テサロニケの信徒への手紙二3:16-18 2 Thessalonians 3:16-18

どうか、平和の主御自身が、いついかなる場合にも、あなたがたに平和をお与えくださるように。主があなたがた一同と共におられるように。　　　　　　　　　　（二テサロニケ3:16）

「平和の主」とは、イエス・キリストのことであります。そして、「どうか、平和の主御自身が、いついかなる場合にも、あなたがたに平和をお与えくださるように」と「平和」という言葉が一つの文の中に二度も出てきますのは、パウロがテサロニケ教会の平和を強く願っていたことを表しています。テサロニケの教会にはいくつかの問題がありました。そして、パウロはそれらを解決するために、手紙の中でいろいろな勧告や命令を記しています。しかし、最終的に問題を解決してくださるのは、人間ではなく平和の主であるキリストご自身だということです。教会のかしらであり全世界の主である平和の主キリストご自身が、様々な問題を解決して平和を与えてくださると、パウロは確信していたのです。

私たちの信仰生活には、乗り越えなければならない大きな危機が来ることがあります。愛する人の死や自分自身の病気や人間関係のつまずきや経済状態の危機などの試練です。しかし、それに勝るとも劣らない信仰生活の試練は、自分の所属する教会で混乱が起きた場合です。どうして教会にこのようなことがあるのか？と思うような事態が発生した時です。そして、長い信仰生活の中では、少なくとも一度くらいはそのような経験をするのではないでしょうか。

本日は、説教の最初に学校におけるいじめの話をいたしました。たとえば、もしそれと似たようなことが教会の中で起こったとすれば、皆様はどう思われるでしょうか？きっと「教会の中でそんなことがあるなんて許せない！」と思われることでしょう。もちろん、学校とまったく同じことが起こることはないでしょう。しかし、教会も人間の集まりですから、「なくて七くせ」ということわざのとおり、様々なくせのある人々がいたとしても不思議ではありません。また、そもそも教会はキリストの恵みによって罪赦された人々の集まりです。聖霊によって清められつつあるとは言え、教会に集う一人ひとりの心には罪が根強く残っています。そうすると、それぞれのもっているくせや罪がからみ合って、思いがけないところで人間関係の歪みや衝突が発生することがあります。そして、思いがけず教会の暗い面を見ることがあるかもしれません。しかし、もしそのような経験をなさったとしても、「キリスト教会は偽善者の集まりだ」などと軽々しく決めつけてはなりません。なぜならば、平和の主であるキリストが教会のかしらとして、教会を治めておられるからです。　（1月19日の説教より）

Today, many people are living in an age of uncertainty. It would be a blessing if we could move forward on the path of life with hope in such circumstances. In reality, however, there are many people who find it difficult to move forward on the path of life for a variety of reasons. For example, there are people who get caught up in conflicts between people and are unable to move forward or retreat. There are also those who suffer under the unjust domination of those in power within a group. This is, in simple terms, “bullying.” Today, bullying in schools and workplaces has become a social problem, but what exactly is the structure of bullying?

A psychiatrist Dr. MACHIZAWA Shizuo was involved in the trial of a case in which a student committed suicide due to bullying at a certain junior high school. He then briefly summarised how the bullying structure at that junior high school was structured by comparing two different types of transfer students. It goes as follows.

In that junior high school, when a new transfer student arrived, the strongest boss in the grade would come and tell him his name and give him a pat on the head and tell him to “remember.” He even goes out of his way to bully the new student in the neighbouring class. In contrast, this boy who committed suicide seems to have taken it without saying anything to his parents or teachers. But he did not show the servile attitude of bowing down and asking to be included. He fought against the bullies who came with their unjustified power and numbers. The class authorities – the masterminds of the bullying – continued to bully him endlessly, as if they relentlessly demanded that he bowed down. His textbooks were thrown out, his desk was thrown away, and again his textbooks were smeared with margarine, followed by more scribbling on his textbooks and drawing pins on his desk and chair. In this situation, he was driven to the point where he could no longer resist. He was unable to sleep, had dark circles under his eyes and could clearly see the marks of his sleep disorder. He even began to think, “I’m not going to make it.”

