St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
Third Annual Choral
Festival of Peace
September 8, 2017
Peace Is Indeed
Possible
Our Minister of
Music, Gail Blache-Gill, has given me the daunting task of offering a reflection on peace.
It’s a daunting
task because it’s a big subject and it’s getting late and, let’s face it,
there’s nothing I can say that would be as profound or as beautiful as the
music we’re hearing tonight.
Three years ago
when we offered the first Choral Festival of Peace, we chose the September JC
Friday because it’s close to the anniversary of the September 11 attacks – and,
actually, that year it fell on September 11 itself.
We remembered that
shocking day of deep blue skies when, especially for those of us who were here
in the metro area, whatever sense of security we thought we had was taken away
from us, that terrifying and tragic day when our peace, and so much else, was
shattered.
Since then, we’ve
endured sixteen years of war and rumors of war, sixteen years of terror and the
fear of terror – a whole generation has grown up knowing nothing else.
And, during these
years our peace has also been broken by partisanship so extreme that many of us
can’t see “the other side” as fellow Americans, let alone as brothers and
sisters, God’s beloved children.
During these years
our peace has been broken by economic anxiety, the loss of jobs for many and,
for some, little hope of ever finding employment.
Our peace has been
broken by anxiety of warming temperatures and rising tides and ferociously
destructive storms.
And, our own
personal peace has been broken by our individual hurts and wounds and fears.
So, what to do?
Of
course, we could just accept that this is how it’s going to be.
Or,
maybe we could, with God’s help, take a few steps toward rebuilding – or maybe just
building – peace.
As individuals, we
might take up the challenge of truly living mindfully, of recognizing that, as
the great Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh writes and teaches, “peace is every step.”
So, even in a
gritty city, we can breathe in and breathe out and recover the wonder that we
are alive, right here and now – we can look up at the clouds in the sky and we can
look down at the beautiful flowers growing stubbornly even in the most
inhospitable soil – we can see the people we pass on the street, the people we
work with, go to school with, and even the people we live with – see their
gifts and their burdens – we can at least try to love even those who are so
hard to love.
And, collectively,
I think the biggest obstacle to peace is that we sell ourselves short. We don’t
see or maybe have just forgotten just how much power we have.
You know, one of
the more surprising themes of the gospels is that Jesus’ closest followers and
friends have a really hard time figuring out who he is and what he’s about.
They get it wrong all the time.
But, at the same
time, in the gospel stories the demons know exactly who Jesus is
– they have no trouble recognizing him and respecting his power and authority.
And, I wonder if
the same isn’t sort of true for us, no matter what our religious background, or
if we’re not religious at all.
Too often we’re not
able to recognize the power of goodness and love – we’re not able to see that
when we get together and harness that power then evil doesn’t stand a chance
and peace can be restored.
For example…
Just last week the
Episcopal churches of Jersey City had a meet and greet at our new community
center, a storefront at Triangle Park down in Greenville.
We brought some
food and offered arts and crafts for the kids, the DJ pumped out some loud
music and we all wondered what would happen.
Well, what
happened was lots of people came out of their homes to see what was going on
and they ate and danced and did arts and crafts and they talked to us.
And, one of the
things we heard from our beautiful new neighbors is that for years their little
park has been ruled by the evil of addiction and by those who feed that demon.
Yet, for a few
hours at least, armed with nothing more than hot dogs and sandwiches and soda
and cake and, most of all, love and care, we took back that park and made it a
place of peace - and evil beat a retreat to the shadows
And, you know, it
wasn’t even that hard to do. Actually, it was fun!
We were armed with
nothing more than hot dogs, sandwiches, soda and cake – armed with nothing more
than genuine care and love.
Later, I’m sure
the demons returned, but, for a time, peace was restored, and I know we can do
it again.
So, for me, that
experience at the park and our time together here tonight are powerful reminders
that, yes, even in these hard times, peace is indeed possible.
Thank you.
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