Sermon Tone Analysis

Pinckney Pinchback is known in American history for being the very first black man to serve as a state governor.

And while that may seem like a milestone event in civil rights, there is much more to the story.

Pinckney’s father, William Pinchback, was a white southern plantation owner in Mississippi.

Pinckney’s mother, Eliza Stewart, was one of William’s slaves.

Even though Pinckney was born to slave, William took him (and the other nine children he had with Eliza) as his own children, not as slaves.

Eventually, William freed Eliza from slavery before his death in 1848.

Eliza moved north to Ohio so her children could be raised in a free state that did not have the institution of slavery.

The Civil War ended in 1865, and two years later in 1867 Republican congressmen from the North forced through the passage of the Reconstruction Act.

This dismantled so-called “black code” laws in the south and gave black men the right to vote and to hold office.

Pinckney found his advantage by running for the state senate in Louisiana (even though he had moved there from Ohio) because there was instantly a strong coalition of black voters among the population in Louisiana.

In 1868 Pinckney was elected as a Republican to the state senate and appointed to the position of senate leader, even though only seven of the 36 senate seats in Louisiana were held by black men.

In 1871 the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana died, and Pinckney was automatically moved to fill that position as leader of the senate.

In 1872, while Pinckney was serving as Lieutenant Governor, Louisiana had an election to fill an open US senate seat in Washington.

Louisiana’s election board appointed by the Republican Governor, Henry Warmoth, declared the Democratic candidate won.

The Republican led legislature in Louisiana appointed their own separate election commission which proceeded to declare the election was fraudulent and that the Republican candidate had actually won.

Republican Governor Henry Warmoth certified the election by the official election board results and named the democratic candidate as the winner.

The republican legislature in Louisiana then proceeded to file articles of impeachment against their own Republican Governor and sought to remove him from office because he would not support their claim that the election was fraudulent.

Article 53 of the Louisiana Constitution stipulates that if charges of impeachment are filed against the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor assumes Governor responsibilities while the impeachment proceedings take place.

And this is how Pinckney Pinchback became the very first back state governor in America, being sworn into office on December 9, 1872.

Pinckney Pinchback served as Governor for a total of six weeks until Warmoth’s term ended on January 13, 1873.

Six weeks as Governor because of an impeachment trial over allegations of election fraud; but all the same, he still goes down in history as the first back man in America to be a state governor.

The Civil War was over, but things sure didn’t seem very peaceful down in those southern states that had been torn apart by war.

It seems there is a lot more to peace than the ending of war.

There is more to peace than simply the removal of conflict.

And since it appears the culture wars of the 1870s are not much different than the culture wars of today, maybe we could use a good discussion on what the Bible has to say about being people of peace.

Let’s start today with a sort of 30,000-foot view over this Bible passage and then work our way in.

Jesus concludes his section of teaching here with some words about peace, but let’s figure out what peace has to do with everything else Jesus is talking about around this.

I think sometimes we get confused whenever we run across passages in the Bible that speak about peace.

It is a complex word in the Hebrew language and carries a great deal of nuanced meaning for the Hebrew people.

It may help us to zero in on what Jesus is talking about here in this passage when he says he gives peace.

teachings in John 14 — Jesus speaks several times about the coming of the Holy Spirit

The big picture view of John 14 is that Jesus is giving his final instructions and teachings to his disciples before his arrest and crucifixion.

The scene here is the last supper on the night Jesus is betrayed.

John tells us that Jesus washes his disciples feet, and then after the meal begins this series of teachings that begin back in John 13.

In these teachings Jesus predicts his betrayal and death, and predicts that he will be disowned—rather depressing news for the disciples to be hearing.

But also in these teachings Jesus speaks several times about the coming of the Holy Spirit, who John also refers to as the advocate.

Jesus knows what steps are immediately in front of him over the next day which will take him to the cross.

And he knows the confusion and suffering that will come upon his disciples in these next days as well.

why John includes this teaching from Jesus at this particular point in his gospel writing

And into that context comes this teaching about the Holy Spirit and peace.

It certainly does not seem like a very peaceful time in the story of the gospel narrative.

In fact, if there is any point in the story of the gospels that we might identify as the furthest from what we might consider peace, I think it would be right here—the day in which Jesus is betrayed, arrested, and executed.

We need to make some sense of why John includes this teaching from Jesus at this particular point in his gospel writing.

