Receive His Peace

Sermon Transcript

During WWI, the Western Front was where some of the most significant and brutal fighting took place. The Western Front was a 700 kilometer stretch of trenches through Northern France, as well as Germany and Belgium. It’s estimated that four million men were killed in the trench warfare of the Western Front. It was a brutal, bitter, and freezing place of death.

But for one night in 1914, the Western Front became a place of surprising peace. On December 24, 1914, a British sentry noticed a light emerge from the German trench some 100 yards away. One British soldier worked up the courage to lift his head above the sandbags that protected his position and saw a sparkling Christmas tree. What came next was even more shocking, the British soldiers heard singing from the German trench. The British soldiers weren’t familiar with the words “Stille Nacht,” but the tune of Silent Night was unmistakable. Instead of returning fire, the British responded by singing the English version of the carol. The back and forth caroling continued through the night, until the unthinkable happened at the break of Christmas Day. The German soldiers tentatively emerged from their trenches, the British followed suit, and they met one another in the open killing fields. Instead of raising guns, they shook hands, exchanged food, beer and cigarettes, sang songs, and played impromptu games of soccer all day. For one Christmas day, these bitter enemies enjoyed a ceasefire and a long moment of peace.

One of the reasons I love that story of Christmas peace is that it’s a picture of what every one of us, regardless of religious background, is longing for. It’s the first of our Christmas words: Peace. Let’s be honest, the Christmas season can be a challenging and stressful one. The end of the year brings a flurry of busyness. Deadlines loom, deals need to be made, books need to be closed, papers need to be written, plans need to be coordinated, and we feel stressed. The holidays can also be a keen reminder of losses we’ve grieved, disappointments we’ve endured, and setbacks we’ve suffered this year. Christmas can be a time of relational and familial tension. Certainly, we’re all living through a time of unprecedented political tension and discord in our nation. Perhaps worst of all, some of us enter this Advent season feeling distant from or even disillusioned with God. We don’t want it to be this way. We are all longing for peace.

Well, I have wonderful news for you. The Lord Jesus Christ was born to bring glory to God and peace to us! At the culmination of the birth of Jesus, the song of the multitude of heavenly angels rings out and provides the joyful interpretation of Jesus’ birth. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14). He came to bring glory to God and peace to us! That brings us the big idea of our very first Advent passage: Receive His peace. This big idea raises an important question: What kind of peace do we receive from Jesus? In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives…” What kind of peace do we receive from Jesus? Three kinds: 1. Upward 2. Outward 3. Inward.

UPWARD

I want you to notice the very first name that the angels give to Jesus when announcing his birth to the shepherds. Luke 2:10-11a – And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior… At the time of Jesus’ birth, the Jewish people were living under Roman occupation. They lived under the thumb of the most powerful man in the world, the Roman Caesar. Caesar was even called “Savior” sometimes because he brought peace to his people by conquering and killing their enemies. When heaven announced the birth of an even greater Savior, the shepherds probably thought of him in military terms. This Savior would conquer Caesar and they’d finally have peace.

Have you ever had the experience of thinking that an experience, event, or accomplishment would bring you peace, but it fell short? I dedicated a lot of my life to the sport of gymnastics. I looked to gymnastics as the savior that would give me peace. I can still remember winning my first really big gymnastics meet. I was fifteen. I thought the moment had finally arrived and I’d experience the peace I longed for. But when I woke up the next morning, it was just the next morning. The peace I longed for was absent. Maybe you’ve had a similar experience. Maybe you’re still hoping that peace is on the other side of the hill you’re currently climbing. It won’t work. Why doesn’t it work?

The reason is that we have an enemy that is far worse than the Caesars of this world. The Bible says that Jesus came to save us from our sins. The New City Catechism says that sin is disobeying and ignoring God in the world that he created; failing to do and be what God requires in his law. We have all sinned and sin separates. God made us for himself, but sin separates us from God now and forever. This separation from God, this lack of peace that we have with God because of our sins is at the root of every other lack of peace we experience. As Augustine, the great African church father, once wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Despite accomplishing my goal and winning that gymnastics meet, my heart was still restless because of my sin and separation from the God who made me for himself. When the angel announced the birth of Jesus the Savior, he was announcing the birth of the only one who can save us from our sins and reconcile us to God in perfect peace. Friends, no matter what you achieve, no matter what little Caesars you can rid your life of, your heart will be restless until you have upward peace, peace with God. Only Jesus can give you that peace. Receive his peace. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:1 – Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Receive his peace. Have you been running from God? Do you feel distant from Him because of your sins? Have you been looking for peace in lesser things? Receive Jesus’ promise that you can be made right with God and have peace with him, ultimate peace, upward peace, through faith in Jesus. Receive his upward peace.

