Please begin by reading Col 1:15-20.
Yesterday we commemorated the tenth anniversary of 9/11, the attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the heroism of those on Flight 93. Terrorism is still fresh in the minds of many people. Some want to make this day a national holiday, but why celebrate the horror of a terrorist act? I honor all who gave their lives that day, but not all were true heroes. Some were caught up in the terror, some were doing the job they were dedicated to, and some were truly heroic. May we not have a morbid fascination with this day of terror, but may we use the remembrance to recognize that we're in a war. The devil and his followers are trying to kill as many humans as they possibly can. Yahweh and his people are trying to save lives and souls. Find his peace and seek to build and strengthen his Kingdom.
As the Bible tells us, Jesus is our peace and reconciled himself to all things by shedding his blood on the cross. At our Christmas services we love to hear "and on earth peace to men on whom God's favor rests." This is an ancient longing and a long-standing frustration, to have true peace on earth. The major problem is that there aren't enough people working with Yahweh to make this happen.
Is peace possible? Is it too much to ask for? Is it beyond all reasonable expectation that we on planet earth will somehow, some way, some day live in peace? That's what the angels sang. That's what the shepherds heard. And we need to hear it, too. The Bible promises it and our hearts crave it, true and deep and lasting peace. Have we misunderstood the conditions of this peace, and focused too much on our material world? Most likely. Can we know this amazing and blessed peace from heaven. Most definitely, when we make a solid spiritual connection with the source.
In 2001 some very terrible and awful things happened. The earthquake of conflict took lives, destroyed cities, and tore apart families. Today we continue to anguish over smart bombs, laser-guided missiles, and car bombings. All the while we're left worrying and wondering, where is the peace Yahweh promised to us? Can we really have peace in the midst of terrorism in our world?
Think with me about peace. Think with me about the foolish ways we humans try to carve peace out for ourselves. That will set the stage for us to praise and magnify God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for how they've brought hope and the availability of peace within our reach. We have an authentic hope of genuine peace because Jesus made the way through his life, death, and resurrection.
First, what have we done to bring peace to our world? To what have we given ourselves in order to make peace a reality? Do you know that there are some striking parallels between the world Jesus was born into and our world? Are you aware that much about his time is very similar to ours?
His time was a time when some trusted in government to provide for their needs. It was a time, much like ours, when some people, particularly those in power, really thought Rome could do it all, and that if Rome didn't do something, it wouldn't get done. Just as in our day, we have people who are quick to expect the President, the Congress, the Governor, and other bureaucrats to do everything under the sun for them. In Jesus' day there were people who thought that the Roman Empire would bring peace and stability wherever they were. Rome had an extensive system of control. Its military might was felt far from its capital city. It even bought off local rulers like Herod to keep them loyal. It was a time when some trusted government for everything.
And yet, there was no true peace. No true peace because when you understand nothing but power, then power battles power, and there is ongoing conflict instead of true peace. Maybe a time of uneasy quiet is in place for a while, but not true peace. The 9/11 attack on the Pentagon reminds us of how government-dependent peace can be shattered. Don't look for true peace on earth through government control.
The time of Jesus was also a time when some trusted in wealth to make themselves invulnerable. It was a time, much like ours, when accumulating wealth had become an obsession for many people. They built expansive and expensive homes. They constructed great buildings for their businesses. They worked to show off their wealth. They even curried favor with God by parading their financial muscle. The same Herod who killed all the baby boys in Bethlehem financed a major remodeling of the Temple in Jerusalem. It was as if he were saying, "Here God, let me show you how much you need me." It was a time when your stature and your character were often measured by the weight of your bags of gold.
And yet, there was no true peace. No true peace because when you spend your life doing nothing but gathering wealth, well, you've spent your life and it's gone. But it has no real meaning. Jesus told the story of a man who filled his barns with grain, and when they were full, he pulled them down to build bigger barns. And when he faced up to what that meant, it was nothing but a great big coffin to hold his empty, soul-starved body.
And the time of Jesus was a time when people trusted in their own integrity to get by. It was a time when people ignored faith, often only paying lip service to religion, and went their own way - making themselves into little gods. From the Romans, who called their emperors divine; to the Greeks, who worshiped their own philosophies; to the Jews, like those who stood around the cross of Jesus and sneered about God coming to save him - many people of that day no longer paid attention to the One True God. They no longer really believed that Yahweh was involved in the world he created. For them, God was a remote distraction to be hauled out only on ceremonial occasions. But they, and many of us today are no different, thought they didn't need the presence and power of the Creator in their daily lives. They and many today feel that we know enough to handle what we need from day-to-day, thank you very much. And just like today, many felt God is for sissies, that he's only an emotional crutch.
