Mt. 5, 38-48

Jubilee Confirmation

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen 

Micah 4: 1-5

 But when all is said and done,
    God’s Temple on the mountain,
Firmly fixed, will dominate all mountains,
    towering above surrounding hills.
People will stream to it
    and many nations set out for it,
Saying, “Come, let’s climb God’s mountain.
    Let’s go to the Temple of Jacob’s God.
He will teach us how to live.
    We’ll know how to live God’s way.”
True teaching will issue from Zion,
    God’s revelation from Jerusalem.
He’ll establish justice in the rabble of nations
    and settle disputes in faraway places.
They’ll trade in their swords for shovels,
    their spears for rakes and hoes.
Nations will quit fighting each other,
    quit learning how to kill one another.
Each man will sit under his own shade tree,
    each woman in safety will tend her own garden.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so,
    and he means what he says.

⁵ Meanwhile, all the other people live however they wish,
    picking and choosing their gods.
But we live honoring God,
    and we’re loyal to our God forever and ever.

Dear congregation,

While Assyrian troops threaten Jerusalem, the prophet Micah imagines what peace looks like and talks about it with King Hezekiah. 

If we continue reading beyond the verses selected for today, it is clear that Micah does not mince his words. Micah dares to clearly point out grievances in the world. Micah does not accept this and settles down by saying: ‘The world is bad!’ Micah remains convinced: ‘There is another way!’ While all around him the king's government is busy arming itself and the whole world is getting used to the idea that peace can only be achieved by using weaponry, Micah is busy reading the commandments and laws of God. The Holy Scriptures challenge him. ‘If what is written here is true,’ argues Micah, ’then we cannot go to war.’

Micah has a better goal in mind: A peaceful future.  As unlikely as it may seem at the moment when he preaches, Micah remains faithful to the Holy Scriptures. He reads the old words, and they awaken new hope in him. As bad as things are in the world, Micah remains hopeful.

He does not delude himself. He doesn't look away and preach false optimism. On the contrary: Micah goes to great lengths to draw attention to what is incompatible with the Holy Scriptures. He denounces people who plan disaster. He criticises those who accumulate more and more property and seize everything: fields and houses. Micah is troubled by the violent behaviour of his fellow citizens. 

Although he is only a minor prophet, he sees it as his task to speak of peace. He does not even shy away from confrontation with the king. He tells him about peace. The king seems to have forgotten that his job is to ensure peace.

Micah describes a miracle: suddenly the rulers of the world realise that they have been pursuing the wrong goal: they have all been thinking only of themselves. Suddenly the world recognises that it has one goal: peace.

Come, let us turn back to God! Turning to God means turning away from weapons. Turning back to God is about being on the path together. Not one against the other, but one for the other. Turning back means recognising the hardship of those people who have lost everything: Home and family, possessions and reputation.

Micah imagines that all the rulers of the world align themselves with God. The God who creates life and establishes peace. The God who is surrounded by peace: the Prince of Peace, the wonderful counsellor.

What would it be like if the whole world walked in his footsteps?

Dear congregation, I am glad and grateful that these words speak to us at the beginning of the new week. They are a great and magnificent reassurance that peace remains a possibility.

They are a reassurance that it is worth aligning ourselves with God's word and being uplifted by God.

In preparation for this service, I met with several of the jubilarians. We took time to look for footprints of God in our lives and to tell each other about them.  There were times in every life when these traces seemed hard to find. Something happened that threw someone off course. An encounter with war. The unexpected death of a person. Unfulfilled wishes in life. Breaks in relationships. Political circumstances that make you doubt your own sanity.

It takes courage to admit how powerless and helpless we sometimes feel. Also how guilty, how entangled, how incapable of recognising. Yes, there are dark valleys that scare us and where we think we won't find our way. But here we are: you, the jubilarians and you, the congregation: here we are: we have travelled through many a valley. But we haven't got stuck. Sometimes it takes a long time: forty years in the desert - an eternity.

But here we are in a church service: where we not only remember our lives, but above all are being reminded: There is God, looking at you, shining over you, and blessing you with vitality. 
To be blessed means to be placed in the light. To be illuminated, so brightly and vividly,  that even in the darkest corner of a valley there is still a light.

Just as the famous singer Leonard Cohen sang: There is a crack in everything, that's where the light comes in.

Micha reminds his listeners of this light. Don't let the images of war destroy you, imagine peace.

Very practical and very clear.

Everyone sits under his own vine and under his own fig tree.

The embodiment of peace is a place where I belong and no one can drive me away.

It is your own piece of land that you can organise however you like.

You can plough on this land. You need ploughs and other tools.

Let's plough, says Micah.

Let's not wait for them all to leave. This is what he has in mind in verse 2, but then he calls on some in verse 5. Let us, who can visualise peace, get going.

Yes, let's do that. While so many are preoccupied with themselves, while nations and countries prioritise their own well-being and are prepared to wage war and defend what does not belong to them - while this seems to be becoming the ‘norm’, let us do it differently. Let's recast our weapons. Let us labour so that things can be peaceful. Let us listen to God's promise. Let us trust in the God who has often amazed and surprised his people: as a child in the manger, disarmed on the cross, alive in the grave.

Let us hold on to the promises and words we received at our confirmation. Let us share the pain, pass on the blessing, show mercy, seek peace and gratefully savour moments where no one needs to feel anxious.

May God's closeness give you that kind of comfort - and may that comfort remain a guide for the next step.

May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen