Do you ever ask: “How can I be at peace? How can I get what’s missing in my life?” Today we’re going to hear that God brings peace on earth — God brings peace to you, and it changes your life.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit to open our ears to hear the angels announce peace on earth. Comfort us by this good news, through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, born to us this day.
I wonder if the following poem by Tony Cooke sounds like your house? It certainly sounds a bit like mine!
‘Twas the fight before Christmas,
And all through the house,
Not a creature was peaceful,
Not even my spouse.
The bills were strung out on our table with dread,
In hopes that our cheque book would not be in the red.
The children were fussing and throwing a fit,
When Billy came screaming and cried, “I’ve been bit.”
And Momma with her skillet, and I with the remote,
She said, “You change one more channel and I’ll grab your throat.” [1]
Christmas is meant to be a time of peace, yet for some (most?) it can be a time when peace is absent. Bills seem to arrive right around Christmas time, when there are additional expenses. There’s the stress of all those Christmas activities, travel & holidays to plan. Our family relationships can be strained. Or perhaps we miss a loved one.
Rather than being peaceful, we are often people at war: with ourselves, with others, and with God.
(a) At war with ourselves: We often end up doing things we don’t want to. We aren’t the person we want to be. Maybe you’re not the parent or grand-parent you imagined. Or you didn’t get the grades you wanted. You lose your temper too often, or harbour a bitterness you can’t shake. Where are you at war with yourself?
(b) At war with others: We are nation against nation; person against person. Perhaps our family is in conflict. Or we fail to welcome those who are different. Where are you at war with others?
(c) At war with God: You might imagine God is a bit like Zeus, the Greek god of the sky, with lightning bolts in hand ready to punish you if you step out of line; a bit like the Santa Claus of the sky, keeping a list of who’s naughty or nice. Or perhaps you’re angry with God, screaming at him — “Why did God let my partner die? Or my family breakdown? Or this particular tragic event?” Where are you at war with God?
How can we have peace in the midst of all this war? We often picture peace as a brief moment of calm after a military battle or a diplomatic negotiation, before the next battle starts. But peace is much more than the opposite of war. Peace when the wolf lives with the lamb (Isaiah 9:4). With such harmony there’s prosperity, pleasure, and favour.
One word picture the Bible uses to describe “peace” is finishing something. King Solomon built the first temple in ancient Israel and he brought the furnishings that his father, King David, had made. As he did so, we’re told the temple was at “peace,” it was finished and complete (1 Kings 7:51). Likewise, after Israel had been exiled in Babylon, Nehemiah returns to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. Placing the last brick in the wall, he declares “peace,” completeness and wholeness (Nehemiah 6:15). Peace is putting the final part into a jigsaw puzzle and sighing with satisfaction and pleasure.
The Christmas message is that God brings peace on earth. We’re told: Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared …, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those on whom his favour rests.” (Luke 2:13–14)
But note how God announces the peace. ‘A great company of the heavenly host appeared.’ We could probably say that a bit clearer: ‘A great army of heaven’s angels,’ or ‘many heavenly soldiers’ appeared. This is military speak, used to describe a company of soldiers deployed for a campaign. But this isn’t just one company, or even a battalion, but ‘a multitude.’ In fact the word means ‘the fullness of.’ The fullness of heaven’s army appeared. Let that sink in. The fullness of heaven’s army. God sent all his troops to this point in space-time. God sent his entire army of soldiers on this particular campaign.
Christmas is God waging peace on earth. And he’s all in. He sends the fullness of his heavenly army. He even comes himself as the commander in chief. God comes to wage peace on earth through the person of Jesus. God knows that our world is missing peace. He knows there is a missing piece inside each one of you. So he comes to wage peace on earth, to bring you peace.
But how on earth is a baby born 2,000 years ago in an ancient town, in the backwaters of the Middle East, going to bring peace on earth? How does Jesus bring completeness and wholeness to you, today? Jesus doesn’t come to fight a battle, or negotiate a peace treaty. He doesn’t even come to show us how to do good things to each other, or teach us to “play nice.” Jesus comes to forgive you. His birth, life, death and resurrection is the missing peace/piece in your life. It’s God’s forgiveness that makes you whole and complete. It’s like Jesus completes the jigsaw puzzle that is ”you,” and the Father looks at the completed puzzle and similes — your whole self brings God pleasure and favour. “Peace on earth to those on whom his favour rests.” That’s you! God’s favour rests on you because of what Jesus has done.
Having God’s peace and favour changes who you are. You are given peace with yourself — through the power of the Holy Spirit, God makes you into the person you are created to be. You are given peace with others — Jesus teaches us not only to forgive ourselves, but also to forgive others, to see everyone is ‘one piece short of a jigsaw puzzle,’ and that we can play a part in bringing the missing piece to complete them. You are given peace with God — God doesn’t want to punish you or be angry at you, but his favour rests on you, he looks at you and is pleased, you are his completed jigsaw puzzle.
So the good news at Christmas is that peace is already here on earth in Jesus. You can have peace with yourself, others, and with God. The peace is already available, so now the task is that it must be announced to others, and acknowledged. So God enlists you into his army. Put your boots on soldier and get marching! Go tell it on the mountain, go tell it everywhere, that Jesus Christ is born! Jesus brings the missing piece/peace to earth. So may the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] “Twas the Fight Before Christmas” by Tony Cooke and David Beebe, https://www.tonycooke.org/
