May “we” all be known as children of God—peacemakers
who reveal and REPRESENT God TO OTHERS through love.
Subject: Sermon on Peace and forgiving:
There is a pile of papers sitting in my house that I cannot throw away. Prayerbooks with torn covers, printed Torah commentaries, pages from Torah classes I have given — all of them waiting for burial because they contain the name of God, and you simply do not put God’s name in the trash. Every observant home has a pile like this.
Which makes what happens so striking:
A man has grown suspicious of his wife. He has no witnesses, no proof — only suspicion, and the cloud it casts over their marriage. Left unresolved, that suspicion will poison everything. The Torah prescribes an elaborate procedure: the woman is brought before the priest at the Temple, a solemn oath is administered, and then the priest writes the curses on a scroll and washes the ink off into bitter water.
וְכָתַב אֶת־הָאָלֹת הָאֵלֶּה הַכֹּהֵן בַּסֵּפֶר וּמָחָה אֶל־מֵי הַמָּרִים׃
The Kohen (Priest) shall put these curses down in writing and rub it off into the water of bitterness.
Numbers 5:23
The Sages teach that the name of God was written into those curses — and therefore the name of God dissolves into the water the woman drinks. The woman drinks the water, and the truth comes out.
The Sages confront the obvious question directly. How can the Torah command the erasure of God’s own name? The answer it gives is terse and astonishing:
for the sake of peace
between husband and wife.
That is the entire explanation. No lengthy qualification, no elaborate legal reasoning. God’s name is dissolved into water, and the reason given is simply that:
peace between two people matters enough to justify it.
The Sages understood this as a statement of God’s own priorities. He is not a distant sovereign indifferent to the lives of ordinary people struggling in their marriages and families. He is invested in their peace. And He is willing to pay a price — measured in the sanctity of His own name — to help restore it.
The erasure of the Divine Name in this ritual became, for the Sages, the paradigmatic proof that peace —
Wholeness, and harmony between people —
sits at the very top of God’s hierarchy of values.
Not because conflict doesn’t matter, not because truth is unimportant, but
because a world in which people cannot live in peace
with one another is a world in which
God’s WAY OF LIVING cannot truly be known.
This is worth sitting with — and it helps explain one of the most beloved figures in the entire Bible/Torah first 5 Books:
Aaron, the High Priest and older brother of Moses, was famous throughout Israel not primarily for his priestly duties but for something more personal: he pursued peace between people with extraordinary dedication. The Sages instruct: “Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace.” The Sages record that when Aaron heard of two people who had quarreled, he would go to each of them separately and tell them that the other had expressed regret and wanted to reconcile — even if that wasn’t entirely true.
By the time the two met again, the anger had dissolved, and peace was restored.
We live in a world that generates conflict with extraordinary efficiency.
1.) Social media rewards outrage.
2.) Political culture rewards division.
3.) Even within families and communities, grievances accumulate,
suspicions harden, and THEN
EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO RESTORE PEACE and
the effort required to restore peace can seem disproportionate to the reward.
It is easier to let a relationship stay broken than to do the uncomfortable work of repairing it.
But Aaron didn’t wait for people to come to him. He pursued peace — He pursued peace — went looking for it, And more importantly worked for it, even stretching the truth to achieve it. He had learned, it seems, from the Torah he served:
That if God Himself was willing to erase His own name for the sake of peace between a husband and wife, no effort on Aaron’s part was too great.
The name can be rewritten.
BUT a broken relationship, left unrepaired, may “not” recover so easily, or ever.
And you will suffer loss.
Therefore “WORK” at creating PEACE:
AND THAT WILL BENEFIT you, IN THE FUTURE.
Sermon on Peace and Forgiving:
Choosing the Path of PEACE in a World of Bombs and Division
Dear friends, brothers and sisters,
In a world where bombs explode and headlines scream of conflict—wars between nations, strife in families, division in communities, and rage online—we gather to hear a better way. The Bible’s 1st 5 Books, the Prophets, the Psalms, and the New Testament all cry out with one voice:
It is better to live in peace. Peace is not passive; it is the active presence of God= wholeness, comfort, where relationships heal, justice flows, and hearts rest in trust.
