It was dark and cold and the small group of men huddled around their fire to keep warm. In the social strata of the day, you’d have to say they were near the bottom rung. But still, despite their lack of education and social status they were aware of much more than the intelligentsia might have thought. Theirs was a nation under foreign control. The occupying forces were there on what’s now called a police action or a peacekeeping exercise. But they knew that there’d never really be peace while enemy soldiers were positioned in the capital. And they knew that if it ever came to war again, they were the sort who get placed in the front line. They were the expendable ones, the unimportant ones, the ones the officers send out first to test the strength of the opposition forces.
How they longed for peace. How they longed for the time when their country could return to peaceful days! If only the prophecies of Isaiah could come true. Hadn’t they heard the scribes read those verses from Isaiah, "The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink the wine for which you have labored." Well, that day seemed a long way off as they sat out on the hills that night talking about the Roman soldiers making their presence felt all over the countryside.
But as they sat there talking, suddenly their conversation was interrupted. A blinding light appeared above them, the hills were flooded with light and a gleaming angel stood before them. For a moment there wasn’t a sound. The men were too terrified to even breathe. Then the angel spoke: "Don’t be afraid; I’m here to bring you good news. This isn’t something to be scared of. This is something that will bring you joy, in fact it’s news of great joy for all people. There’s a baby down in Bethlehem who’s just been born, who’s the promised Messiah, the promised King. He’s the one promised by God through the prophet Isaiah, who’ll bring an end to wars, who’ll establish his kingdom forever." Then as he finished speaking, suddenly it went from amazing to mind-blowing. Suddenly the sky was filled with angels singing praises to God and proclaiming the good news of Jesus’ birth. Those insignificant shepherds out on the hills must have listened and watched in utter amazement not only that the prophecies of Isaiah and others were being fulfilled, but that they were the ones to hear it first.
And what was it the angels sang? "On earth peace among those whom God favors!" Could this mean the end of Roman occupation? You can imagine their hopes rising as they saw this miraculous sight and heard those words of hope. An end to war, a return to self-determination, an end to fear. If only it were true.
We too listen to those words and long for peace on earth; peace in our time. Yet we look around the world and all we see after 2000 years of waiting is a continuation of war after war after war. In the survey that the group from Deakin Uni did a couple of weeks ago, one of the questions was "Do you have any concerns or needs for which we could pray?" And do you know what was the most common answer to that question? I’m sure you’d have no trouble guessing. It was for world peace. For a cessation of war and terrorism. What was it about Sept 11 that caused such distress in America, or about the Bali bombing that caused such distress here in Australia? It was the thought that we could no longer rely on having peace here in our own country. That we no longer feel secure.
So we ask ourselves "what’s happened to ’peace on earth?’" What was this peace that Jesus was supposed to be bringing?
Clearly it wasn’t an end to wars and terrorism. Not in this world at least. In fact Jesus warned that there’d be wars and rumours of wars, and that they’d go on for ages before the end of the world came. Certainly God has promised that when Christ returns and takes us to be with him we’ll have true peace. There’ll be no more wars then, no more suffering and pain. But we want to know "what about now?" Is there peace for us now?
Can those who are followers of Jesus Christ expect to find peace in their lives? Well on one level we’d have to answer no. Jesus said "Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!" The fact that we’ve decided to follow Jesus and others don’t want to have anything to do with him means that inevitably we’re going to encounter trouble in this world. Those who are opposed to Christ’s rule will be opposed to those who follow Christ.
Yet at the same time we’d want to say that Jesus also told his disciples: " Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." (John 14:27) There is a peace which Christ brings that passes all understanding. It’s not the peace that would see an end to wars. That sort of peace has to wait until the end of the world. Nor is it the sort of transitory peace that we experience from time to time in this world. It’s a lasting peace that remains with us even when times are difficult. And it’s a real peace, a peace that will see our hearts being put at ease.
Let’s think for a moment about the sort of peace that Jesus’ coming assures us of.
First of all Jesus’ coming brings us peace with God. We read earlier this year in Romans 5 "Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God." Do you struggle from at times with a guilty conscience? I guess all of us do from time to time. It may even be that the more spiritual we are the more our guilty conscience bothers us. But the coming of God’s Son to earth in the form of this little baby boy provides the means by which our consciences can be cleared, our slates wiped clean and we can go to sleep each night knowing that God has nothing against us.
I’ve been reading a book lately, set in the middle ages. It’s about a priest who’s on a mission to save the world from evil. And every now and then he’s called upon to say the last rites for someone who’s dying. Inherent in his calling is the fear that if he doesn’t say the last rites in time the person will never get to heaven. And you wonder how they could have got it so wrong? Why didn’t they realise that Christ’s death on the cross meant that we have a real peace with God now? That we have a lasting peace that doesn’t depend on the prayers of a priest at the moment of death, but relies solely on Christ’s death 2000 years ago. If we take nothing else away from the service today it should be that. There is peace with God available to all people today. We are the objects of God’s favour. God’s favour rests upon us. The gospel we proclaim is a gospel of peace.
