Sermon delivered by David Burrow September 20, 2026 at First Congregational Church, Algona, Iowa
Click here for an audio version of this sermon. (9 MB - .mp3)
(from the Reformed Church in America)
Creator God, in love you have fashioned the human family, in a variety of races, languages, and cultures. Do not let our diversity divide us, but help us to welcome gifts we can give and receive from one another. Save us from prejudice, arrogance and fear, and teach us how to live together as members of one family, sharing one home, and the children of one God. Amen.
Far too many people today use the Bible to promote hate. In both the Old and New Testaments, though, we find numerous passages that challenge us to follow the ways of Christ and work for peace in our world. Here are just a few of those.
As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so people are trapped by evil times … The quiet words of the wise are to be heeded more than the shouts of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. … Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples. … Peace I leave you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteous, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
A couple years ago I happened to see a revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical South Pacific. There’s a lot of famous music in that show, classic showtunes like “Some Enchanted Evening”, “There Is Nothing Like a Dame”, “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair”, and “Happy Talk”.
There was one song that really stood out to me in the show, though, a song that producers nearly cut from the show when it debuted in 1949 because they thought it was too controversial. That song was “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”. The song explores themes of bigotry and racism, and it includes such lines as:
You've got to be taught to hate and fear
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose skin is a diff'rent shade
You've got to be taught before it's too late
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught.
Those lines were so controversial in 1949 that South Pacific was banned in the state of Georgia for being “un-American”. Sadly, a large number of people today propose banning artistic works for similar reasons, and too many people have been taught to be scared of those who are different from them.
I was privileged to be able to make two major trips in the past two years, and those took me to opposite sides of the world. On each of those trips I encountered peace poles much like the one we have outside this church. Seeing those peace poles brought to mind that song from South Pacific.
A little over a year ago I travelled to Japan. I saw three different peace poles there. One was in Tokyo, outside the largest Christian church in Asia. Japan is one of the least diverse societies on earth. This church mostly ministers to immigrants from places like the Philippines and Malaysia, and the people of Japan often do not welcome them. One of the purposes of that pole was to offer a prayer that people from different countries should live together in harmony.
I also saw peace poles by Shinto shrines in Hiroshima and Okinawa. Japan was arguably affected more than any other country by World War II. Hiroshima and Okinawa were among dozens of places that were completely destroyed, and more than two and a half million Japanese died in the war. It would be understandable if Japan held a permanent fear and hatred of western countries. Instead the postwar response was not retaliation, but rather prayers for real peace throughout the world. They were willing to unlearn the prejudices of the past and work to make a future of peace.
This past summer I visited the United Kingdom, and one of the places I found most memorable was Belfast, Northern Ireland. I saw a peace pole in west Belfast right by the wall the British military erected in the 1970s to divide historically Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods.
When I was a kid, Northern Ireland was one of the most troubled places in the world. The media here portrayed what the Irish call “the troubles” as a religious struggle, but really it was a political struggle that went back for generations. Both the Protestant loyalists and the Catholic republicans had been taught to fear and hate the people their relatives feared and hated, and all that fear and hatred led to decades of pointless death and destruction.
The troubles continued until the mid 1990s, when a Catholic priest invited an Anglican priest and a Presbyterian minister to meet at his church in west Belfast. That led to meetings between the different congregations and eventually between the loyalist and republican paramilitary groups. The ultimate result was the Good Friday Agreement, which was signed by British and Irish officials in 1998.
It took a while for the people of Northern Ireland to unlearn centuries of hate, but they have largely done it. Today the border between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland is completely unguarded, residents of Northern Ireland have dual citizenship in both countries, and for a quarter century Belfast has been one of the safest cities on earth.
In Northern Ireland they managed to overcome generations of hatred. Our challenge in the rest of the world is to join them in getting past the prejudices we were taught and teach future generations to truly live in peace.
The International Day of Peace has been declared by the United Nations each year since 1981. For forty-five years the goal of the celebration has been to work for a culture of peace—a world where cooperation, compassion, and respect for all people replace fear and conflict. It encourages everyone to live the values of peace every single day.
We live in a world where far too often the voices of evil take center stage. We’re taught to be afraid of those who are different from us and to hate the people our relatives hate. We need to remember that Christ calls us to follow the way of peace—to love one another, to turn the other cheek, and to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. It’s time to unlearn all those prejudices we were carefully taught and work to truly be people of peace.
(from Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church - Houston, Texas)
Almighty God, we come to you with quiet hearts. You call us to live in peace, but we confess that too often we choose our own way. We let fear, anger, and pride rule our thoughts. We build walls instead of building bridges. We add to the hurt and division in the world with harsh words and silent indifferences.
Forgive us, Gracious God. Help us not to focus on what benefits us, but to work to build a world that benefits all your people. Help us to work for peace and understanding among all people everywhere. We pray in the name of Jesus, your son. Amen.
(C) 2025 davidmburrow@yahoo.com