The other boy bowed to these class authorities, male or female, and asked them to please not bully him and join them. This is the typical Japanese way of fitting into a new class. He bowed their heads and became servile. That was the first and foremost ritual of entering a class. A well-adjusted child could be accepted by them by displaying this kind of servile attitude, even if it is performative. Once accepted, he played in the same style as they did to his heart’s content and became a member of their group. The boy in question who committed suicide resisted this group thoroughly, in the form of returning violence with violence and bullying words with bullying words. This continued resistance in itself frustrated the bullies more and more, leading to an even more severe form of bullying. (MACHIZAWA Shizuo, “An Explanation” in Japanese version of Marie-France HIRIGOYEN, Le Harcelement Moral: La Violence Perverse au Quotidien,1999, Kinokuniya. Translated by MIYOSHI Akira.)

Although it cannot be said that this is the case in all schools, Dr. MACHIZAWA’s analysis may indicate a pattern of bullying that is more likely to occur in Japanese schools. Problems often arise in relationships within a community, not only in schools, but also at home, in the local community and in the workplace. Unfortunately, Christian churches are no exception. Reading through the old (1983) edition of the Handbook of our denomination, which introduced the history of local churches, one comes across passages that frankly described serious problems within the churches. For example, in one church, “From around 1968, internal problems regarding the election of elders became so contentious that for three years we were unable to elect elders at our regular general meetings, and we were unable to function adequately as a church.” In another church, “The situation of the church seemed to stabilise, but then internal problems arose and the pastor and congregation split up, and we were back to square one.” In recent years, the Handbook of our denomination has become less explicit about problems like these. Therefore, the reality is that there have been various problems in the churches of our denomination from earlier times to the present day, including those that have not been made public. And this is not only the case in our denomination, the Church of Christ in Japan. In my interactions with pastors and seminary teachers of various denominations, I have learnt that every denomination has its own problems, some of which are quite confusing, although they come in different forms.

It is not only in the today’s churches that these various problems arise. The church in New Testament times also had some problems, to a greater or lesser extent. Today we are studying the concluding section of 2 Thessalonians, and the Thessalonian church also had some problems. Namely, there were some who said as if the Day of the Lord (i.e., the Last Day) had already come, as described in 2:2 of this letter, and there were some who walked in idleness, and were not busy at work, but busybodies as described in 3:11. Paul had to be mindful and instructive in correcting those who were living according to such wrong belief and lifestyle. Even the Thessalonian church, which in 1 Thessalonians 1:7 is said to be “an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia” had some such problems.

In Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, also in Macedonia, two women, Euodia and Syntyche, appear under their own names, suggesting that there was a conflict between the two leading women believers (Philippians 4:2). The church in Rome, located in the capital of the Roman Empire, had the problem of “the one who is weak in faith” (Romans 14:1). Not only that, but there were also “those who cause divisions and create obstacles,” as described in Romans 16:17-18, who “do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve.” The churches in Galatia were so infested with the false teaching that Paul had to say with indignation in Galatians 3:1: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?”

Moreover, the church in Corinth in Greece had all kinds of difficult problems. There were party fights in the church, problem of the believers being sexually immoral, members fighting each other with lawsuits over property, problem of weakness of faith, problem of the disorderly worship and sacraments, problem of people claiming the false teaching that denied the resurrection of the dead, and problem of people denying the Paul’s authority as an apostle of Christ. Many problems were piling up. Perhaps if we had lived as believers in the Corinthian church, we would have had to say that this church was in a state of confusion.

