Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
[Christian] separation from the world must not be done by locking themselves away, shutting themselves in, and refusing to speak to or associate with anyone. It must consist in refusing to join the children of this age in their sins, declining to imitate their works and deeds. For if we were to have absolutely nothing to do with the children of this age, we would have to, as Paul indicates, go out of the world entirely. We are to be in the world, as Joseph was in Egypt, as Lot was in Sodom, as Daniel and his companions were in Babylon. All these did not practice the wicked ways of the people and cities where they lived. This separation from the world is not to be done merely for show and for a few days, when we are about to confess our sins and go to the Lord’s Supper, but we are to be constantly engaged in this work. The world must be turned out of our hearts every day, and every day Jesus must enter our hearts.[Paraphrase of Johann Starck on Christians weaning themselves from the world]
“Peace I [Jesus] leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives
do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
John 14:27
What a challenge it is to strike a balance between what it means to live and engage with the world, but also to fear God and avoid the worldly sins of this age! Johann Starck was a German Lutheran of the 18th century, and he is right in seeing the challenge to be a Christian that is “in the world, but not of the world.” Especially in modern America where black and white answers are harder to find and that it’s like we’re always under rain clouds that cast each moral decision that we make a deep gray. And no matter the decision, it will be scrutinized.
Is it stealing if I don’t tip the wait staff when they performed poorly? What is the role of Christian morals in law making? Is it really lying if I’m just not telling the full story? These are some of the things we wrestle with.
However, as we wrestle with the world and make our way through the gray, we find that Starck is right. We must daily empty our hearts of the world and fill it with Jesus. As Jesus prepares to leave His disciples for the cross, He promises them peace. Jesus gives peace in a way that the world can’t. It is this peace that sustains us to interact with this world as we wait for our Lord’s return. So take heart, child of God, the peace of Jesus is yours!
Vicar Lewis