Dear Fellow Believers,

I’d like to read to you part of a paragraph from page 10 of the anniversary booklet you put together last year. After describing the changes of the neighborhood and the tragedy of the fire, you said of yourselves, "The people of St. Matthew’s decided to stay and regard it as their ongoing mission from God to reach out to the people of Benton Harbor. Of course, not everyone saw it that way, and people continued to transfer out to our daughter congregations in the greener pastures around our city. But that has left St. Matthew’s with a core of the most dedicated Lutherans anywhere. They are members because they are committed to God’s mission of reaching out with the Gospel wherever He has placed us, despite whatever difficulties Satan may hurl in our way." That is a great mission statement. Is it being carried out? Could each one of you honestly say that you are personally fulfilling that mission? I’ll let you look around and answer the question for yourself. Rather than discussing if it’s being carried out, I’d like to discuss why it must be carried out. Why should we reach out to this neighborhood? Why have a church here at all? Jesus gives us the reasons to Proclaim Peace to the People in this neighborhood. Proclaim Peace to the People I) because you have peace and II) because Jesus sends you.

Proclaim Peace to the People because you have peace in the midst of fear. The last time we saw the disciples they were running away as Jesus was being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. They were running to hide. They were afraid, and they had good reason for being afraid. The Jews hated Jesus and anyone who followed him. They had made that perfectly clear. After the Jews crucified Jesus, his disciples weren’t about to show their faces. They were afraid, and they hid behind closed doors to protect themselves.

Are we hiding behind closed doors? Are we afraid to proclaim peace to the people? Like the disciples, we know that most of the world doesn’t want to hear our message. We’d rather keep to ourselves, than face ridicule or rejection. It’s very difficult to walk outside of your comfort zone. Here in church we know how things work; we know the people. We feel safe. Beyond those doors we don’t know what to expect. We don’t know whom to expect. So, we stay inside.

However, there is much more to fear than what lies beyond those doors. There is sin, and everyday sin continues to grow inside of this building and inside of us. Don’t fear what others might think of you. Fear what you think of them. Are others different than you? So what! What makes you better? More money? A better job? Belonging to this church? I don’t think so. I’ll tell what makes those of us inside this building the same as those outside. We all deserve to go to hell.

As the disciples huddled together in that room, they also had more to worry about than the Jews. The Messiah was dead; the Savior was dead. Just when the disciples were beginning to understand that Jesus did not come to save them from earthly enemies but to save them from their sins, their Savior died. Forget what the Jews would do to them. What would God do to them without a Savior?

But then, in the midst of fear, Jesus appeared in their midst. First, they weren’t sure they were really looking at Jesus. Were their minds playing tricks on them? Was this some evil spirit making a sick joke? NO! It really was Jesus. Look at his hands; you can see the marks from the nails. Look at the scar on his side; you can see where the spear pierced him. This was Jesus, the one who died on the cross. He lives! Go ahead touch him. He has the same body as before; he’s not a ghost. Jesus was alive, and he stood among his disciples to prove it.

Jesus also comes and stands in our midst. We don’t get to see him or touch him in the same way the disciples did, but we know that he is here. Through his word he gives us faith to stop doubting and believe. Through his word Jesus shows us the marks in his hands and side. He shows us all that he has done for us. Through the Sacrament Jesus also gives us the opportunity to touch him. When we receive his body and blood, we have proof that he died for us. Through the Word and Sacrament Jesus stands in our midst and speaks to us.

He says, "Peace be with you." In Jesus’ time Shalom or peace was a very common greeting. However, peace from the lips of Jesus is so much more than a common greeting. Jesus offers us peace that only he can give.

He offers us peace from our fear of hell. Our sins of pride, arrogance, and racism no longer need to make us afraid. When Jesus died on the cross, he paid for those sins. We no longer have to be afraid of hell. Jesus descended into hell and proclaimed his victory. As our king he then ascended to his heavenly kingdom and prepared a place for us. Our resurrected King now proclaims peace to us.

So rejoice! Your Lord lives! He comes and stands among you with the message of victory. He proclaims peace to you. Why do we sit like bumps on a log? We are the victors. Get excited! Get fired up! Rejoice!

