Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text for today is Acts 12:1-5:
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
1. Today we celebrate the Festival of St. James the Elder, Apostle. There is more than one James in the Bible, so let’s be clear on who we’re talking about. James the Elder was the son of Zebedee and the old brother of the Gospel writer John. He was also one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. James the Elder is not to be confused with James the brother of Jesus who wrote the biblical book titled James—that’s a different James. This James, along with his brother John, was a fisherman by trade. In fact, the Gospels tell us that James and John were partners with Simon Peter and his brother Andrew prior to Jesus arriving on the scene. The Scriptures give us a handful of stories about James. There’s the one we heard in our Gospel Reading where James and John selfishly ask for a special place of glory in Jesus’ kingdom. There’s another one where James and John want to call lightning down from heaven to consume people who were opposing Jesus (this is where James and John got the nickname “Sons of Thunder†from). But despite these less-than-positive depictions of James, he was actually one of the leaders of the apostles. Along with Peter and John, he was a part of Jesus’ inner circle. After Jesus’ ascension, James became one of the leading figures in the early church. Perhaps that’s why Herod targeted both James and Peter as he tried to crush the Jesus movement in its infancy. And as we heard in the first two verses of Acts 12, James was the first of the apostles to suffer martyrdom for the sake of the Gospel. Beyond this, we really don’t know much about James the Elder. There is, however, a story preserved in church tradition that comes from Clement of Alexandria which offers a bit more detail to James’ martyrdom. There was a man who was responsible for James’ arrest. In fact, he was the one who turned James over to the religious authorities. James was then brought before the court to be tried (and put to death). While on trial, James gave such compelling testimony to Jesus that the man who had turned him over to the authorities was so moved that he confessed that he too was a Christian. Clement writes: So they were both taken away together, and on the way he asked James to forgive him. James looked at him for a moment and replied, “Peace be with you†and kissed him. So both were beheaded at the same time. What an incredible testimony of faith! We could easily focus on the faith of the man who betrayed James, but I would like to focus on James for a moment. What an incredible testimony of faith and forgiveness for James to forgive the man who was responsible for his impending death! It makes me wonder, how could this man be so transformed by the Gospel that the peace of Jesus just flowed out of him? And the thing is, this wasn’t unique to James. We heard about Peter being put in prison, and as the second half of that story later in Acts 12 tells us, Peter exuded that same kind of peace. How could he be so transformed by the Gospel that the peace of Jesus just flowed out of him? You could ask the same question about each of the apostles as they later faced suffering and death. How could they be so transformed by the Gospel that the peace of Jesus just flowed out of them? And, maybe more to the point, how do I become that kind of person?
2. There are a lot of competing answers to that question out there. The answer that the culture around us would give to the question of how to become a peace-filled person is: look deep within yourself and find your inner peace. Spend time in nature, meditate, do yoga, be more grateful, do good deeds, focus on what you can control. I don’t think I need to spend a whole lot of time debunking these ideas. We Lutherans know the doctrine of original sin. We know that when we look deep within ourselves we’re not going to find peace—we find chaos and sinfulness. You will never find true peace by looking inwardly.
3. So then, maybe the way to become a person who exudes the peace of Jesus is through discipline and self-control. I’ll be honest, I can hardly say the words discipline and self-control in the same sentence without thinking of Star Trek. If you’re not familiar with the Star Trek franchise, it’s a series about space exploration set several hundred years in the future. And one of the allies of the humans in this exploration is the alien spices the Vulcans. And the Vulcans are the epitome of discipline and self-control. They are knows chiefly for their logic and reasoning as well as their calm and collected demeanor. In the 2009 Star Trek film, we’re actually offered keen insight into the struggle for discipline and self-control through one of the Vulcan characters. Spock (played by Zachary Quinto) is, in a sense, a typical Vulcan. He seems to have it all together—he is calm, collected, logical, and disciplined. But as the movie plays itself out, what you discover is underneath the surface there’s a lot going on. There are a handful of moments throughout the movie where you see Spock’s sometimes violent struggle with emotions that he can’t master. Even the Vulcan who is supposed to be in total control of his emotions can’t begin to master them. And so, in this Vulcan character, we gain insight into a very human struggle because that’s all of us, isn’t it? We all have deep, raging emotions that we can’t master. This is why the idea of achieving peace through discipline and self-control is a pipe dream. After all, the deck is stacked against us. Our sinful nature is constantly raging within us. And the devil is there poking and prodding and just the right moment to make matters worse. And then there’s the world around us which seems to be constantly inflicting suffering to the point that we almost can’t bear it anymore. How could we ever be so transformed by the Gospel that the peace of Jesus just flows out of us?
4. Well, to provide a definitive answer to that question, I would like to return to our text. Fair warning: I can’t promise that this answer will work overnight or that you’ll even see the full effects of this on this side of eternity. But look at the second half of the final verse of our reading, Acts 12:5b: earnest prayer for him [Peter] was made to God by the church. Now, to be fair, we aren’t told what James did as he faced death which enabled him to exude the peace of Jesus. We aren’t told what Peter did as he sat in prison which enabled him to endure it, but we are told what the church of which they were leaders did—the church prayed. “But Pastor, that’s just the theological answer—Prayer doesn’t actually do anything! God already knows my needs and has decided in advance what he’s going to do. Why even bother praying?!†Well, if that’s your attitude about prayer, I would humbly submit to you that you might not truly be praying. See, prayer is an earnest petition before God. It’s a conversation where the Lord invites us to pour out ourselves to him. Ultimately, prayer isn’t done for God’s benefit. It’s done for your benefit. In the words of St. John Chrysostom: As you pray you are freeing your soul from all imaginations belonging to this life. Yes, we are helpless against the devil, the world, and our sinful nature which inflict incredible suffering in this life. But prayer teaches us to cling to Christ who is coming to free us from this life of suffering. The Lord invites us to pray to him in the midst of our suffering. Through prayer we learn to cling to the Gospel of Jesus alone. And as we cling to the Gospel, the Holy Spirit works in us the peace that passes all understanding. May this peace by yours in Christ Jesus as you learn to cling to him in prayer.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.