In Jesus Holy Name December 17, 2017
Advent III Text: Luke 2:10, 14 Redeemer
“Good News…Peace For Your Soul”
Today is our Children’s Christmas Program. The program this year is based on Martin Luther’s famous hymn. “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come.”
Martin Luther had a passion for Christmas. He had a passion for finding ways to tell the story of God’s love. The Season of Christmas provided a great opportunity. In 1534 he wrote a children’s Christmas musical for his children. He wrote at least 4 other Christmas carols. For Luther the singing of songs in worship was just another way to help people hear, sing and thus remember the “gospel”.
If you look closely at Martin Luther’s Christmas hymn you can see that he designed it to be a singing dialogue between singers. Turn to hymn 358. Today we very seldom sing all 15 stanzas. So try to imagine a child dressed as an angel singing stanza 1. “From Heaven above to Earth I Come, to bring good news to everyone, Glad tidings of great joy I bring..
Then imagine Mary and Joseph singing stanza 8. Then repeat stanza 2 and stanza 9, 10,11
Stanza 5 again the message of the angels to the shepherds answered in stanza 6….
And finally the personal note which is a prayer. Stanza 13-15
Some of the songs of Christmas are not as well known. Several years ago a Christian grade school teacher from a small town in the southwest was teaching her 2nd grade class various Christmas songs. Having rehearsed her second graders she felt brave enough to take them caroling.
They went to a number of places where people were home bound. The wondering concert ended up in the community’s only nursing home.
There the teacher, with her charges in tow, wandered the hallways giving a song at the doorway of each resident. Only then did the teacher notice that one of her more enthusiastic singers had rewritten the words to one of the songs.
Where he was supposed to be singing: “Noel, Noel.” (Noel meaning Christmas or Christmastide.) He was belting out for all to hear. “No hell, No hell, born is the King of Israel.”
I like his interpretation. It certainly explains what Christmas is all about. God loved the world so much He gave His one and only Son. By believing in God’s Son, Jesus, anyone can have eternal life. Since you and I have flesh and blood it was logical that God Himself would take upon Himself flesh and blood.
His life journey began as an infant in Bethlehem. His life on earth came to an end on the cross in Jerusalem. But he rose from death with a glorified resurrected body. His resurrection destroyed the Devil’s ability to keep people in slavery by their fear of death. His resurrection is what brings us together to remember His birth.
The little 2nd graders theology was correct… No hell, no hell for those who accept Jesus as their Savior. The Apostle Paul can write in Romans: “…since we have been justified through faith we have peace with God…through Jesus Christ.” Therefore we have no fear of “hell”. One’s heart should not worry.
Most of Paul’s letters begin in the same way: “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace is a state of tranquility or quietness of spirit that transcends circumstances. The term peace is described in Scripture as a gift from God.
People in the world dream and scheme for peace. “But each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear. A demented dictator collecting nuclear warheads the way others collect fine win.” Terrorism in a N.Y. subway brings new meaning about going to work. We fear being sued. Fear finishing last, going broke, the new mole the doctor discovered in our routine physical. (Fearless Max Lucado)
Fear herds us into a prison and slams the door. The followers of Jesus contract malaria, cancer, bury babies, battle addictions. Fear corrodes our confidence in God’s good ness. We begin to wonder if love lives in heaven. Fear unleashes a swarm of doubts.
In the Gospel of Matthew we find the Disciples had been on the Sea of Galilee. Most of them grew up on the water. They had fished with their fathers. They had been on the waters of the Sea of Galilee hundreds of times. They knew the Sea of Galilee like the back of their hand. They know how to manage the boat in the rough waters when storms arise.
In some ways the Sea of Galilee is not much different than the waters of the San Luis Reservoir. The waters of San Luis are surrounded by large hills. There are times when the wind whips down over the pass and the waves easily climb to 6-8 feet swamping and sinking boats, taking to the bottom both the boat and fishermen.
