branches. I sketched out anoak tree by the lake and in the shadows of this great tree I drewa picture of myself, my wife, and our newborn son, Adam.We were all holding hands. It was a picture of biblicalpeace. It was a scene of safety and security, of peace in theheart, peace with God, peace in the home, peace between allthe folk of the world, and peace with nature.As I was drawing the stick figure of my son Adam I suddenlyshuddered and the reason for my block around death becameapparent. I was not so troubled with my own death as I was bythe possible death of our son. As I contemplated the mannerof Adam’s end I put the crayon to the paper and drew a largeblack mushroom cloud looming over a pile of rubble that wasonce a city. And in the bottom right hand corner I placed across. Beneath the cross I wrote the name of our son, “Adam.”Will Adam die in that way? I surely hope not. But realityforces me to consider the possibility. Am I the only parent whoworries about the future we are passing on to our kids? Whatabout you young people? Do you wonder about the futureand what will happen? Surveys have shown that a majority ofyoung people today believe that they will die in a nuclear warbefore the year two thousand. That is only twelve Christmasesaway.But war does not have to be a future reality. The incar-nation of God has shown us both the hope and the vision ofpeace. Listen to the words of the prophet Isaiah:Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness willabide in the fertile field. And the work of righteousness will bepeace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidenceAnd On Earth, Peace 83forever. Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation(32 : 16-18 ).Steel for the weapons of war will be hammered into theimplements of peace. That is the Christmas gift of peace. Theblood of our sons and daughters does not have to stain thewaters of the Persian Gulf. Their flesh does not have to lierotting in some jungle swamp. And their ashes do not have toglow in the dark of a nuclear winter. The babe in the mangerhas shown us an alternative.Some of you, as you listen to me, may be asking yourselves,“Pastor, Christmas will be the season to be merry. What hasthis subject of how our children will die have to do with thejoy of this Christmas season?” Others of you may be asking,“What has peace got to do with the birth of our Saviour?”And others of you may be wondering if you took a wrong turnthis morning and ended up at a political convention instead ofa church service. And I suppose there may be some of you whoare wondering if I am some kind of pinko socialist masquerad-ing as a pastor.Well, you do not have to be a socialist to worry about the fu-ture of your children and how they might die. Liberals, NDPs,and Conservatives, atheists and agnostics, Muslims and Hindusno doubt worry about the same thing. I believe that there isnot a single parent on the face of this planet who would wantto receive a letter from the Department of National Defencebeginning with the words: “The Dept, of National Defencedeeply regrets to inform you....” There are probably some ofyou here today who have received just such a telegram in thepast. You know better than anyone in our generation what theimpact of those words are.But let us take a closer look at the question of the relation-ship between peace, war, and the birth of our Lord. Just howdoes the birth of Jesus address the issue of a future possibilityof peace? The very manner in which the birth transpired is initself a gift of peace. The Lord did not enter the world withsword in hand. He did not walk into Bethlehem like SylvesterStalone or Arnold Schwarzenegger, sweat dripping from thosebulging biceps, bandoleers of bullets draped across the massiveNeanderthal chest, grenades hanging from designer jeans, bay-onet between the teeth, rifle in his hands pumping lead into84 Consensusanything that moves, sowing the seeds of death and destruc-tion in the name of peace. And no fifty megaton I.C.B.M.sfell out of the heaven onto the sleeping city to announce hisarrival.No. Jesus appeared via the womb of a woman, just likeour children and us. A defenceless infant at the mercy of allthe forces of evil, born in a manger. It is such a beautifulscene that would warm even the coldest heart. I remembergoing out to my uncle’s farm for Christmas one year. It wasan amazing treat for this city slicker to accompany his uncleout to the barn in the evening after supper to milk the cows. Iremember walking in silence across the yard hearing the snowcrunch underfoot and looking up into a sky so clear it seemedas though I could reach out and grab hold of a star. The cowswould already be in their stalls when we walked into the barnand my uncle would fork out the hay and then sit down