Oh boy, that Turkey looked great! Don't you just love the Griswolds? Over at HyVee, they write a question each day on a large chalkboard. Yesterday's was, "All I want for Christmas is..." Somebody wrote, "To be left the {explicative} alone." Other's wrote "my two front teeth" and "my hair back." {Who would want to a hairy back?} One person wrote "to be close to Christ." Another wrote, "love and peace."
If you were to write something, what would you write? I bet a lot of folks would write "love and peace." Do you remember John Lenon's iconic song, "Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one." That's the dream of a lot of folks this Christmas. After the Paris bombing, the Eifel tower was reimaged into a symbol of peace. This Christmas millions of Hallmark cards will be sent wishing love, joy, peace.
For a lot of folks, peace is a state of comfort. It's the absence of family disturbances--like cousin Eddie. It's freedom from any kind of strife. It's no burnt turkey, no turmoil, no annoyances, everything running smoothly, everyone happy. On a severe level, I suppose some would say it's an absence of hostility and violence, people just learning to get along, learning to positively tolerate one another.
But what if there is more to peace? What if people's understanding of peace is shallow as Aunt Bethany's prayer of grace--the BLESSING?
Well, "peace" is the promise of Christmas--and this is what I want to talk about. When Isaiah the prophet foretold the coming of the Christ, he wrote, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined... For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:2,6)
When an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds in the field, he too announced, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." [Then] suddenly a great company of the heavenly host [also] appeared with the angel, praising God, saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2:9-14)
Can I just ask? What in the world does Jesus have to do with peace? If I weren't a Christian, I would argue that Jesus isn't necessary for peace. Ronald Reagan once said, "A people free to choose will always choose peace." I find that to be true, don't you? It's human nature to want peace. Its radical, extremely radical, to want anything less.
This past week a group of ISIS fighters (many just teenagers) were captured by Syrian fighters. They were fitted in bright orange jumpsuits, and led out into the desert single file. Their supposed executioners, wearing camouflage fatigues and black masks, towered over them. As they were forced to their knees, a complaint was read. But then the executioners holster their guns, remove their masks, and step back. A Muslim Cleric (dressed in a white robe) began preaching to the captives, "Repent... this is not our policy. We are not evil."
It's an amazing story especially in light of all the propaganda we're hearing. Again, if I were a non-Christian I would argue that given the choice, 99.999% of people opt for peace and non-violence. Like water, we humans follow the least path resistance. We humans are fundamentally self-serving. We overwhelmingly prefer safety, security, and stability over violence. We love our lives too much... our families, our comforts & pleasures... to risk them perpetually. Moms & Dads want security and a future for their kids, even if it's not ideal. The human tendency is to submit & even be oppressed, rather than overcome resistance.
If I were a non-Christian I would also question if our world is a peace-less as people suppose. Last year Slate Magazine published an article called, "Why the world is not falling apart." Writers Steven Pinker and Andrew Mack say, "Never mind the headlines. We've never lived in such peaceful times."
In the article they detail all the major statistics from 1967-2013 related to homicides, rape, sexual assault, victimization of children, prevalence of mass killings, genocide, armed conflicts and wars, people killed in wars... despite the headline, and our perceptions, violence is on a steep decline! There is far more peace than we imagine.
They ask, "Why is the world always ‘more dangerous than it has ever been'--even as a greater and greater majority of humanity lives in peace and dies of old age? Too much of our impression of the world comes from a misleading formula of journalistic narration. Reporters give lavish coverage to gun bursts, explosions, and viral videos, oblivious to how representative they are and apparently innocent of the fact that many were contrived as journalist bait. Then come sound bites from "experts" with vested interests in maximizing the impression of mayhem: generals, politicians, security officials, moral activists. The talking heads on cable news filibuster about the event, desperately hoping to avoid dead air. Newspaper columnists instruct their readers on what emotions to feel." I think that a fair point, don't you? http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2014/12/the_world_is_not_falling_apart_the_trend_lines_reveal_an_increasingly_peaceful.html
So a question we have to ask is, "What's so special about the kind of peace the Prince of peace (Jesus) would bring into our world?" Won't people get along without Jesus anyway? Won't the evolution of government, laws, law-enforcement, education, the surveillance state... ensure peace will progress?
Let me share four things that are special about the peace Jesus offers world.
First, Jesus Offers "Peace With God."
Peace with God is the deepest need of our soul. Let me tell you something surprisingly similar between the Quran and the Bible--then something different.