One day after Jesus had fed thousands of people, He and the disciples got into a boat and headed across the lake to Capernaum. “When Matthew tells the story he does not use the words …..spring shower, squall, cloud burst or downpour. He recalled white caps, white knuckles. Suddenly a violent storm whips down the hillside and the hardened fishermen cried out in fear and terror. Their anxiety was extremely high. Peter and John struggle to keep the sail down. They could not bail fast enough, as waves wash over the boat. Thunder roars. Jesus sleeps.” (Fearless by Max Lucado chapter 1)
Fear unleashes a swarm of doubts. Fear drains them of peace. When fear reaches into our safe day….it drains us of peace.
On top of the winds of terror that frightened the disciples…..there may be similar storms of destruction coming to your family or to you personally. When the PetCT Scan and the Doctor confirm that your heart is failing…. Or another rare disease has attacked your body…. The calm and peace of life can be as fleeting as fall leaves blown by the wind. The boat is taking on water. The threats of the storms we face are very real, and we may feel as if we’re about to drown.
Like the disciples we cry out… Lord Save us! They wake Jesus and he simply said to the wind….”be still”. There was “peace” on the water. …. Peace replaced fear in their mind and body.
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with 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” (John 14:27).
Yes, We know what Jesus said. "And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life’s span? We can not. Luke 12:25-26
Jesus is saying that we cannot prolong our life-span a single hour by worrying. The utmost anxiety will not prolong it one. If we cannot, through being worrisome and fretful, affect our own lives by ensuring that we live a single extra hour….how can our worrying and being fretful change the circumstances around us? Worry and fear cannot bring-about any positive change.
We are not to have anxiety. Even for us Christians….that phrase is sometimes easier said than done. We are not to have worry. Even for us Christians…. That is sometimes easier said than done. We are not to have nervousness. Even for us Christians….some-times, easier said than done.
What benefits come from worrying? from being fretful? from being afraid? Absolutely nothing. Our worrying, our being fretful, our being fearful does not improve our circumstances in any manner. We can worry and fret but it will not bring about any positive changes in our situation. What changed the disciples’ fear in the boat? Jesus. Is Jesus in your boat?
Jesus said: You are worth more than two sparrows. Don’t be afraid. Matthew 10:31
Jesus said: I tell you not to worry about everyday life, whether you have enough. Matthew 6;25
If you lack peace for the anxious moments before surgery? Invite Jesus into your boat. If you lack peace while hunting for a new job? Ask Jesus into your boat. If you lack peace because of the normal “worries” of life, food on the table, money for health care…. Then Invite Jesus into your moment….because He has promised that in all things He can bring about “good” for those who love him.
Do you want peace in your heart? You can ask for it. James tells us “if you lack wisdom don’t be afraid to ask God for it… for he gives generously to all …” James 1:5.
If you want peace… ask for it. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, yes, joy, yes…. 3rd on the list is “peace”. Like any fruit it begins small and grows. Peace will grow…when you keep in step with God’s word. I can only encourage you to read more in the bible each year. But only you can make it happen. I can encourage you to “keep in step with the Holy Spirit”… so that you will have more “joy”, more “peace”. But only you can daily make it happen.
It is true that Christ came to bring peace—peace between the believer and God. Done. It happened at the cross and empty grave. Jesus said: don’t let your hearts be troubled, trust in God, trust in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms and I will return and take you home to be with me…. John 14:1,3
If you lack peace about your eternal destiny….let Jesus take your hand and invite you into His boat. Faith in Jesus will bring peace. Jesus is saying… do not fear the trip to the cemetery for it is like a walk down the wedding isle. Only joy and excitement awaits. In my Father’s house ….I will be there with you forever.
What did the angels say to the shepherds? “Don’t be afraid… I bring you good tidings of great joy….A Savior is born…. His birth will bring peace between God and humanity. Dare we trust the words of the angels? Do we have any guarantee that this special child born in Bethlehem, who grew up to be a Jewish carpenter will bring peace? The answer rests in the Jerusalem graveyard. His tomb was empty. His death and resurrection removes the “fear of death from human hearts”. (Hebrews 2:14,15)
Remember the child singing the Christmas song the “First Noel”. He was right. “no hell” “no hell” for those who have Jesus riding in their boat.
