(Ex 3:1-15; Rom 12:14-21; Mtt 16:21-28) J G White

Allow me to begin with a story, an old-fashioned story, 100 years old, by William E. Barton. Written in an even older-fashioned style, it comes from the tales of a fictional character, a preacher known as Safed the Sage. The Frog & the Hornet.

There came to me a man who said,

I have many unpleasant experiences.

And I said unto him, Thou art not the Only Pebble on the Beach.

And he said, But mine are such as I cannot speak of, and they Humiliate me. For my occupation is such that I am beholden to those who Exasperate me, yet must I say nothing, and it is not easy to Grin and Bear it.

And I said unto him, I walked one day through the Forest, and I came upon a Little Pool. And in the margin of the Pool was there a Frog. And he sat as Immovable as the Sphinx sitteth amid the sands; so sat he in the mud.

And as I regarded him, there came an Hornet, and lighted a little space away from him, as it were an half or two parts of a Cubit. And the Frog gave no sign that he saw the Hornet or me, but sat in the mud immovable. But when the Hornet let down his wings and began to sip of the water that was in the mud, then did the Frog leap. And it was a marvelous leap, for he seemed to make No Preparation for it, neither to pull himself together or to take thought of the distance, but rose as if he had been shot from a Gun, and landed so that his mouth came exactly where the Hornet was. And the Frog Gobbled the Hornet before the Hornet realized that Anything Had Occurred.

Now when I saw that, I said, That was a Mighty Good Jump, and accurately measured, but that Frog hath procured for himself a Prize Package the nature whereof he knoweth not. And I looked that the Hornet should have bored him full of Gimlet Holes from the inside out. And I said, Surely that Frog will immediately display all the Characteristic Symptoms of Appendicitis.

But if it gave him Stomach Ache he showed it not, but set-tled himself in the same old place, and waited as if he were the more content for having had a pinch of Mustard with his Meat.

And I said unto the man. Be like unto that Frog. And if thou must swallow a Sting with thy Daily Bread, do it so Contentedly that no man shall know that thou hast colic. But if the time cometh to leap, then do thou leap so that thou shalt swallow not only the Sting but the Stinger.

And he said, Shall I wait till I may avenge myself?

And I said, There are more kinds of revenge than one. And most of them hurt the Avenger more than the Avenged; so that I commend them not. Consider the Divers Kinds, and be ready for that which is best, and if thou forget all thought of revenge, so much the better. Meantime, let not the sting interfere with thy Digestion nor thy Prayer. (Wm. E. Barton, Safed and Ketura, 1921, pp. 60-62)

What depends upon you?

Well, one thing is to live peacefully with others in this world. Romans 12:18 reads: If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. What a remarkable admonition amid all the other encouragement in this chapter. In these eight verses a speaker could easily come up with one dozen separate talks to be preached. I chose, live peaceably with all.

Some of us may feel we are in a day and age when this is a greater task than ever before in our lives: to be at peace with everyone. Opinions seem stronger, in all sorts of extreme directions. Politics is getting more polarized in many parts of the world. Religion is still a fighting point for millions. Crises of the world are driving people apart, not bringing together.

Do everything possible on your part to live at peace with everybody. You can see that these Bible verses are still dealing with evil, the real threat of evil in the world. All our stories are, today.

We visited those memorable scenes of Moses, minding his business out in the desert, suddenly meeting Creator God at a shrub that is aflame but not burning up. He is being given a mission: go lead a whole ethnic group, a people, out of slavery. It will not be easy to get out of Egypt peacefully, and become a free nation.

Centuries later, it is the time of Jesus. He tells those closest to Him that He is about to be destroyed, in the cause of good, in bringing true freedom for all humans. Disciple Peter says ‘No way!’ And this turns out to be evil. “Get behind me, Satan,” Jesus famously says. We watch Christ closely, to see how He lives at peace with those closest to him, and those farthest from Him. He does bring peace, but not everyone receives it.

If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. There is something about peace in your corner of the world that does depend upon you. As much as possible, we become people of peace, as we live with Christ. We are together to learn to do our part. What you have to do for peace, in a world of enemies, is not always the same as what I need to do.

In a recent podcast, spiritual writer, artist and activist Jan Phillips told of a struggle she had in her own family. Jan is an American, a lesbian woman, and a rather post-Christian spiritual person. She speaks of a morning thought she had, one day: I wish I could have a relationship with my brother like I used to have. Well, why can’t I? Well, things changed. When I come out, he’s not that happy about that. And then he voted for Trump, and then we could never talk about anything real in the world, because we had to avoid that. And then he moves to Phoenix because he doesn’t want to be around black and brown people. So there’s the duality. I, of course, am right; he, of course, is wrong. So, I have to correct that, because dualities just contribute to conflict.

So, I wrote a poem, just wanting to have myself say whatever it was that is the original bond between a brother and a sister that is stronger than politics, stronger than religions, stronger than queer… What is it that solidifies a sibling relationship? And let me stay there, in the conversation.

So, that’s the work that I had to do. He’s a Trumper and I can’t stand it. I don’t want to think of my brother as a racist, ya know. I don’t want him to be embarrassed by my life choices. But I have no control over those things; the only control I have is over how I frame our relationship. So, it's what I’m working on; it’s kind of psychological, spiritual work, but it’s a big job.

“Surrender and fulfilment happen simultaneously.”

I am surrendering my knee-jerk reaction, surrendering my disappointment in the kind of man he turned out to be; and when I let that go, and think about who we were as teenagers to each other, who we still are… then I met with a brother who… is like the greatest brother I could have asked for, if I don’t come to it laden with how I wish he was, right? It’s a fulfilling relationship. But that’s my choice.

(podcast: The Musecast: The Sound of Light, Season 2, Episode 5)

If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. These words of Apostle Paul are in the middle of his talk about blessing those who persecute you, weeping with those who weep, not having a proud attitude, not repaying evil, and blessing your enemies with good stuff. Those are all hints about living peacefully with all - how to do as much as possible. Our daily, yearly training with the Spirit of Jesus leads us not to be overcome with evil, but to overcome evil with good.

There is much good to be done: you in your small corner, and I in mine. So remember these words of the Saviour: Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these... (John 14:12)