on amilking stool and begin his work. It was so quiet. I loved it.The very manner in which our Lord came into this worldsymbolized the gift of peace. But his life was short and hedied violently, on a cross. But as violently as his life was givenup, even then, it symbolized a quality of peace. He did not golike a John Wayne, taking as many with him as he could. Butrather, with a simple, “It is finished.” The Son of God did notkill for the sake of peace. Rather, he was killed for the sake ofpeace.Our peace. Our peace that comes with the knowledge thatGod loves us and forgives our sins. Our peace that flows fromthe knowledge of eternal life with him. Our peace that maygrow into a future construction of peace between neighbors andnations.You see, the gift of peace is like the seed of the mustardplant, that when planted will grow in our hearts and spreadinto our relationships with others. It will even spread outwardacross time reaching into the future through our children.How? Christmas is just around the corner and your kidsare probably running to you with requests for gifts. Gifts likea G.I. Joe doll, or a Transformer, or a Master of the Universe.Maybe they want a toy rifle or grenade launcher. Or a videogame based on the theme of war.Well, I am going to ask you to do something that will proba-bly anger them. I am going to ask you to ignore those innocentrequests for a weapon of war.And On Earth, Peace 85You say, “Why should I do that? My kids will climb thewall. Besides, these toys are just fantasies. They are just plas-tic and harmless.” Yes, that is true, they are just toys. Butwrapped around those toys, like a coiled rattlesnake, is a sys-tem of values that will plant the seed of violence in your childand predispose him or her to see might as the answer to theproblems of the world. They will see the best solution to evilin this world lies in a hundred megaton Pershing Two designedto blow those godless commies all the way into a nuclear hell.Children are more violent when they play with violent toys.So much so, that it is standard policy in the daycares not toallow toy rifles on the premises. Remember, the child with theplastic rifle in his or her hands today will be the next genera-tion’s voter. The worshippers of Rambo will be the politiciansand policymakers of tomorrow. The child with the G.I. Joedoll will be the soldier lying in some trench, his or her ownblood spilling into the dirt.It is not a pretty thing to think about. But planting theseeds of violence in our children today will produce a harvestof their blood down the road.Would it not be nice to know that our children have suc-ceeded where we have failed, by building a world of peace?That the gift of peace we have given them for Christmas ger-minated a vision of peace in their hearts and down the roada world of peace was harvested? We have the choice beforeus now. In the hymn “Lord Christ, When First You Came toEarth” (L.B.W., 421) the third verse puts the gift of peace intoour hands and challenges us to open it up: “New advent of thelove of Christ, will we again refuse you, till in the night of hateand war we perish as we lose you?” Amen.

And on earth, peace

Scholars Commons

Consensus
Volume 14
Issue 2 Issues and Concerns in Ethics Article 7
11-1-1988
And on earth, peace
Leonard P. Corbett
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus
This Sermons is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by an
authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.
Recommended Citation
Corbett, Leonard P. (1988) "And on earth, peace," Consensus: Vol. 14 : Iss. 2 , Article 7.
Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol14/iss2/7
And On Earth, Peace
Leonard P. Corbett
S.T.M. Candidate, Interfaith Pastoral
Institute, University of Winnipeg
Text: Luke 2:14
I know that Christmas is still a couple of months away. But
there is one gift of Christmas that I would like to open now.
It is the gift of peace. In the night sky over Bethlehem the
angels proclaimed God’s blessing of peace upon the folk of the
earth. That gift of peace came in the flesh and blood form of a
tiny babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
As such, it is a living testimony to peace in the Biblical sense
as being not just the absence of war, but rather, safety and
security, harmony and goodwill, justice and righteousness.
I am going to challenge you this morning to open up that
gift of peace. I am going to do this by putting a most painful
question to you. The question is ugly and blunt and offensive.
How will your children die? Will they live to a ripe old
age like Abraham? Will they live out their three score and ten
years? Or will they die young and violently? Those of you who
are under twenty, how do you think you will die? And at what
age?
