When Jesus sent out the
seventy(two) disciples to minister, He instructed the pairs to find a person of
peace in the towns where they were sent.
Jesus told the pairs that when they found this person, that they were to
stay in that house. To this day, missionaries
look for people of peace in the areas they serve. When I was serving in Japan, both of my
Japanese teachers were people of peace. Neither
one was a believer, but they were sweet, kind, patient, nurturing women, who were
open to working with the Church and with a missionary. My first Japanese teacher took many steps
toward the gospel, but she did not commit her life to Christ during my time
with her. I know that she maintained a
relationship with some of the church members after I left, and I pray I will
meet her in heaven one day. My second
Japanese teacher did not take as many steps toward the gospel, and didn’t
maintain a relationship with the church, but I pray that other believers come
across her path, and that she will embrace Jesus one day. Jesus has people of peace all over the world—not-yet-believers
who end up aiding the Church, many of whom eventually come to Christ, like Rahab,
the main character in today’s lessons. Not
only are we called to find the people of peace and work with them, we are
called to be peacemakers. Rahab shows us
what being a person of peace looks like.
Thousands of years
before Jesus’s instruction to look for people of peace, the two unnamed spies
that Joshua sent to Jericho did the same thing. They found a woman of peace in
an unusual situation. This woman of
peace was a prostitute named Rahab.
Rahab was a Canaanite woman living in Jericho. Apparently, she came from a poor family and
was supporting her parents because we are told her parents were still
living. She had other siblings, some of
whom had families of their own. If you
recall from last week, women who worked as prostitutes often did so because
they were single women with no male protector, or poor with no property. Sadly, there are many women today who work as
prostitutes to support their families. Many
are even forced into it by their parents, either sold or coerced. Jim and I support a missionary family whom I
have known from my seminary days, who work to rescue women from prostitution in
Thailand and train them in other jobs so that they can support their families
through work that brings dignity. At the
same time, they introduce these women to Jesus.
We
hear in our story today, that Rahab has a budding faith. The people of Jericho had heard how the
Israelites had attacked and destroyed several cities. They had heard of the Exodus and the parting
of the Red Sea. They had heard stories
of Yahweh. The people were afraid, but
Rahab had faith. She believed that
Yahweh was indeed the true God. And she
demonstrated it by asking for her life and that of her entire family to be
saved and protecting the spies from capture. Rahab and her entire family were indeed spared
in the conquest of Jericho. The part of
the wall where Rahab lived did not fall down.
All who were gathered with her were delivered. They were spared and put outside the
camp. They had to live outside the camp
at first because they would have been considered unclean. Those like Rahab who believed, would have
undergone purification rites including baptism, and circumcision for any men,
before being welcomed into the camp. We
know this is indeed what happened to Rahab.
We hear in Joshua 6 that Rahab
lives in Israel “to this day”—the day that Joshua was written. It also implies that her descendants continue
to live in Israel, which we know from Jesus’ genealogy. Rahab married a man named Salmon and has children,
one of whom is Boaz, who will be very important in our story next week. This Canaanite woman who had been a
prostitute, who had to work to help support her parents, found a home. Once again, the dishonored is honored. She is praised for her faith in the New
Testament.
Our Hebrews and
James passages this morning seem to contradict one another. In Hebrews, Rahab is praised for her
faith. In the great hall of faith of
Hebrews 11, Rahab is the only woman listed by name other than Sarah. Moses mother, Jochebed, is alluded to as are
other women, but only Rahab and Sarah are named. Futhermore, Rahab is the only Gentile
mentioned by name. She alone has this
special honor. In James, Rahab is
commended for her actions. But although
Hebrews emphasizes Rahab’s faith and James her works, Rahab is commended for
the same thing—welcoming the spies.
Notice that Rahab is not praised for her deceit, but for her
hospitality, protection, and faith. What
these passages say is that faith and deeds are inseparable. Faith alone justifies us before God, but our
deeds prove to others that our faith is real.
