Some time try typing the phrase “Peace of mind” into a Google search.  I did yesterday and I got 22,100,000 possible hits.  I don’t have near the amount of time it would take for me to view all 22,100,000 web sites that mention peace of mind but I did look at several of them.  I was not surprised to see how many of them were trying to lead people to believe that peace of mind is for sale.  There were books on peace of mind.  There was aroma therapy, a little spray bottle filled with I don’t know what that was supposed to give you peace of mind.  Insurance goes without saying.  Don’t you want the peace of mind knowing that if something devastating happens to you or your family you will get money?  Deep down we know that money doesn’t solve everything but we buy the insurance and lots of it. Take the opposite of peace of mind which I would say is fear and you will see a lot of products being marked this way too.  Unless you have this particular vehicle with a superior side impact ratting, anti lock brakes, four wheel drive, tires that grip, or you name the safety system then you have something to fear.  Wouldn’t you rather have the pace of mind that comes with knowing these systems are in place to save you?  In the passage we read from Romans a few moments ago Paul in a few short lines suggests that most of the 22,100,000 web sites and all of those selling Peace of mind have it all wrong. 

            Steve Blass was the ace starting pitcher in the 1971 World Series securing two victories and leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a seven-game win over the Oriels.  Inexplicably in 1973 Blass could no longer find the strike zone.  His ERA ballooned from 3.25 to more than 9.  He tried to work things out but it really never came together for him and now a pitcher who can’t find the plate is said to have Steve Blass Syndrome. 

            I would submit to you that a lot of Christians have a form of Steve Blass Syndrome, not that they can’t throw a strike.  What I am talking about is the fact that we know peace of mind can’t be bought, we know it doesn’t come from consuming, or hoarding stuff.  One of the fundamental aspects of our faith, one of the core arguments used to get people to take faith seriously is, apart from God we are nothing.  There is no peace of mind apart from God.  This is the major league World Series Winning component of faith; we know it, and yet repeatedly we can’t get it right.  I would submit to you that one of the greatest sins, that which drives a wedge between us and God more than anything else, something of which we are all guilty far too often is the notion that we are in control.  We rely on ourselves rather than on God; is it any wonder we wind up in trouble?  This is exactly what Paul describes as living in the flesh.  The trouble is that when we live according to the flesh we are not capable of seeing beyond the limitations of the flesh and it naturally leads to death. What Paul says we must do instead is to set our minds on the Spirit of God because it is the only way to truly achieve peace of mind.  What Paul is talking about is not the doctrine of election, it is not even the doctrine of the Trinity; this is not the finer points of theology, these are the basics.  We know this stuff and yet time and again we fall victim to focusing on the flesh.  We buy into the mentality of Madison Ave, we have to keep up with the Jones, and we have to have all these time saving gadgets that wind up using more time in the long run.

            Thomas Merton once wrote “We are not so much entangled in our souls as we are entangled in our minds.”  If we set our minds again and again on the flesh then our head will always be filled with distractions that lead us away from God and are at the very least destructive to ourselves and often destructive to others and to the world in which we live.  However if we set our minds on God again and again turning away from the distractions and turning toward God’s love, the depth of beauty in God’s creation, the joy of salvation, the hope that Christ brings, and the power of courage that we receive through God’s spirit then we will find peace of mind.  Even better because we are no longer afraid, because we no longer operate out of this mindset of scarcity, fear that there is not enough to go around, so I have to hoard; we are freed to share with others and to build one another up and better care of the world around us. 

            The way of the flesh is death.  We see the negative impact our chasing after more and more stuff, better and bigger things has had on the environment.  The way of the Spirit is life, and when we trust God to provide what we need and are satisfied with what God has supplied us then the impact on the world is positive. That is primarily what we discussed at the church retreat yesterday at Turkey Run as we considered our call as Christians to promote Eco Justice.    To illustrate that the way of the flesh is death and the way of the Spirit is life has real life consequences for our environment and for fellow human beings I would invite the Eco Justice players to come forward and share the skit they performed at the retreat yesterday.  The good news illustrated in the skit and the good news Paul shares with us is this, things can still be changed.  We can choose to focus on God rather than the flesh and be renewed in our relationship with God.  We can still undo some of the negative impact our flesh minded use of resources has had on the earth.