These questions plunge us right into the center of peace
by forcing us to examine the opposite reality of one possible
future we will pass on to our children. I was confronted with a
question like this a couple of months ago in a university class.
Our professor handed out paper and crayons and asked us to
draw two images; one of sex and the other of death. And then
we were to break up into small groups and address the question
of which image was the more difficult to draw.
Now, being clergy, you would think that the subject of death
would be the less difficult for me to sketch. As a pastor, I have
82 Consensus
sat with many folk who were dying. I have sat with their
families. One of my professional functions is to preside over
funerals. I have been trained to minister to the dying and
their loved ones. And even more significantly, as a Christian I
believe that my death will not be the final end, but rather, the
gateway to eternal life.
But on this particular evening I was stuck. The crayon in
my hand would not even join with the paper. So I turned to
sex. And there I drew a beautiful scene of a lakeshore in the
summer. And then the words of Jesus came to mind where
he talked about the mustard seed growing into a large plant,
a plant that was so great that the birds of the air came and
found shelter in the shade of its branches. I sketched out an
oak tree by the lake and in the shadows of this great tree I drew
a picture of myself, my wife, and our newborn son, Adam.
We were all holding hands. It was a picture of biblical
peace. It was a scene of safety and security, of peace in the
heart, peace with God, peace in the home, peace between all
the folk of the world, and peace with nature.
As I was drawing the stick figure of my son Adam I suddenly
shuddered and the reason for my block around death became
apparent. I was not so troubled with my own death as I was by
the possible death of our son. As I contemplated the manner
of Adam’s end I put the crayon to the paper and drew a large
black mushroom cloud looming over a pile of rubble that was
once a city. And in the bottom right hand corner I placed a
cross. Beneath the cross I wrote the name of our son, “Adam.”
Will Adam die in that way? I surely hope not. But reality
forces me to consider the possibility. Am I the only parent who
worries about the future we are passing on to our kids? What
about you young people? Do you wonder about the future
and what will happen? Surveys have shown that a majority of
young people today believe that they will die in a nuclear war
before the year two thousand. That is only twelve Christmases
away.
But war does not have to be a future reality. The incar-
nation of God has shown us both the hope and the vision of
peace. Listen to the words of the prophet Isaiah:
Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness will
abide in the fertile field. And the work of righteousness will be
peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence
And On Earth, Peace 83
forever. Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation
(32 : 16-
18 ).
Steel for the weapons of war will be hammered into the
implements of peace. That is the Christmas gift of peace. The
blood of our sons and daughters does not have to stain the
waters of the Persian Gulf. Their flesh does not have to lie
rotting in some jungle swamp. And their ashes do not have to
glow in the dark of a nuclear winter. The babe in the manger
has shown us an alternative.
Some of you, as you listen to me, may be asking yourselves,
“Pastor, Christmas will be the season to be merry. What has
this subject of how our children will die have to do with the
joy of this Christmas season?” Others of you may be asking,
“What has peace got to do with the birth of our Saviour?”
And others of you may be wondering if you took a wrong turn
this morning and ended up at a political convention instead of
a church service. And I suppose there may be some of you who
are wondering if I am some kind of pinko socialist masquerad-
ing as a pastor.
Well, you do not have to be a socialist to worry about the fu-
ture of your children and how they might die. Liberals, NDPs,
and Conservatives, atheists and agnostics, Muslims and Hindus
no doubt worry about the same thing. I believe that there is
not a single parent on the face of this planet who would want
to receive a letter from the Department of National Defence
beginning with the words: “The Dept, of National Defence
deeply regrets to inform you....” There are probably some of
you here today who have received just such a telegram in the
past. You know better than anyone in our generation what the
impact of those words are.
