Advent 2021: Peace

 

December 12, 2021       
Struggle for Peace
Isaiah 23; Luke 2      NOTES NOT EDITED

SIS—Peace is a sustained sense of goodwill, regardless of the struggles of life, because God’s favor rests upon us through Christ.

The doctrine of peace in the Bible can be easily misunderstood.  The kind of peace most people wish for this side of heaven is largely an illusion—an illusion easily and often shattered by the harsh realities of life.  Real peace is discovered through struggle, not apart from it.

"It's the hap, happiest season of all!" I remember many times as a youngster sitting with my family watching the Andy Williams Christmas special, hearing him sing this song. Christmas always had a magical grip on my heart a child. I was shielded from all the struggles of life—and there were many—by my parents.

Today, as an adult seasoned by a lifetime of “harsh reality,” I realize that for many people, this is not the “Hap, happiest season of all.”  In reality, regardless of the Christmas announcement by the Heavenly Host of "Peace on earth to those upon whom God's favor rests," life for many is more of a war than a time of peace.

That's exactly the meaning of Christmas: it's about the relationship between "peace" and struggle;  a relationship between our inner man and our outer circumstances.  Usually peace is determined by our circumstances, but Biblical peace is independent of our circumstances—or, more often, in spite of our circumstances.

“Biblical peace is a feeling of well-being wrenched from the death grip of difficult circumstances by the grace (favor) of God.”

The manger is the key element in any Nativity Scene—front and center. Yet, there's something taking place in the incarnation (God becoming a man), than a young virgin having her first child.

Don't get me wrong--that's as special and a universe-shaking event! But, the gift wrapped in swaddling clothes must be unwrapped over the next 33 years to reveal the real meaning of "peace on earth upon whom God's favor rests."

Please take note of the fact, we don’t know exactly when Jesus was born, but We DO KNOW the date of His death. The meaning of the incarnation is not found by looking into a manger, but looking upon a cross.
Many people do not have what is commonly and colloquially thought of as "peace” determined by “good circumstances.” Biblical peace is determined by “good favor,” that is, “God’s favor.” 

I want to remind us again that the circumstances surrounding the family of Jesus were not good.  Mary is a teenage, unmarried Jewish girl travelling on a donkey (or so our Christian tradition leads us to believe) and will deliver her baby in a cattle stall.  Joseph is a young father trying to provide for the needs of the Son of God. The world could care less Jesus was being born, as the empty Inn attests. A wicked half-Jew King will soon plot to kill Jesus.   Nothing about the circumstances of story shouts “peace” as we normally picture it.

Let’s read what the Christmas story says about peace.  Luke 2:14 ^NIV

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

So many Christians fall into despair because they do not understand what “real peace” is.  Real peace is a feeling of good will even during times of great struggle.  Peace simply stated, is a struggle.

This passage in Luke, demonstrates three distinct areas of our lives that require we struggle in order to obtain peace through God’s favor.

ΠMost obvious is a struggle with difficult CIRCUMSTANCES

The Bible is a “real” book.  By that I mean it presents real people in real situations—sometimes even putting people of God in a less than admirable light.  The Bible tells of Noah getting drunk, Moses getting angry, Abraham lying, David committing adultery, and Peter cussing to mention just a few examples.  The Bible is “raw, unscripted life.”

The same is true of the Nativity story.  The language is simple and raw.  Take for example, Luke 2, verse 5.  In the King James we read that Mary was, “great with child.”  Modern translations simply say, “she was pregnant.”  It is amazing to me how difficult it is to describe linguistically a woman in the state of pregnancy.  We might say a woman is “expecting,” or “carrying a child,” or “with child.”  We might use an idiomatic expression like, “In the pudding club,” or “bun in the oven,” or “in a family way.” 

The original Greek writers had a similar problem.  Several different expressions were used to describe pregnancy.  The word used here is only used one time in the entire Bible.  It literally means, “in a state of swelling.”  In other words, “she was about to burst.”  Hence, the King James captures this very well saying, “great with child.”

The point that becomes “painfully” obvious to me—and I’m sure also to Mary—is that she was at the very end of her pregnancy and her child could come at any minute.  Where do we find her?  We find her on a winding road a 80 miles from Bethlehem, their destination, on the back of a donkey.  The Bible doesn’t say, but the usual mode of travel would have been on a donkey.  Donkeys were expensive so Joseph probably walked and let his soon-to-be-wife ride.  The trip would have been a grueling five to seven days, at least.  Mary would sleep on the ground, under the stars.  How many of you women envy Mary who is “bursting with child” on a week-long hike through rough terrain?

