Peace Within Thy Walls

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

The Peace for Which We Wait

Before we turn to the Gospel, I want to say a word about Father Britton. His spirit is willing, but his flesh is weak, and he is unable to be with us to minister today. We hold him in affection and prayer.

But physical frailty is not spiritual weakness. A body may be unable to do what it once did while the spirit remains faithful, prayerful, and full of love. The burden of illness or age is not a sign that God has withdrawn his grace. We bear our burdens with God’s help, and sometimes we bear them by allowing others to help bear them with us.

That thought is already present in today’s worship. The Introit begins with the prayer, Give peace, O Lord, unto them that wait for thee. Then Psalm 122 gives us the gladness of those who enter God’s house: I was glad when they said unto me, We will go into the house of the Lord. And then it prays, Peace be within thy walls.

We have come here today not because any of us is strong enough to manage life alone, but because God gathers us into his house. His peace is not the absence of difficulty. It is the presence of God within difficulty.

His peace is not the absence of difficulty. It is the presence of God within difficulty.

The Commandment of Love

A lawyer asks Jesus, Which is the great commandment in the law? And our Lord answers:

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Then he adds:

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

These commandments are distinct, but they belong together. Love of God is the root; love of neighbour is the fruit. The first gives our love its direction. The second shows whether our love of God is genuine.

Christian love does not mean agreeing with everything another person says or does. It means seeking that person’s true good. Sometimes that requires patience. Sometimes forgiveness. Sometimes a gentle truth. Sometimes it means refusing to assist in something harmful. But we cannot claim to love God while deliberately neglecting or despising the person whom God has placed before us.

The Collect tells us why this is difficult. We ask God for grace to withstand the world, the flesh, and the devil, and to follow him with pure hearts and minds. We are not naturally single-hearted. Our attention is divided. Our desires are pulled in different directions. We want to love God, but we also want to preserve our pride, our resentments, our comforts, and our control.

The Lord Whom David Calls Lord

So grace comes first. The Epistle begins at exactly this point: I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ. God does not command us to manufacture perfect love from our own exhausted resources. He gives grace. He cleanses the heart, strengthens the will, and supplies what his commandments require.

The wisdom psalms teach us what this grace begins to look like in a human life. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. Wisdom is not merely knowing more. It is learning to delight in what is good. It is having the heart gradually turned toward God.

That is also why Jesus continues beyond the Great Commandment and asks the Pharisees, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?

They answer correctly that the Christ is the Son of David. But Jesus then quotes Psalm 110:

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand.

If David calls the Messiah Lord, how can the Messiah be merely David’s son?

Jesus will not allow them to reduce him to a political successor, a religious teacher, or merely a good man. He is David’s Son, truly human; but he is also David’s Lord. The one whom we are commanded to love with all our heart, soul, and mind is the Lord who has come among us for our salvation.

The Gradual continues this widening vision. It returns to Jerusalem’s peace: Peace be within thy walls. But the Alleluia then declares that the nations shall fear the Lord’s Name and that all the kings of the earth shall see his majesty. The peace of God is not meant to remain enclosed within one congregation, one city, or one people. It is the peace of the King whose lordship reaches all nations.

The Covenant Peace of the Altar

Then, at the Offertory, we hear of Moses building an altar and offering burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord in the presence of Israel. Peace is not simply wished for; it is established within covenant and sacrifice. And as we come to the altar today, we do not come trusting in our own worthiness. We come through Christ, the true Priest and the true sacrifice, trusting in God’s manifold and great mercies.

That has a practical meaning for us. Before we approach the Holy Table, we are called to examine our hearts. Is there someone we refuse to forgive? Is there an apology to make, an injury to repair, a debt to acknowledge, or an old resentment to surrender?

But we must also remember this: feeling unworthy is not the same as refusing repentance. None of us comes to the altar because we have made ourselves perfect. Holy Communion is not a prize for the strong. It is Christ’s gift to those who repent, believe, and desire his grace.

And this applies especially to those whose bodies are weak. A person confined to a bed may still love God with all the heart. A person who cannot walk may still pray. A person who needs to receive care may still offer patience, gratitude, and kindness. A gracious word, a prayer from a chair, a complaint left unspoken, or a burden patiently borne may be a precious work of love.

Physical frailty is not spiritual failure.

We are not saved by the amount we can accomplish. We are saved by the grace of Jesus Christ, who confirms his people unto the end.

Love Within Reach

So let us take a simple rule into the coming week.

Each morning, ask: Lord, how may I love thee today?

Then ask: Whom hast thou given me to love today?

The answer may be someone close at hand. It may be someone who needs a telephone call, a patient hearing, encouragement, forgiveness, or simply the assurance that he or she has not been forgotten.

Love God with the strength you have today. Love the neighbour whom God has placed within your reach. And when your strength is insufficient, ask again for grace.

For grace comes first. Grace remains with us. And the peace of God is within these walls—not because we are strong, but because Christ our Lord is here.

Amen.