Arrival: Peace
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Peace on Earth”
Peace on earth, with a world at war?
O what were the angels singing for
That far-away night when the Star shown down
With a glorious light on Bethlehem’s town?
Peace on earth! They were singing of Him
Who was born that night to redeem from sin;
Who still has the power to cleanse and to heal
The contrite heart who is willing to kneel.
Peace on earth, amid sorrow and loss?
Yes, peace indeed, at the foot of the cross!
Peace in a world that is troubled and torn,
Peace in each heart where the Savior is born.
Peace on earth, while the nations rage?
And history is making its darkest page?
Yes, peace on earth, for its steadfast light
Is burning in thousands of hearts tonight!
I don’t know about you, but I could use some peace in my life; in fact I think our entire world can use some peace right about now. The past few years in our country have been riddled with conflict; and many of us bear the scars of the turmoil of the world.
But today, I do not want to talk as much about world peace; I want to talk about YOUR peace.
In Isaiah 11:6-9 we are given a prophecy of what this world will look like when Jesus comes to reign
Isaiah 11:6–9 “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
There is a lot of juxtaposition happening in this passage- wolf and lamb dwelling together; the goat, calf, and loin sharing the same space; even the cobra and a child.
Natural enemies lay together in this passage; why? Because this is a foreshadowing of what the world wil look like when the Kingdom of God is at the forefront of the world.
This vision reminds us that God’s Kingdom is a place where even those who have conflict on this Earth can find space to share with no threat to one another. And let’s be honest; this might be the very kind of promise many of us need to hear this holiday season.
One of the best parts of the holidays is being together with friends and family! And one of the hardest parts of the holidays can be being with friends and family.
It seems like more and more families are dealing with pain, brokenness, and conflict each and every Christmas. I know that this time of year I have many people ask me to pray for their family as they navigate this time of year.
So, can I give us some thoughts about peace today- peace in the midst of the busiest time of year; and peace in what can be the most emotional time of the year for so many?
True peace begins with experiencing the presence of God
True peace begins with experiencing the presence of God
An old proverb says “there will be no peace as long as Jesus is absent from the table”
Notice that the reason that all of these relationships are possible- in v9 we read that the Earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. This is why so much of the world’s ways of achieving peace are unsuccessful. True peace cannot be achieved by education, or legislation, or even culturalization; true peace can only come through the presence of God.
Imagine trying to educate a wolf on why it should not eat the lamb; or trying to tell the lion that you have passed a law saying it can no longer eat calves; or how about we send more cobras into the nursery so they can try and live like the babies and maybe then they will see why they shouldn’t bite them- none of those make any sense right? Why? Because it is in the nature of the wolf, the lion, and the cobra to do these things.
True peace begins with a new nature.
Romans 6:6–8 “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”
Romans 6:15–18 “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”
Are you in need of peace today? Have you experienced the transformational power of Jesus? How about those you want peace with? Have they experienced the presence of Jesus? If they have not, instead of merely just trying to keep the peace with them this holiday season, maybe it is time that you invite them to experience Jesus.
Union with God…
As followers of Jesus we are asked to purse peace
As followers of Jesus we are asked to purse peace
Psalm 34:14 “Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”
In a world that seems to run off conflict peace can sometimes be hard to find. It is easy to find conflict, just turn on the news; or go to the mall; or watch a movie; conflict is everywhere; peace is much harder to come by.
We have a little Christmas tradition at our house- the Christmas scavenger hunt. The kids all have one of their gifts hidden somewhere on our property and they must solve riddles and get clues in order to find their gift. And you know what; every year they seem to find it! They have not given up yet; no matter how many clues there are or how challenging we make it. Why? Because they know what waits for them at the end is worth it.
Friends, we are called to seek peace and pursue it- which can be challenging. It takes effort to find peace;
We seek peace when we open up the Scriptures and ask God to speak to us
We seek peace when we carve out quiet time to sit in the presence of God
We seek peace when we look for ways to bless those who curse us
We seek peace when we offer forgiveness. Even if it isn’t deserved.
Friends we all have relationships in our community that we need to give more effort to find peace in;
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As followers of Jesus, peace often depends on us
As followers of Jesus, peace often depends on us
Peace is one of the core values of Brethren, and like many Brethren ministers I have often wrestled with how peace is practiced in my life and in our world.. And for me the most important verse for peace in the Scriptures is Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
Jesus came to offer peace to the world- and we are to follow suit.
I don’t know about you; but there are times I go into a situation and I might not be looking for a fight; but I am certainly expecting one. So I am defensive; I look for the conflict around every corner; I overthink everything the person says or analyze every move they make.
There are times that peace depends on us and we fail. We fail to turn the other cheek; or to offer mercy and grace; there are times when we curse those who curse us instead of offering blessing.
Remember a conflict takes 2….
Some of you have heard me say from this very pulpit that you do not have to show up to every fight you are invited to.
Jesus came so his peace would reign
Jesus came so his peace would reign
Jesus came to the manger to bring peace to the world. And one day he is going to come again and all things will be put back in God’s perfect order.
Currently God’s peace does not rule this Earth- sin and brokenness still have their way in this world. However, that does not stop the peace of Christ from regaining in your heart.
Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
Even if the peace of God does not rule the world- it can rule YOUR world.
The Greek word for rule in this passage comes from the word Burebo which was the term for an umpire or judge that presided over the athletic game and events. The umpire set the rules, interpreted the game; and made all the final decisions.
Many Christians have peace with God, but it does not reign in their hearts; it has a part but not the final say.
The Kingdom of God- the reign of his peace does not have to be out there to flourish in here. ‘’
N INSTRUMENT OF PEACE
"Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life."
SOURCE St. Francis of Assisi
