And On Earth Peace

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 15th of December, 2024, the 3rd Sunday of Advent.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, today we celebrate the third week of Advent.  In the first week, we embraced the hope that God gave the world when He sent His Son Jesus to redeem us of our sin by the sacrifice of the Spotless Lamb.  Last week, we took comfort in the unconditional, undeserved love of God and the sacrificial love of Jesus, all for us, who are too often so unlovable.  Today we will consider just what the angel meant when he proclaimed, “And of earth peace, goodwill toward men”.

Our scripture reading this morning is a very familiar passage, one we read or hear pretty much every year at this time.  This comes from the Apostle Luke’s first letter to a man named Theophilus, what we now refer to as the Gospel according to Luke, or simply, the Book of Luke.

Now we don’t know much about Theophilus, other than his name means something to the effect of “loved by God” or “friend of God”.  How Luke referred to him in the opening of this first letter, as “most excellent Theophilus”, implies that he may have been of high rank, either in society or in politics, or likely both.  And we know Luke must have thought very highly of him to write two letters to him – the first telling about the life of Jesus and what He did during His ministry, and the second, what we know as the Book of Acts, telling about what the disciples did after Jesus returned to heaven.

Of course, the life of Jesus includes His birth, and that is where we begin today.  So please listen and follow along as the Apostle Luke relates to Theophilus the announcement of the birth of our Savior, in verses 8 through 18 of the 2nd chapter of Luke’s Gospel account, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14 “Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

--Luke 2:8-18 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, You sent Your Christ Jesus into the world to offer salvation to all of mankind if we would only truly believe in Him, and in believing, to follow Him.  And You sent Him not as some mighty king or super star celebrity, whose coming would be announced far and wide and with great fanfare.  You sent Him in the most humble manor, as a tiny, vulnerable baby, whose birth was proclaimed only to a lowly group of shepherds watching their flock nearby.  Thank You, Father, for loving the world so much that You would send Your only begotten Son to redeem us of our sin and offer us salvation.  We believe in Jesus as Your Christ and we do try to follow Him and do as He commands.  But sometimes, Father, the constant stress of life bears down on us and we fail to serve You as we should.  We too often take Your love and mercy for granted, forgetting just how much Jesus gave up for us.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Help us stand stronger when we face adversity.  

You’ve shown us Your love, now please give us peace as the storm rages around us.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying time.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

A lady by the name of Leslie Gould is quoted as saying,  “Sometimes God calms the storm, but sometimes God lets the storm rage and calms His child.”  Another wise, but sadly unknown, person once noted that, “The peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always.”

That first quote by Ms. Gould brings to mind the time that the Apostle Mark told of when Jesus and His disciples were going across the Sea of Galilee when a fierce storm suddenly arose.  The wind and the waves threatened to overwhelm the small craft.  The disciples were greatly concerned, but Jesus was sound asleep in the rear of the boat.  When they awoke Him out of fear, He rose to His feet and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!”, and the wind ceased and the sea calmed.

So, yes, sometimes God does calm the storm.  More often though, He allows the storm to rage around us while calming the storm within us by always being there for us, with us, no matter what we are going through.

This is the peace Jesus offers.  Not like the peace that the world holds forth, fragile and easily broken.  The peace Jesus gives now is the inner peace of His constant presence.  The peace He promises for tomorrow will be eternal. 

But there’s a catch.  Jesus didn’t promise we’d have peace in this life, other than the inner peace that comes with out faith.  According to Him, that’s not why He came.  Listen to what Jesus told His disciples, as recorded by Luke in the 12th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 49 through 53…

49 “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! 51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. 52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

--Luke 12:49-53 (NKJV)

Jesus admits part of His purpose is to shake up the existing situation, to bring about change.  He certainly succeeded in that task!  And He indeed caused division, in His day and still all around the world today.  Christians have never experienced much peace from the world.  Believers have been the subjects of persecution from the very beginning of the faith.

And it all goes back to Jesus taking established religion and turning it on its head.  He came to bring fire, not peace.  And yet He blesses those who are peacemakers.  This to me clearly shows that bringing fire is His job, while bringing peace, making peace in this world, is our job.

Peace and goodwill toward men in this life is fragile, ethereal, so very easily broken and utterly destroyed.  We so quickly turn against each other, and often for the silliest, least significant reasons imaginable.  It’s almost like we can’t help ourselves, like there is some outside force at work making us fuss and fight with each other.

Well, there just might be.  We know that Satan is at work tearing us apart and picking away at our faith.  And we know he has big plans in the works when his Antichrist will really have at us.  But is something else in play now, something else we’ve been told about?

In the 6th chapter of his Book of Revelation, verses 3 and 4, the Apostle John reported seeing four horsemen, one of which will bring havoc…

3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

--Revelation 6:3-4 (NKJV)

Could it be that the red horse rider is out there now?  Peace certainly seems to have been taken from the earth.  Everywhere we look people are squabbling with each other, fussing and fighting over anything and everything.  Angry, violent confrontation seems to be the only form of discourse people know anymore.  You can’t turn on the TV or read the news without learning of more killings somewhere.  Where is our peace?  Where is our Prince of Peace?!?

He is sitting at the right hand of God, who has sent His own Holy Spirit to live within us, as Jesus requested.  In this way He is with us always.  If we will just give ourselves over to the Spirit, He will console us, comfort us, calm the storms raging within us, and give us peace with the world – an inner peace that the world cannot tear apart.

We light the candle of peace as a prayer for peace.  We pray for peace throughout our nation, even while knowing that may simply be a pipe dream, but also while knowing that God can make anything happen if He wishes it.

But more importantly, we pray for peace within, for that sense of peace that comes from knowing that Jesus is always with us no matter what is going on around us.  We pray for peace within our hearts as we celebrate the coming of that little baby Jesus who will change the world, and as we wait for Him to come again to set all things right.  Come, Lord Jesus; come.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, whose peace has no end.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for sending Your own Son to earth as a ransom for our lost souls.  You did not send Jesus to condemn us, but that through Him we might be saved.  He came to shake things up, to awaken us from our stupor, to show us the truth of Your word.  Thank You for loving us this much, even when we were so disobedient and unlovable.  Thank You for offering us salvation through Your Christ, Your Son, Jesus.  Father, we admit that too often our faith weakens.  Too many times we allow the storms of the world raging around us to sink in and settle in our hearts, causing us grief and even anger.  After a while we can’t even hear the voice of Your Spirit whispering calming words of peace.  Forgive us those times, please Father.  Please help us feel Your presence in and around us at all times.  Help us to show our inner peace to others by giving of ourselves, giving of our love freely, unconditionally, sacrificially, just as Jesus gave of Himself for us.  And please help us share our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what comes our way.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You came to bring fire and division to a world floundering in sin.  You caused unrest while blessing those who sought to make peace.  By this, You showed that our job is not to cause hardship and strife, but to make peace with one another, to love one another.  And because of Your love for us, we are not condemned, but are redeemed.  Thank You, Jesus, for washing us clean of our sin.  Thank You for showing us what love looks like.   Please help us, dear Lord - help us be more like You.  Help us love all others, even those who hate us and wish us harm.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to do to lead the lost to You.

And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.