In the second sermon of the Advent Season 2017, the Rev. Dr. Art Suggs explored the world and culture into which Jesus was born, and the main pillars of Imperial Rome that defined the culture.
Rev. Suggs shared why the historical context mattered, and why the message ushered in by Jesus was such a threat to the established order. He said,
“Religion — War — Victory — Peace, in that order. You worship the gods. You go to war with their assistance. You are victorious with their help. And you obtain peace because of their generosity.
It is what is called the Pax Romana, the Peace of Rome.
Also on that temple is the phrase “Victory with peace secured on land and sea.”
What I have recounted for you is classic history written by the winners.
It does not ask the opinions of the Syrians or the Jews, nor of the Egyptians or the north Africans, nor those on the Iberian Peninsula, not the Gauls nor the northern tribes of Brittania or Germania.
All around the empire, in a complete circle, peoples, tribes, nations bent into submission by overwhelming force. Pax Romana because you dare not fight back.
And into that, we celebrate the birth of one who wasn’t afraid, eventually given the real title of Prince of Peace. One who taught a very different message.
The whole point of that history is to show the difference between the two messages. What should I do if someone strikes me? Turn the other cheek. If someone harms me or insults me, should I forgive them? Yes. What if they do it again? Forgive seventy times seven times. Make this part of your soul. “And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”
Learn to love. It is primary, central, foremost. It is the principal, essential spiritual directive. Even my enemies? Even those who hate me, harm me, despise me? Especially love them. As you can see, Jesus taught a different way of peace.”
Download the full sermon (PDF) – Beneath Lies the Seed
Featured Image Credit: The Consummation: The Course of Empire, 1836, by Thomas Cole. PD Image, Wikimedia (NY Historical Society).