But the peace that Jesus brought was also a peace that extends to those around us. It’s a peace that affects our relationships. It’s a peace that transcends racial and cultural boundaries. One of the great blasphemies of our times is the use of religion, particularly the Christian religion as grounds for war. When Catholic and Protestant fight it out in Northern Ireland or Hutu and Tutsi kill each other in Rwanda, or eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Muslim fight it out in the old Yugoslavia, all in the name of religion, God’s name is brought into dishonour. Jesus came to bring people of all races together. Paul rejoices with the Ephesians that Christ has abolished the Jewish religious law, and with it the distinctions between Jew and Gentile in order to "create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace." He says that Christ has reconciled "both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it." Through Jesus’ coming there’s now no reason for hostility between different racial or cultural groups. We’re all reconciled to God so we can also be reconciled to one another.
One of the highlights of the National Anglican Conference last July was the opportunity of sharing with the group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who were there representing their churches. It was great to be in a small group with the Torres Strait Islander Bishop, Saibo Mabo, and hear about the joys and difficulties of the Church in the Torres Strait. There are some fairly significant cultural differences between where I come from and where he comes from, but they were irrelevant as we shared the joys of knowing Christ and seeing his work done.
But let’s face it, peace between people doesn’t come automatically. Sometimes it’s easy but other times we have to work at it. Sometimes we have to strive to live in peace with one another. The church in Corinth was a good example of a church where peace didn’t come naturally. It was full of people with differing views on a whole range of matters. So when Paul wrote to them he had to tell them to agree with one another and to live in peace with one another. This was something they had to work at if the peace of God was to dwell in their hearts and lives.
I guess God could have imposed a peace on the world, the way the Romans did, or the way George Bush wants to, by force. He could have made it so swords rusted away before they were used. He could have given people an aversion to violence, the way a hypnotist plants a hypnotic suggestion in the mind. But instead he chose to send his son to be born as a child, to grow up in a working class environment, and eventually to die on a cross, just so we could be freed from fear and be made right with him. If Jesus had to go through that to bring us peace, why do we think we can have it without any effort?
Are you working at bringing Christ’s peace to bear on your part of the world? On your relationships, your family life, your workplace situation? God has put us here to continue Christ’s work of bringing peace to the world.
Finally, Christ’s coming means that we can have peace in our own hearts and minds. It means we can stop worrying. Why can we stop worrying? Because we know that God has done everything needed to make us right with him. He’s given us his only Son to live as a human being and to die on a cross for us. And if God has given us his own Son, then there’s nothing else we might need that God wouldn’t give us along with him.
You may have heard the story of the rich art collector who had one of the greatest collections of art in the world. It was full of such beauty that you’d think he would have been one of the happiest men ion the world. But in fact that wasn’t the case. His only son had been killed in a car accident at a young age and the man had never really got over it. You see he’d loved his son so much. He was so proud of him when he graduated from University and he had great plans for him to follow on in the family business. And then he died and the man was devastated. So he put all his energy into compiling the best art collection he could manage in memory of his son. Well, the man died without an heir and when the will was read it was announced that his art collection would be auctioned off. On the day of the auction art dealers came from far and wide hoping for a bargain. There were people on mobile phones, an Internet connection; you name it. Well, the first item for auction was a portrait of a young man by an unknown painter. It wasn’t a particularly good portrait. None of the dealers was interested in it. They were waiting for the real art to come up for sale. The auctioneer called for bids and there was silence. Not a hand moved. He lowered his suggested amount and eventually an old man up the back bid a small amount for it. He was the art collector’s butler and he realised that the portrait was that of the man’s son, whom he too had loved. It had been painted just before the young man died. He valued the painting not for it’s artistic value but for its sentimental value. Well, the art dealers were glad to have that out of the way. Now they could get on with the real sale. But then the auctioneer announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen I’m required to read the following clause of the will. It reads ’Whoever buys the portrait of my son gets everything else as well.’ The auction is now over." Whoever has the son has everything! Rom 8:31-32: "If God is for us, who is against us? 32He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?
How do you respond to stresses in your life? Do you worry about them, or do you pass them on to God. Do you trust God to give you everything you need? Again, listen to the words of Paul as he speaks to the Christians at Philippi: Phil 4:6,7: "Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Jesus came to bring peace. Peace with God. Peace of mind. Peace which passes all understanding. Peace that comes from knowing that the God of the whole universe cares about me, cares about you. And the proof of that care is seen in that tiny baby lying in a feeding trough in a stable in Bethlehem all those years ago. God loved me so much that he gave up his only begotten Son so that, since I believe in him, I won’t perish, but will have eternal life. God loved you so much that he gave up his only begotten Son so that, if you believe in him, you too won’t perish, but will have eternal life. If God did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?
Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21make us complete in everything good so that we may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Heb 13:20)
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