Isn't that the way many people think today? Isn't that the way much of our world thinks and acts? Yes, some of us go to church on Sundays, but what is that really all about? For far too many it's mostly about being respectable, or to some it's about giving their children a good example, or to others it's about enjoying the music and how the preacher proclaims a fine message. But many reject having a growing and intimate relationship with their heavenly Father. A relationship with God, you've got to be kidding! Letting God guide and empower us? That isn't cool and trendy. That's not how 21st century people get along. Too many people, like the world Jesus was born into, think that if there's to be peace it's up to us as individuals. I will handle it myself. I, I, I. Ego is the god many bow down to, and self-satisfaction is the son of that god.
And so of course, there is no peace. There is no true peace because when I am the center of my own universe, that's too small a package to attain peace for the whole world. If we go down deep enough into our hearts, we find no true peace because we all have a God-shaped void down there that only our Creator can fill. There's a restlessness down there that can't be satisfied by anything less than the presence of the One True God. There is no true peace on earth without him. There wasn't any in the time of Jesus, and there isn't now. Not if we trust in government to bring it or wealth to provide it or self-actualization to make it come to pass. None of those things brings true and lasting peace.
The angels sang of a new peace, and they sang it first to some extremely terrified shepherds. These men were terrified, no doubt, not just by a sky filled with the glory of heavenly angels, but terrified just because they'd been scared by this amazing heavenly display. They were truly scared and shaken because these kinds of things didn't happen in their world. When a person gets enough of his world shaken, he'll be frightened by whatever comes with this strange occurrence.
Some of those who saw the planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, some who watched the bodies falling and the buildings collapsing, some who have witnessed other horrible terrorist attacks are now afraid to leave their homes or to fly on an airplane or to open their mail. They have terrorized hearts, just like the shepherds. But we must hear the message of peace just like the shepherds did. Even though we don't often fully understand how it can be, Jesus is the source of the world's peace. In him and by him and through him, peace will come to us. It may seem elusive and far-off, but it will come when we seek him with our whole heart.
Jesus is the source of true peace because he'll show us that it's not might that makes right, but the way of loving sacrifice will win the world to peace. Jesus left heaven and lived on earth for 33 years. He tasted what we taste. He felt what we feel. He suffered what we suffer. And he did it all to show us that our lives count for something. His single, solitary life, as short as it was, has meant more to humanity than any other. His life was given to service, to love, and to sacrifice. Jesus is the source of true peace because his teaching and his example have transformed more hearts than all the armies that ever marched or all the parliaments that ever debated or all the philosophers who proclaimed another way to true peace. In times of terror there is peace because we know in Jesus that good and right stands with Yahweh alone, keeping us all in view and under his protecting eye when we work at following him and his ways. Even in the midst of terrorism we can find true peace because of Jesus.
Jesus is the source of the world's peace because he'll show us that our heavenly Father is for us, not against us. From the moment of the announcement of his birth, when Mary heard that her baby would put down the mighty and exalt the lowly, Jesus was on the side of the poor and displaced and the ordinary. His youth was filled with and no doubt shaped by peasant people in a nowhere town called Nazareth, not in the great city of Jerusalem or Rome, both of them considering themselves "the most important city in the world." When Jesus chose his followers, he took them from among the ordinary people, not from the elite or special classes.
Jesus is the source of true peace because he shows us that we can live without worrying about money. He teaches us that we can live without concerning ourselves with the presumption of advantage found in social standing. We're somebodies simply because our heavenly Father has chosen to come and live with us. True peace comes when we learn that in Jesus' world, everybody is somebody and nobody is put down. In terrorism we find peace because Jesus lives among us.
I can say I've heard the song of the angels. And because I've heard their proclamation, the horror of war and the noise of conflict and the shock of terrorism are taken away. When I stand in blessed relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - the empty silence of loneliness is taken away. Jesus took them all away and he gave me true peace..
Jesus said, "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." (John 14:27)
Rom 5:1. "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
2 Thes 3:16. "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you."
Blessings & Peace, Mike
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Blessings! I hope that this study has enlightened you or helped you in some way. Please feel free to leave a plain old comment, or a question. Comments are moderated to keep the peace