This past week some Dutch pranksters disguised the Bible as Quran, and read some of the Bible's harshest verses about capital punishment, to unsuspecting people on the street. Most of the verses were from Leviticus, but some I couldn't find. In Old Testament times if you committed any number of offenses, it could result in your hand being cut off, a son or daughter being put to death, a person being stoned to death. There is no headline that in the Bible the penalty for sin is death. The opening story of the Bible is that Adam and Eve would "surely die" if they ate from the tree.
But here is where the Bible is different. It isn't just some special category of people who deserve death. The Law says, "Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out." (Deut. 27:26). Romans 6:23 says "the wages we (all) deserve to be paid, for all our sin, is death." And Jesus went to great lengths to show that God's doesn't just judge outward acts but inward attitudes. i.e. It's not just the act of murder, but the thought of murder ... It's not just the act of adultery, but thoughts of lust that break our peace with God.
But here is the headline. Though deserving death... God immediately gets about the work of grace. In OT, mercy begins in same chapter sin begins... Genesis 3! Psalm 103:8-12 says, "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." That is the OT picture of God, it's one of grace!
You see the whole basis for peace is grace (i.e. peace with God/ others). Peace is Isaiah 53:5, "But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed." Peace is Colossians 1:20, that "[through Jesus, God] reconcile[s] to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."
Grace shifts our motivation for peace from fear to gratitude. The world's peace is based on fear, not gratitude. Fear of God. Fear of breaking the law. Fear of condemnation, enemies, their reprisals. Fear of governments. Fear of rewards and punishments. Fear of death. The world's peace is one of fearful compliance. Its many other things too.
Our peace is rooted in grace and gratitude. I don't have to fear God because he loved me so much he died for me. I don't have to fear his judgment, because he took my punishment upon himself. The wages of my sin might very well be death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Grace puts us in posture of humility "with" others.
Second, Jesus Offers the "Peace Of God"
John 14:27, "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."
One of the fears that drives violence is a fear of loss. Maybe you heard about the two Giants players who came to blows this week. These guys make over a million a year on average. Anyhow, a player decided to spread some holiday cheer by giving out "Beats by Dre" headphones to teammates, coaches and staff. Theoretically everyone was supposed to get a pair... but one of the Veteran lineman snatched two pair for his daughters. That's when defensive end Damontre Moore took matters into own hands! He lost job over it!
James says, "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God." (James 4:1-2)
Biblical peace trusts God as a first response, not a last resort. We don't have to take matters of justice into our own hands we can trust God! 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." John 16:33, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Isaiah 26:3 says, "You keep in perfect peace those whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." (ESV). You see, the world doesn't have peace because its mind is set on the flesh, its desires, what it wants, craves. The flesh puts us in competition with everyone else around us, even our own team. Romans 8:6 says, "For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." The secret to peace is trusting the abundance of God. He will supply our needs. Pray for God to provide.
Romans 15:33 says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Third, Jesus Offers "Peace With Others"
You might be saying to yourself, "Jon, this is all well and good. But how do I make peace with the people in my life? Or, how do I make peace with my enemies?" Well first of all, they need the same grace, the same peace, you received. Second, God asks you to cast all your anxieties, fears, and prayers on him, because he cares for you. Your peace isn't based on circumstances going your way, it's based in you absolutely trusting God. This takes the pressure off of the relationship, and changes your focus to God.
But now for the really hard part. Jesus set an example for us that we might follow in his footsteps. Lyndon B. Johnson said, "Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time." Have you resolved to be patient enough to work toward peace?
On the cross, Jesus opens up a whole new way to peace. Nobel Prize winning author, Andrew Gide, warned, "It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace." If we really want to stay in peace, and take the battle to the enemy, it takes a different kind of warfare. Ronald Reagan once said, "Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means."
One act of warfare is overcoming evil with good. Romans 12:17-21, "Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." St Francis of Assisi would often pray, "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love." Maybe that needs to be your prayer? This is way of Jesus.
Another act of warfare is overcoming evil with prayer. There is a temptation to misunderstand the nature of our battle. Ephesians 6:10-20, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
Hey, we need to take Christmas to the enemy! You know, we worry so much about things. But the gospel of peace can thrive in any environment no matter how hostile, violent, radical, political, religious, irreligious, pagan, immoral, spiritualist, heretical, divisive, sectarian. The gospel of peace can thrive no matter how many weeds are sown in its midst. It can thrive no matter what relational dynamic... Jew, gentile, slave, free, male, female, loved, hatred, respected, ridiculed, persecuted, abused, terrorized... All around the world the gospel is spreading and bearing fruit. Grace is the better gospel, don't be shy about it.
Here is God's promise: James 3:18, "Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."
Don't just wish for peace, don't just pray for peace, stay/sow in peace!!