Rejoice by sharing your peace! Our church already has many tools to share God’s peace with others right at our fingertips. The daycare, school, and VBS all bring the unchurched to our doorstep. Most of those tools are untapped. You can help support the efforts to reach out to the unchurched. Our new evangelism committee will have many jobs from hanging invitations on doors to baking cookies to simply saying ‘hi’ to a visitor. Let’s show our thanks for the peace we have by proclaiming peace to the people around us.

Jesus proclaimed peace to us so that we could proclaim peace to others. Proclaim Peace to the People because Jesus sends you.

"Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’" In his love for us God the Father sent his only begotten son to earn our peace. Jesus humbled himself and became flesh. He dealt with the little inconveniences of life: hunger, thirst, sleep, headaches and bruises. He struggled through temptations from Satan himself. He suffered and died in our place. Jesus earned our peace, but that wasn’t all he came to do.

He also came to reveal his Father to believers. Jesus was the living love of his Father. All that he did and said reflected his Father’s love. For three years Jesus taught twelve men about his Father. He also trained them to spread the knowledge of the Father’s love from one generation to the next. Now that wonderful knowledge has come to us. Now it is our turn to proclaim peace to the people because Jesus sends us.

Jesus did not send his disciples out alone. "And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’" Nor does Jesus send us out alone. He sends us out to proclaim peace to the people with the same Holy Spirit that he gave his disciples.

The Holy Spirit is our defense versus fleshly opponents. Living in the inner city is not easy. The inner city contains many problems: low income, drugs and alcohol, slumlords, apathetic tenants, and the list could go on. However, I don’t think that most of those things are what make us afraid to reach out to the neighborhood. We are afraid because of danger.

I have news for you. Christians have always faced danger when spreading the Gospel. Jesus told them to expect danger. He sent them anyway, and they went. The first Christians had to meet in secret places. They were burned for their faith. Don’t you remember the trials of Paul? He was beaten, whipped, put in prison, stoned, shipwrecked and more. After he was stoned at Lystra, he walked right back into the city. You never heard Paul saying it was too dangerous. He went in spite of the danger. He went because Jesus sent him.

Paul and all of the others knew that they had the Holy Spirit on their side. They trusted in him for protection. Yes, sometimes the Spirit let them suffer. Many of them even died. But the more they were persecuted, the further they carried God’s word. They took his word from Jerusalem, to Samaria and Judea, to the ends of the earth. Danger didn’t matter; income, race, and skin didn’t matter. They had the Holy Spirit as their defense against fleshly opponents; they also had the Holy Spirit as their offense against spiritual opponents.

The real fight is not against flesh and blood but against the authorities and powers of evil. We fight sin. The only way to change hearts and minds and to get rid of sin is through the Gospel. Bringing the Gospel into this neighborhood is the only way to improve it. It’s the only way to improve anything. We have seen how the message of peace changed our lives. It will also change the lives of those around us.

More importantly the message of peace will give life to those around us. Changing lifestyle, getting rid of sin, cleaning up a neighborhood, those are only results of knowing Jesus as Lord. "No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit does not have a chance to work in hearts unless we create opportunities. Jesus sends us into the neighborhoods to proclaim peace. Through that message the Holy Spirit works faith in hearts.

What exactly is the message of peace we are sent to proclaim? It is the forgiveness of sins. "If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." Jesus has given you the keys to heaven by giving you the authority to forgive sins. What a privilege! In spite of our past failures, inconsistencies, and lack of responsibility, Jesus gave us the keys to heaven. Through the pastor and teachers we use those keys publicly. Every week in church we publicly announce the forgiveness of sins to all who confess their sins.

However, the pastor and teachers aren’t the only ones who have the authority to forgive sins. You also have this privilege. Use it! Make the effort to create new relationships with people you don’t know. Then, watch for the opportunities God that will give you to tell them that Jesus has forgiven their sins. Even if you are shy, you can give your support through prayers and other behind the scene work. May each of you experience the joy of opening the gates of heaven for another lost soul.

It is time to take the message of peace, the forgiveness of sins, to our neighborhood. You are a dedicated group of Christians, one of the most dedicated groups I have ever worked with. You are so dedicated because you know the importance of the peace you have. You are also a group of Christians with a mission. According to your own mission statement, you "are committed to God’s mission of reaching out with the Gospel wherever He has placed you, despite whatever difficulties Satan may hurl in your way." God has placed you here. There are difficulties, but the Spirit is with you. Proclaim Peace to the People and fulfill your mission!