Alright, to find some understanding of why this teaching appears in this part of the gospel story needs a little further insight into a detail tucked into the passage itself.

One of the foundational beliefs of Christianity is the Trinity.

The Christian church has always taught for 2000 years that our God is a triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

It is one of those doctrines in the church that is somewhat difficult to understand.

We say there is one God who is made up of three persons.

Thomas Jefferson, who was not a Christian, famously said in one of his writings that “the problem with Christians is that they cannot count.”

A comment directed toward the doctrine of the Trinity—one God, three persons.

God reveals himself in scripture to be Trinity

It is difficult because you cannot find the word “trinity” anywhere in the Bible.

Yet scattered about several passages here in the New Testament, there are obvious clues which God reveals about himself that show us the trinitarian makeup of God.

This passage right here in John 14 which we read today is dripping with trinitarian language.

Just look at verse 26 as one example of what is present all over in this passage.

God in himself flourishes and thrives in perfect love

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existing eternally in a perfect unity of love.

The heavenly Father selflessly gives love to the Son and the Spirit, but also receives the selfless love of the Son and the Spirit.

The Son gives love to the Father and the Spirit, but also receives love from the Father and the Spirit.

And the Spirit gives love to the Father and the Son, but also receives love from the Father and the Son.

A God whose very being exemplifies perfect self-giving-and-receiving love.

God in himself flourishes and thrives in perfect love.

out of this perfect love which flourishes and thrives within the Trinity Jesus gives peace to his disciples

It is out of this perfect love which flourishes and thrives within the Trinity that Jesus gives to his disciples peace.

In fact, it is this perfect flourishing and thriving trinitarian love which gives us a better glimpse into understanding what peace means when we read about it in the Bible.

peace is one of the central themes of the Bible

If you have been with me a while, you know that this is not a new subject for me to bring up.

I have talked about peace several times here before.

And I do that because I want us to be absolutely certain about the way in which peace is one of the central themes of the Bible.

Some of the other central themes of the Bible are obvious enough.

Anyone who reads scripture knows that the Bible carries a theme of love.

And anyone who reads scripture knows that the Bible carries a theme of grace.

Perhaps many people would also identify a prominent theme of covenant that is seen in the Bible, or a theme of faith within scripture.

I would round out that top five list of most important Biblical themes with peace.

Woven all throughout scripture is an intentional focus on peace.

We might be able to catch some of that even in this passage as Jesus tells his disciples that along with the gift of the Holy Spirit being given to the church comes together with the gift of peace.

Hebrew shalom “peace” = flourishing, thriving

(Nicholas Wolterstorff)

Peace in the Bible comes from that Old Testament Hebrew word shalom.

In the many times I have discussed peace before I always give credit to Reformed Scholar Nicholas Wolterstorff who says that the better English translation for shalom is ‘flourishing.’

Flourishing is what describes the creation God made in Genesis 1 before sin came into the world.

Shalom-flourishing is what characterizes the world functioning in all its creative beauty in all the exact ways that God created and intended the world to function free from sin.

When the conditions around us are exactly and absolutely perfect for everything God made to flourish and thrive, that’s shalom.

sin defined as a “violation of shalom” (Neil Plantinga)

salvation Jesus brings to us through the cross culminates with the reinstatement of God’s perfect shalom

I think it is with Wolterstorff’s ‘flourishing’ in mind that Neil Plantinga’s book about sin titled Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be defines sin as a “violation of shalom.”

Any time we break down or impede the flourishing which God intends for his creation, we see sin at work.

This is what makes peace—shalom-flourishing—such an important and major theme of the Bible.

The salvation Jesus brings to us through the cross culminates in the book of revelation with the reinstatement of God’s perfect shalom.

Maybe we sometimes think that the final destination for Christianity is heaven.

Let’s be very precise about the way scripture portrays paradise.

Paradise is the complete restoration of shalom.

It is the reason why the angel in Bethlehem announcing the birth of Jesus to the shepherds in Luke 2 proclaims this news as “peace on earth.”

Jesus describes the shalom of God himself and says, I am sharing my shalom with you

the people of God’s church are to be characterized as people of peace

Bring it back to John 14. Jesus gives for his disciples a description of the perfect flourishing and thriving love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jesus describes for us the shalom of God himself.

And Jesus concludes that teaching with an amazing pronouncement: “my peace I give you.”

I am sharing my shalom with you.

The perfect flourishing and thriving love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is overflowing from our triune God and is poured out upon his people.