A Fire for True Peace: The Division Before Reconciliation
August 17, 2025
Opening Thought
We gather for worship each week from the hustle of our lives, stepping across the threshold to reorient ourselves toward the eternal. We come to encounter the living God. But what happens when that encounter doesn't leave us with easy comfort, but with a burning challenge? Today, we begin by singing of God’s majesty, yet we are led by the scriptures to the messy, divisive reality of living out our faith in a broken world. From our own community here in Macon to the farthest corners of the globe, we are called to ask: what is the nature of true peace, and what is the cost of bringing it forth?
Engaging the Word
The journey of our readings today is a masterclass in Christian realism. The prophet Jeremiah decries the counterfeit peace offered by false prophets, reminding us that God's true word is not empty chaff but a "fire" and a "hammer that breaks a rock in pieces." It's meant to shatter the hard realities we would rather ignore. Psalm 82 echoes this, issuing a divine command to the powers of the earth to "give justice to the weak and the orphan"—a task that inevitably puts one at odds with the powerful.
The letter to the Hebrews then pivots to encouragement. It acknowledges the struggle but points us to the "great cloud of witnesses," saints and ancestors who endured hardship and faced division. We are called to run the race with perseverance, but how? The liturgy, in its wisdom, provides a musical roadmap to guide us, starting from the moment we enter.
A Journey in Song: Our Musical Guides
Our hymns today do not simply decorate the liturgy; they interpret it. They guide us through this challenging theological landscape, acting as four distinct signposts on our journey from adoration to action.
The Entrance Hymn: "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise" (Hymn #423) Our worship begins here, with a profound declaration of who God is. We sing of a God who is transcendent, eternal, and "in light inaccessible hid from our eyes." This hymn is our call to worship. It pulls us out of our immediate concerns and focuses our minds on the sheer majesty and mystery of the God we serve. Before we can wrestle with the difficult particulars of discipleship, we must first stand in awe of the one who calls us. This hymn establishes the ultimate context: the fiery words and divisive actions we will hear about are not random human events; they are the work of this same all-powerful, all-wise, and unchanging God.
The Sequence Hymn: "Take Up Your Cross, the Savior Said" (Hymn #675) After being reminded of God’s awesome nature, we are prepared for the cost of discipleship. Positioned immediately before the Gospel reading, this hymn is our moment of resolve: "Take up your cross, the Savior said, if you would my disciple be." Having just sung of God's glory, we now sing of our response. Then, with these words of commitment fresh on our lips, we stand to hear Jesus say, "I have come to bring fire... I have come to bring division." The hymn has given us the key. The "division" Jesus brings is the cross we are called to bear. It is the necessary, painful separation from the world's values of power and false peace. The hymn transforms Jesus's difficult words from a frightening threat into the very definition of our discipleship.
The Anthem: "The Eyes of All Wait Upon Thee" (William H. Harris) After confronting the cross, the choir offers a vision of why we carry it. The text from Psalm 145 sings of God's dream for the world: "The eyes of all wait upon thee, O Lord; and thou givest them their meat in due season." This is the goal. The world as it should be—a creation where all things living look to their benevolent Creator and are filled. We take up the divisive cross of Christ precisely to break down the unjust human systems that prevent this divine provision. The anthem reminds us of the beautiful, reconciled world we are striving to build, a world where everyone receives their "meat in due season."
The Post-Communion Hymn: "Go Forth for God" (Hymn #347) Having journeyed from adoration, through the cross, to the vision, we are finally sent out with our commission. This hymn is not a gentle dismissal; it is a powerful command. We are to "Go forth for God, go to the world in peace." But what kind of peace? After this service, we know it is not the false peace of silence. The hymn qualifies it immediately: "Go forth for God, go to the world in strength... Go forth for God, go to the world in love... Go forth for God, go to the world in hope."
This is the peace that has been tested by fire. It is the strength to take up our cross. It is the love that is willing to cause "division" for the sake of the oppressed. It is the hope that is fixed on Jesus, the pioneer of our faith. This hymn is our marching order. It transforms our worship from a private experience into a public witness, commissioning each of us to be an ambassador of reconciliation in a world that desperately needs it. We leave the church not with a feeling of cheap comfort, but with a holy purpose, grounded in the majesty of the "Immortal, Invisible, God only wise."
A Closing Note on Our Journey
The spoken Word of God challenges our minds and directs our paths, but it is so often the music of our liturgy that truly fills and feeds our souls for the road ahead. A melody can lodge itself in our hearts, and a line of a hymn can become the prayer we didn't know we needed on a difficult Tuesday afternoon. It is this marriage of Word and music that gives us the spiritual nourishment and strength we need to, as Hebrews says, "run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith." May the echoes of this week’s hymns give you strength for your journey.
I pray these reflections are a blessing to you. Please join me again next week as we continue this journey together, exploring the scriptures and songs for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost.
A Prayer for the Week Ahead
Let us pray.
For the courage to reject the comfort of a false peace, and to speak your truth even when it brings division. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
For the strength to take up our cross daily, sustained by the songs of our faith and inspired by the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
O God of consuming fire and steadfast love, whose Word is a hammer that breaks down injustice and whose Son came not to bring a peace that ignores suffering, but the sword that sets us free: Grant us the grace to embrace this holy disturbance, that we may be counted not among the builders of comfortable illusions, but among the courageous reconcilers who, through conflict, build your lasting kingdom of justice and peace; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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