Instruments of God's Peace

Mooselookmeguntic Lake, Rangeley, Maine

Some time ago, I watched a movie about a man I knew almost nothing about except that he had written a prayer that has been beautifully set to music I have played and sung many times. I love the words, but even though I’d been to the place where the author lived and worked many years ago— I never knew the story behind them until I saw that movie. His home is as picturesque and peaceful a place as you might imagine, nestled in the rugged mountains of Italy. But it took watching the story of Giovanni Francesco Bernardone and simultaneously finding myself in a dark enough place to crave desperately what he’d written about, for me to understand what this priest, otherwise known as Francis of Assisi, meant when he wrote this 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;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O 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.

Amen.

It was more than 800 years ago that Francis penned those words. No doubt they were meaningful words for him in his time. But I’d like to suggest to you that they are just as important– and necessary – for today’s Christian – today’s Seventh-day Adventist – in 2020.  Now, more than ever, we need to be understanding of each other, we need to be looking out for each other – whether it be while we are all at home, or when we are back at school, at work, or at church. With all the sadness and stress of the world around us, there has never been a greater need for peace – the peace of Jesus Christ. And there has never been a better place or time than right here, right now.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:9 that the peacemakers will be called the sons—and daughters—of God. George Herbert, a 17th century English poet and pastor, says that “Where there is peace, God is.” The question is, then, how do we become peacemakers, and thus bring God to the world? The answer lies, pretty plainly, in the words of St. Francis. At first glance, you might notice that St. Francis works in opposites; in lights and darks; in contrasts. He talks about hatred, injury, doubt, despair, darkness, and sadness. This is what we find in the world—a world without the love of Jesus. He then asks that God make him an instrument of peace—and through that instrument, allow Him to sow love, pardon, faith, hope, light, and joy—just the opposite of what exists in the world. This is what we are able to produce when God works together with us in the lives of others.

The second half of the poem centers on us – on our innermost selves – our needs and desires. God understands how easy it is for us as humans to get carried away with our own turning of the good into bad. St. Francis felt that, too, and so he asked for personal help in humility, in directing his focus away from himself and back to others. He asked for help in giving, with no thought for receiving. But the wonderful thing about this is that when we give, the opposite occurs: we end up receiving more than we give. He reminds us that forgiveness is a two-way street, a two-part process. When we forgive others, genuinely forgive them, it comes back on us as well. A forgiving spirit earns forgiveness as well.

Then St. Francis shows us one more paradox, perhaps the most exciting and important one of all. He says, “it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.” Not only does the death of Christ on the Cross give us a way to Eternal Life, but when we die to self – not just through baptism, but in our daily lives as Christians – we are given new life, and we begin walking the pathway to Eternal Life.

As Christians, then, according to St. Francis, we need to negate the negative opposites in the world through cultivating the positive opposites in our lives. Easier said than done, but not impossible. The Bible gives us several examples of unlikely candidates for being His instruments of peace: Zacchaeus, Naaman, Esther, Saul among them. The fact is, only Jesus and His love can take a person filled with hatred and injury and use him or her as an instrument of His love and healing. Jesus did that with those we read about in the Bible. He can do it for each one of us today. Instead of bringing darkness to those around us with criticism and unkind words, we can – as instruments of God’s peace – bring light – sowing loving words of encouragement and understanding. We can show faith in each other, act kindly towards one another at all times, and, yes, bring joy to each other.

I encourage you to think of ways you can personally be an instrument of God’s peace right here, this very day. It is my prayer that you will take St. Francis’ prayer and make it your own. Then God can and will make you an instrument of His peace. And the world, this church community, will be a better place.