OUTWARD

You may have noticed that in Jesus’ birth narrative, Luke makes a really big deal about Jesus being from the royal line of King David and Jesus being born in the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. Why is that so important? About a thousand years before Jesus’ birth, God made an extraordinary promise to King David. God promised that from David’s family line will come a Christ, a Messiah, an Anointed One, who will rule as king forever. I want you to hear the promise. 2 Samuel 7:12-13 – When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. With that background we can see why Luke is so intent that we see that Jesus is from the line of David. Luke is helping us see that Jesus is the Christ, the forever king promised to David. Let’s listen again to the angel’s announcement once again. Luke 2:10-11 – And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ… Now, let’s remember the angelic song that celebrates the result of Christ’s birth. Luke 2:14 – “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.”

Jesus came to bring peace among all who receive and rest in him alone for salvation. In other words not only does Jesus bring upward peace with God, Jesus came to bring outward peace among all kinds of people who put their hope in him. Ephesians 2:14 – For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. Friends, in addition to receiving Jesus’ upward peace, receive his outward peace in your relationships with one another. Through his life, death, and resurrection, he has made democrats who love Jesus and republicans who love Jesus, a peaceful family. He’s made maskers and anti-maskers who love Jesus, a peaceful family. He has made “vaxers” and “anti-vaxers” who love Jesus, peaceful family. He’s made white people and people of color who love Jesus, a peaceful family. He’s made people in wildly different life-stages and from wildly different cultural backgrounds who love him, a peaceful family. He’s done it all by breaking down the dividing wall of hostility in his flesh. And now we have the privilege of so loving one another despite our secondary differences that we eagerly maintain the outward peace he brings and show off to the world the difference He really makes in a people. For some of us, receiving Jesus’ outward peace means going out of our way to reconcile with a brother or sister in Christ who has something against us or we have something against. Whatever the details, receive His outward peace.

INWARD

Perhaps the oddest characteristic of Jesus’ birth is how surprisingly humble it was. Many of the Jewish people were expecting the Messiah’s birth to be similar to Caesar’s birth, what a shock this must have been. Caesar would be born to the wealthiest parents in the world. Jesus was born to a laborer and his teenage fiancé. Caesar would be born in a palace surrounded by the best physicians of the day. Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room at the inn. Rather than a throne, he was laid in an animal’s feeding trough. The most important people in the known world would hear of Caesar’s birth first. Jesus’ birth was announced to shepherds, the quintessential average Joe’s of their day. With all of the humility surrounding his birth, it’s a bit shocking to hear the angel’s announcement that this baby is the Lord! Luke 2:10-11 – And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. The Lord! In the Bible, the Lord is the unrivaled creator of everyone and everything. The Lord is the king above all kings. The Lord has the universe as his royal footstool. The Lord is surrounded by the unceasing praise of the heavenly angelic armies. The Lord is the alpha and the omega; no beginning and no end. What an exquisite surprise. The Lord of glory was born in the must humble estate, he came low to be near to us. There is a very close connection between the Lord’s nearness and our inward experience of peace. Listen to the way that the Apostle Paul puts it in Philippians 4:5b-7 – The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The Lord has come near, he’s at hand no matter what you’re facing, you don’t have to be afraid. When you receive Him as Lord of your life, then you can live with inward peace because the one who is Lord has not only forgiven you, but has drawn near to give you the peace that surpasses understanding. Citylight, receive his inward peace.

CONCLUSION

Now, let’s return to the Western Front. As glorious as the peace that the British and German soldiers experienced that Christmas Day in 1914, the peace was by no means perfect. Some soldiers who emerged from the trenches in hopes of a day of peace, were shot and killed by their enemies. One young German corporal scolded his fellow soldiers saying, “Such a thing should not happen in wartime. Have you no German sense of honor left?” The young corporal’s name was Adolf Hitler. And of course, the killing resumed the next day. Friends, that’s the kind of peace this world and everything in it offers; temporary, partial, tainted, and unsatisfying. But Jesus said that the peace he gives is not like the peace the world gives. Jesus brings comprehensive peace. Through his humble birth, his sinless life, his atoning death, and victorious resurrection Jesus brings true peace. He brings upward peace with God. Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ! He brings us outward peace. He has torn down the dividing wall of hostility between us. He brings us inward peace. He is near to us in all our pain and fears. And he will return one day to bring us perfect peace forever. In each of these ways, this Advent, receive his peace.