But let us take a closer look at the question of the relation-
ship between peace, war, and the birth of our Lord. Just how
does the birth of Jesus address the issue of a future possibility
of peace? The very manner in which the birth transpired is in
itself a gift of peace. The Lord did not enter the world with
sword in hand. He did not walk into Bethlehem like Sylvester
Stalone or Arnold Schwarzenegger, sweat dripping from those
bulging biceps, bandoleers of bullets draped across the massive
Neanderthal chest, grenades hanging from designer jeans, bay-
onet between the teeth, rifle in his hands pumping lead into
84 Consensus
anything that moves, sowing the seeds of death and destruc-
tion in the name of peace. And no fifty megaton I.C.B.M.s
fell out of the heaven onto the sleeping city to announce his
arrival.
No. Jesus appeared via the womb of a woman, just like
our children and us. A defenceless infant at the mercy of all
the forces of evil, born in a manger. It is such a beautiful
scene that would warm even the coldest heart. I remember
going out to my uncle’s farm for Christmas one year. It was
an amazing treat for this city slicker to accompany his uncle
out to the barn in the evening after supper to milk the cows. I
remember walking in silence across the yard hearing the snow
crunch underfoot and looking up into a sky so clear it seemed
as though I could reach out and grab hold of a star. The cows
would already be in their stalls when we walked into the barn
and my uncle would fork out the hay and then sit down on a
milking stool and begin his work. It was so quiet. I loved it.
The very manner in which our Lord came into this world
symbolized the gift of peace. But his life was short and he
died violently, on a cross. But as violently as his life was given
up, even then, it symbolized a quality of peace. He did not go
like a John Wayne, taking as many with him as he could. But
rather, with a simple, “It is finished.” The Son of God did not
kill for the sake of peace. Rather, he was killed for the sake of
peace.
Our peace. Our peace that comes with the knowledge that
God loves us and forgives our sins. Our peace that flows from
the knowledge of eternal life with him. Our peace that may
grow into a future construction of peace between neighbors and
nations.
You see, the gift of peace is like the seed of the mustard
plant, that when planted will grow in our hearts and spread
into our relationships with others. It will even spread outward
across time reaching into the future through our children.
How? Christmas is just around the corner and your kids
are probably running to you with requests for gifts. Gifts like
a G.I. Joe doll, or a Transformer, or a Master of the Universe.
Maybe they want a toy rifle or grenade launcher. Or a video
game based on the theme of war.
Well, I am going to ask you to do something that will proba-
bly anger them. I am going to ask you to ignore those innocent
requests for a weapon of war.
And On Earth, Peace 85
You say, “Why should I do that? My kids will climb the
wall. Besides, these toys are just fantasies. They are just plas-
tic and harmless.” Yes, that is true, they are just toys. But
wrapped around those toys, like a coiled rattlesnake, is a sys-
tem of values that will plant the seed of violence in your child
and predispose him or her to see might as the answer to the
problems of the world. They will see the best solution to evil
in this world lies in a hundred megaton Pershing Two designed
to blow those godless commies all the way into a nuclear hell.
Children are more violent when they play with violent toys.
So much so, that it is standard policy in the daycares not to
allow toy rifles on the premises. Remember, the child with the
plastic rifle in his or her hands today will be the next genera-
tion’s voter. The worshippers of Rambo will be the politicians
and policymakers of tomorrow. The child with the G.I. Joe
doll will be the soldier lying in some trench, his or her own
blood spilling into the dirt.
It is not a pretty thing to think about. But planting the
seeds of violence in our children today will produce a harvest
of their blood down the road.
Would it not be nice to know that our children have suc-
ceeded where we have failed, by building a world of peace?
That the gift of peace we have given them for Christmas ger-
minated a vision of peace in their hearts and down the road
a world of peace was harvested? We have the choice before
us now. In the hymn “Lord Christ, When First You Came to
Earth” (L.B.W., 421) the third verse puts the gift of peace into
our hands and challenges us to open it up: “New advent of the
love of Christ, will we again refuse you, till in the night of hate
and war we perish as we lose you?” Amen.


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And on earth, peace

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