The circumstances were not good for Mary, and they don’t get much better when they finally reach Bethlehem.  Here we have the entrance of the much maligned and annually scorned innkeeper.  Verse 7 says,

Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough—because there was no room for them at the lodging place. 

I’ve been the consultant on three pregnancies:  my daughter Amanda, my daughter Natalie, and my son Jonathan.  In each case Shari and I opted for “natural” childbirth.  Let me say, “I don’t see anything NATURAL about the birth of a child!”  I’ve heard talk of a “beautiful experience.”  I love my kids and they were all beautiful babies—but the experience was “horrible.”  The pain was more than I could bear, and the sights and sounds were quite frankly, frightening.

And . . . that’s in a hospital with a whole staff to help things along!  I cannot imagine being “born at home,” much less being born in a cattle stall!  The circumstances were simply NOT peaceful.  All around her was chaos yet we know Mary was at peace. Look at vs 19:

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 

I could give similar examples of difficult circumstances in the life of those in the Christmas story.  Joseph—he was facing a “tax audit,” or the shepherds who were living as social outcasts in the field.  Peace is a struggle against circumstances.

 Peace is a struggle with RELATIONSHIPS

Look back again at verse 5: “He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.”

Joseph was a devout Christian man.  The Bible presents him as righteous and honorable.  After all, he was chosen as the stepfather of God.  That is pretty phenomenal in and of itself.  As a devout Jew he would be very careful in his selection of the one he would marry.  She would have to be a virtuous, virginal lover of God.  Joseph sought for such a woman and found Mary.  They were “pledged” in marriage to each other.  All was well until, “Mary turned up pregnant.”  There loving relationship was near being blown up.

Now, we know from Matthew’s account this meant the marriage was off.  As a pious Jew, Joseph could not even consider marrying Mary no matter how much he loved her.  So, Matthew tells us:

^1:19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.

Jewish engagement, as I’ve said before, was actually considered the first step of marriage so the only way to break off an engagement was formal divorce.  Mary would be labeled and adulterer and subject to a life of scorn.

Of all the struggles one can face in life, struggling for good relationships or struggling in a bad relationship are perhaps the most stressful.  Years ago, while studying pastoral counseling the professor introduced a scale rating different stressful events.  As I recall, the death of a spouse was the highest rated stressful event with divorce following second.  Either one of these life events plus just one other stressful event would put a person in the category of serious physical and emotional risk.

The greatest relationship between two people is marriage, but we have other significant relationships as well.  We have relationships with siblings, friends, co-workers, and other various associations.  There are many pressures that come to bear on these relationships.  The closer and more significant the relationship, the more devastating the stress is that comes when these relationships are “out of whack,” to use a psychological term.  Stressful relationships can actually make us sick physically according to most psychologists.  Bad relationships can haunt us all our lives, such as a bad relationship with a parent, or both parents.

A person cannot be at war with others and at peace with oneself.  That’s so profound it surprised me when I wrote it, so I’ll say it again.  A person cannot be at war with others and be at peace with oneself.

The Holy Spirit understands the nature of man and so the Spirit directed Paul to write (Romans 12:18-19): 

¹⁸ If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.  ¹⁹ Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord. 

Relationships suffer from both external and internal pressures, just like the relationship between Joseph and Mary.  Difficult issues arise and must be faced.  Each person brings a personal perspective to the matter that may or may not be helpful.  There are external pressures that come to bear such as views of others, or even financial pressures. 

All couples have arguments and disagreements.  That’s a fact of life in any relationship.  You just have to learn to work things out in order to have peace in your life.

I remember the other day reading about a man speaking to his friend.  “The other day, my wife asked me to pass her the lipstick, but I accidentally passed her a glue stick.”  His friend asked, “Well, how did she react?”  The husband answered:  “I don’t know. She still isn’t talking to me.”

Another husband was talking with his friend and said, “Yesterday, we had a really bad argument and in the end she crawled to me on her hands and knees.  His friend replied, “Wow, that’s really impressive! What did she say?!” The husband replied, “She said, ‘Come out from under that bed, you coward!’”

One the greatest areas in which the peace of our lives is challenged is in our relationships. In order to be at peace with “others,” we have to be at peace with God and ourselves.  As I said before, “we cannot be at war with others if we are not at peace with God and ourselves.”

Joseph was able to have peace with Mary because he let God intervene. He let God speak instead of his own emotions.  Mat1:20 says:

²⁰ But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.