Faith isn’t faith unless it is demonstrated. We acknowledge God’s Lordship over our lives
when we say, “Yes, Lord.” Our faith is
demonstrated in that “Yes.” But simply
saying “Yes, Lord” isn’t enough. Jesus
tells a parable of two sons whose father asked them to complete a task. One son said, “Yes, dad,” but never got
around to doing the task. The other son
griped and complained and refused to obey, but later on went and did what his
father wanted him to do. Jesus then asks
his audience, “Which of these two sons did the will of the Father?” Someone replies, “The one who did the will of
the Father,”--the one who obeyed, even though he complained at first. We may doubt and question on our faith
journey why God wants us to do something, but when we actually do what God
wants us to do, our faith is made real.
We can say, “Jesus is Lord,” all we want, but if we don’t actually let
Jesus be Lord by giving Him that right to our lives and submit to Him in
obedience, it’s just a worthless claim.
We must say, “Yes, Lord, even though I don’t get it, but I will trust
and obey.”
Our lone Hebrews
verse emphasizes that Rahab welcomed the spies in peace. She was a woman of peace. Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for
they shall be called children of God.”
We see that Rahab was indeed a blessed woman. What can we learn from Rahab about what it
takes to be a peacemaker? First of all,
we learn that hospitality is a key way of being a peacemaker. Rahab is praised for her hospitality. She welcomed the spies in peace. She provided for their needs, and sent them
away safely. In fact, we also learn from
the Scriptures that Jericho was condemned for disobedience, for its lack of
hospitality, just as were Sodom and Gomorrah.
Canaan was no longer the welcoming place it had been for Judah, who
quickly made friends there. There was
little graciousness among the people of Jericho, save Rahab, just as Lot was
the only hospitable soul in Sodom. A
lack of hospitality is disobedience, and disobedience is an indication of
unbelief. Jericho did not believe.
When we show
hospitality to others, we are being peacemakers. Welcoming people into our homes and church
and making them feel welcomed and comfortable are peacemaking activities. Caring for the immediate needs of others in
regards to food, shelter, clothing, health and hygiene are peacemaking
activities. Being a caregiver is a
peacemaking activity. When we refuse to
give a helping hand, when we are unwelcoming and unkind, we are the antithesis
of peacemakers. We act as those who do
not believe.
Secondly the call
to peacemaking often requires risking one’s own life for the benefit of
others. Rahab risked her life multiple
times over in proving that her faith was real and acting as a woman of
peace. She risked being killed by the
people in her own city for a crime of treason.
She risked being killed by the Israelites if someone hadn’t gotten the
word about their promise to her, or if someone should have broken that
promise. She risked being killed by God
should the part of the wall that she lived in collapsed like the others. Peacemaking may mean for us being called a
traitor by our own communities and countries.
Peacemaking may mean having our hearts broken and betrayed by those we
trust and are trying to help. Perhaps
you have been stabbed in the back by someone you thought you could trust. Peacemaking means being willing to be taken
advantage of.
Peacemaking may
entail risking our lives in the face of physical danger. I think of those who help with disaster
relief: those firefighters, those who fly helicopters into storms to rescue
people trapped by floodwaters, doctors who go to disease ridden areas to help
the sick, volunteers who go into war-torn areas to aid refugees. All of these are peacemaking activities in
which people risk their lives for the benefit of others. Not to mention those who take the gospel to
hostile places at risk to their lives.
For Rahab,
peacemaking was worth the risks. She
believed that God would not fail her, she believed so strongly in the claims of
Yahweh. She desired to be one of His
children. Do we believe that God’s
promises make peacemaking worth the risk to our own lives? Are we willing to be taken advantage of
because we know there are rewards beyond what our physical eyes may ever
see? Are we willing to get our hearts
broken, to be ostracized by those we think are our friends to be obedient to
Jesus? Do we have the courage to be
peacemakers?
Rahab also
challenges us to look for people of peace in the unexpected, to look at people
differently, through the eyes of faith, to look beyond appearance, nationality,
gender, socioeconomic status, occupation, to the heart and soul. We are challenged to allow ourselves to be
touched and served by people of peace though we think they may have little to
offer us. We are to be motivated by love
and charity. We are challenged to serve
and be served, to work side by side to bring peace to our lives, our
communities, and the world. May we have
our eyes open to the people of peace around us and may we be ready to reach out
to them with the gospel.
No comments:
Post a Comment