Scriptures Calling Us to Peace
The Bible overflows with calls to peace:
Numbers 6:24-26: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”
Psalm 29:11: “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.”
Psalm 34:14: “Turn from evil; do good; seek peace and pursue it.”
Isaiah 26:3: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
Isaiah 54:10: God promises a “covenant of peace” that will not be shaken.
In the New Testament, Jesus Himself is the Prince of Peace Isaiah 9:6:
John 14:27: “Peace I 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 16:33: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
2 Thessalonians 3:16: “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way.”
Peace is a fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22, flowing from love.
Only Love Brings True Peace
Only love will give the world peace. Love is the soil in which shalom grows. Without it, suspicion hardens into hatred, and division becomes war. The Apostle Paul writes: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...” (Galatians 5:22). Love comes first.
Jesus commands: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Forgiveness is love in action. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). “If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).
In a world of bombs, love disarms hearts. It chooses giving over taking, humility over pride, reconciliation over revenge.
Satan’s Way: Get and Not Give Leads to Endless War
Satan’s way is the opposite: get and not give. Selfishness, greed, domination, and resentment. This path promises power but delivers only endless war—forever. Cain killed Abel because envy took root. Nations bomb each other because leaders grasp rather than serve. Families fracture because “me first” poisons the well.
The Bible warns: Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil practice (James 3:16). Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). His way of endless getting produces endless conflict. But Jesus came that we might have life abundantly—and that life begins with peace through sacrificial love.
A Call to Action: Pursue Peace and Forgive
My friends, in this age of outrage and bombs:
Pursue peace like Aaron—go out of your way.
Forgive as you have been forgiven.
Choose love daily, even when it costs you.
Trust God, whose perfect peace guards trusting minds.
A broken relationship left unrepaired brings suffering and loss. But repaired relationships reflect God’s own heart.
The name can be rewritten. Peace can be restored.
May the Lord of Peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. May His PEACE fill your homes, communities, and this troubled world.
And may “we” all be known as children of God—peacemakers who reveal His name TO OTHERS through love.
We MUST be a Church that reflects God’s ways and not the world’s ways.
Even in these troubled times.
Editor’s Note:
The phrase "God sent them without wings" symbolizes divine assistance and the idea that help can come in unexpected forms, emphasizing faith and trust in God's provision.
Concept and Interpretation:
The phrase: "God sent them without wings" suggests that divine beings, such as angels, may not always appear in their traditional, recognizable forms. Instead, they may come to us in ordinary, everyday situations, reminding us that help and guidance can manifest in unexpected ways. This concept encourages believers to remain open to the various forms of support that God provides, even when they do not fit conventional expectations.
Biblical Context
While the exact phrase does not appear in the Bible, its essence resonates with several biblical themes and verses:
Divine Provision:
The Bible often illustrates how God provides for His people in surprising ways. For example, in Exodus 16:4, God sends manna from heaven to sustain the Israelites in the wilderness, demonstrating His ability to meet needs through unexpected means.
Unexpected Help:
The story of Elijah being fed by ravens (1 Kings 17:6) exemplifies how God can use unconventional methods to provide for His servants, reinforcing the idea that divine assistance may not always be visible or obvious.
Faith and Trust:
The phrase encourages believers to trust in God's plans, even when they feel unsupported or lost. Verses like Proverbs 3:5-6 remind us to lean on God rather than our understanding, assuring us that He will guide our paths.
Conclusion:
The notion of being sent without wings serves as a powerful reminder of God's omnipresence and His ability to provide support in ways we might not expect. It encourages believers to cultivate faith and remain receptive to the subtle ways in which divine help may manifest in their lives. By recognizing that angels or divine assistance can come without the traditional signs, individuals can find comfort and assurance in their spiritual journeys.
Therefore:
Go in peace. Pursue peace. Live in peace.
“May The LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make his face shine on you and be
gracious to you;
May the LORD turn his face toward you and give
you His peace.”
Amain.