When we allow God to intervene in our relationships, even when things are bad, God can give us peace.  Peace is all about God.

We must struggle to find peace amidst difficult circumstances.  We must struggle to find peace in the shadow of difficult relationships. Most of all we must find peace through a daily

Ž Struggle against SIN

Two passages in the Nativity Story serve as the hub around which the entire story of God’s plan redemption turns.  Verse 11 tells us:

Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. 

Then, look at what the Heavenly Host declares in verse 14:

 ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!

The only way to have peace is to “have God’s favor” upon your life and the only way to have God’s favor upon your life is to be “saved.”  To be “saved” means to accept the sacrifice Jesus made available on the cross by dying on your behalf.  The only path to “peace with God” is to receive the “grace, or favor of God through Jesus Christ.”

You see, Christmas really isn’t about the “birth” of Jesus Christ any more than a fruit tree is all about the seed.  I know it seems that way with the manger, the star, the wise men the “cattle lowing” and such.  But, we do not even know the exact date of Jesus’ birth.  We know it was probably in the 0ctober to December range and not later than February (Bethlehem grazing pattern even today), but we don’t know exactly. 

Remember, I said earlier, we don’t know exactly when Jesus was born, but We DO know the date of His death.  The meaning of the incarnation is not found by looking into a manger, but looking upon a cross.

All persons who are born, will die, but God never intended that anyone born would ever die. Death is the result of sin coming into our world.  Because sin entered the world through man’s rebellion, and through sin death entered the world, Jesus was born for one specific purpose:  the Bible tells us that Jesus was born to die and become the Savior of the world.  The cross was his destiny. 

Jesus was NOT born a healer, because sickness is not a biggest problem, though He did heal many.  Jesus was NOT born a “teacher,” because ignorance is not our biggest problem, though His teachings are sublime and indispensable.  Jesus was NOT born a philosopher because the lack of answers to life’s deepest questions is not our biggest problem. 

Jesus WAS born to be our “Savior,” because our biggest problem is our “sin.”  We cannot be at peace in life until we are at peace with God and we cannot be at peace with God until our “sin problem” has been dealt with. Sadly, most people today think of Christmas as an isolated event on a calendar, and not a strategic part of God’s redemptive plan.  People get warm, fuzzy feelings over a cuddly baby in a manger, but they turn away or ignore a crucified Savior on the cross.

Theoretically one can have all their circumstances in order.  One can have all their relationships running smoothly and any peace they have is simply an illusion if one is not dealing daily with the problem of sin.  Sin lurks in our life like the Japanese lurking in the Pacific planning the devastating raid on Pearl Harbor 80 years ago.  In a matter of seconds the illusion of a self-made peace in life can be shattered.  One must daily struggle against the sin nature or lasting peace will not come. 

¹¹ Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord,  was born for you in the city of David.

Sin interrupts the flow of peace into one’s life like a “tripped circuit breaker” interrupts the flow of electricity into our home.  Sin short-circuits the “flow of God’s favor.”  When we accept the gift of salvation provided by Jesus, the Savior, then we “reset the breaker” on our relationship with God.  We are now connected to Him and His peace will flow in and through our lives.  A real peace.  A lasting peace. . . and, I would add, a great power also.

One of the most profound observations about the real meaning of Christmas comes from a Baptist preacher by the name of John Baggett. He said that he felt the cross was the original “Christmas TREE.”  He described how this original Christmas tree was decorated with only one light, “The Light of the World.”  Now that is profound but this is the statement that really stuck with me:  “God did not put our Christmas gift UNDER the tree, but ON the tree.”  Peace is one of the marvelous gifts Jesus hangs on the Christmas tree of life.

We put so much emphasis on the “gifts UNDER the tree.”  These gifts represent “good things in life.”  There is nothing at all wrong with giving and receiving gifts, in moderation of course.  But, there is only one gift that will give us lasting peace, and it is the gift of salvation.

As I said earlier, the common idea of peace as perfect circumstances is an illusion.  We all know that . . . but we also try to ignore it.

You CAN have peace-lasting peace, eternal peace.  You will need to surrender to God to GET it, and struggle with life to KEEP it. You can have peace though you struggle with circumstances.  You can have peace though you are struggling in relationships.  You can have peace as you struggle against your sin nature.

Peace is a struggle with circumstances, with relationships, with our very sin nature, but with God’s favor on your life, it is also a reality.

I will leave you with a beautiful passage of peace, once again from the prophet Isaiah:

^26:3 You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You.