Paul, however, was working hard to make such churches worthy of being called the body of Christ by carefully pointing out their problems one by one and giving them guidance and exhortations. The foundation of such patient service was his deep faith that the head of the church was Christ and that Christ was with him. And Paul clearly says in 1 Corinthians 14:33 that “God is not a God of confusion but of peace.”

Also in today’s concluding section of his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul concludes the letter with a prayer for peace for the Thessalonian church. In verse 16, he says: “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” “The Lord of peace” is Jesus Christ. The fact that the word “peace” appears twice in one sentence – “May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way,” – shows Paul’s strong desire for peace in the Thessalonian church. As I mentioned earlier, the Thessalonian church had several problems. And Paul wrote various exhortations and commands in his letters to solve them. But the final solution to the problems is not man, but Christ himself, the Lord of peace. Paul was convinced that Christ himself, the Lord of peace, the head of the church and the Lord of the whole world, would solve various problems and give peace.

In our lives of faith, there are sometimes great crises that come our way that we have to overcome. These are trials such as the death of a loved one, our own illness, a stumbling block in a relationship or a crisis in our financial situation. But no less significant a trial in our lives of faith is when confusion occurs in the church to which we belong. This is when a situation arises that makes you wonder why this is happening to the church? And in a long life of faith, you will probably have such an experience at least once.

Today I began my sermon by talking about bullying in schools. What would you think, for example, if something similar to that happened in the church? You would probably think: “I can’t allow that to happen in the church!” Of course, nothing exactly same would ever happen in the church. However, the church is also a group of human beings, so it is not surprising that there are people with different eccentricities, as the Japanese saying goes: “Naku-te Nana Kuse,” which means “every person has seven eccentricities.” The church is also a group of people who have been forgiven of their sins by the grace of Christ. Although they are being cleansed by the Holy Spirit, sin still persists in the hearts of the people gathered in the church. This can lead to distortions and conflicts in relationships in unexpected places, due to the intertwining of individual eccentricities and sins. And you may unexpectedly see the darker side of the church.

However, if you have such an experience, you should not casually assume that the Christian church is a group of hypocrites. For Christ, the Lord of peace, is the head of the church and governs it. As I said earlier, according to Paul, there were “those who cause divisions and create obstacles” (Rom 16:17) in the Roman church. There was the sad reality about which Paul says, “Such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve” (Rom 16:18). However, Paul tells the congregation of the church in Rome with conviction in Romans 16:20: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

Whenever problems arise in the church, the cause of the problem can be traced to the work of Satan, i.e. the devil. The devil has invaded the hearts of the believers and “cause divisions and create obstacles.” However, God destroys such works of the devil one by one. He will certainly destroy the arrogance and wiles of those who are being moved by the devil. And finally, in the Last Day, when the Last Judgement takes place, he will destroy the devil altogether. The church is the place where such power of God and such power of Christ works. If we trust in Christ, the Lord of peace, He himself will make peace in an amazing way that is beyond human understanding.

Therefore, even if there are problems in the church, there is great grace in your remaining in it. This is because it is in the troubled church that the work of Christ, the Lord of peace, can be vividly experienced. In other words, it is in such cases that Christ himself, the Lord of peace, intervenes in the church by the power of the Holy Spirit and solves the problem in a way that goes beyond the thoughts of man. And those who have experienced this work of Christ, the Lord of peace, in the church will be peacemakers when they go out into the world. That is, their faith will not be a passive faith that simply escapes into the church and tries to find temporary peace, but they will be able to experience the power of the Lord of peace working in the church and have a positive faith that is filled with the power of the Lord of peace to go out into the world. What a blessing it would be if we could bring the peace of Christ to this world with its various conflicts!

As Christ himself said in Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Therefore, if we encounter difficult problems in the church, let us persevere and continue our lives of faith, looking forward to the help of Christ, the Lord of peace. The Lord Christ, knowing well our weaknesses, is training us and disciplining us to become true Christians who truly rely on his power.