Peace on Earth

Introduction

Merry Christmas. Glory to God in the Highest and Peace to his people on earth! Peace. Did you ever stop to think about what that word means? “Peace” is a very important word in Luke chapter 2, but the concept of peace in the Bible means more than just not being at war with someone. The biblical idea of peace starts with the Hebrew word, “shalom,” and the basic meaning of that word [according to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament] is about completion and fulfillment, a state of wholeness and unity, a restored relationship. That is what the angels mean when they say “peace on earth.” So my sermon this morning is about “shalom,” peace. But it’s also about how three different characters in the story relate to the peace that Jesus brings.

Caesar Augustus: Peace on Your Terms

The first character might surprise you. If you’ve been in the church for a while, you’ve probably heard the Christmas story from Luke 2 more times than you can count. Maybe you can even recite the beginning of the story in the King James by heart, “And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus. . .” But it’s a strange introduction when you think about it. Why does Luke make the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, a character in the birth of Jesus Christ? As it happens, the reign of Caesar Augustus makes a beautifully ironic contrast with the announcement of the birth of Jesus, the savior who brings peace on earth. Augustus serves as an example of human attempts to create peace and save the world.

As the first real emperor of Rome, Augustus put an end to the conflicts and civil wars that occured in the wake of the assassination of Julius Caesar, mainly by crushing his enemies, ushering in the period of the Pax Romana, the Roman peace. Augustus was widely praised and even venerated as a god for bringing “peace on earth.” An altar to the goddess of peace was built in his honor in Rome, called the “Altar of Augustan Peace.” No title or honor seemed to be too grand for this emperor; one inscription in the city of Halicarnassus calls him the “savior of the whole world.” another inscription commemorating his birthday says that “the birthday of the god has marked the beginning of the good news for the world.” Ah, Caesar Augustus, the divine king and savior whose birth brought good news of peace on earth. Doesn’t sound quite right, does it?

Well, Luke at least would be pleased and unsurprised to find out that it isn’t Caesar’s birth we are celebrating 2000 years later. Luke was not impressed by the human peace brought about by Rome. He probably would have agreed with the more sober description of the Pax Romana we get from the Roman historian Tacitus, “They plunder, they slaughter, and they steal: this they falsely name Empire, and where they make a wasteland, they call it peace.” Augustus made peace at the point of a sword, by crushing any who dared oppose him, and exalting himself like a god. Luke knew that that kind of peace was a sham and a joke. You’ll never achieve real peace, real “shalom,” through human force and arrogance.

Yet that is what we humans continue to do. We constantly try to create our own kind of peace in our little empires, and we usually do it either by destroying anyone who we dislike or disagree with, or by avoiding and isolating ourselves from anyone we might have conflict with. We don’t typically destroy people with physical violence of course, but we do sometimes address conflicts with harsh words, by trying to win an argument so decisively and brutally that our opponent won’t dare to come at us again. Or you could attack your opponent’s reputation by gossiping about how wrong they are or how wrongly they’ve treated you. You create a mini-empire around you of those who you get “on your side” and you call it peace. Or you simply shy away from any conflict at all. I know I’ve been guilty of this. Trying to be at peace with everyone is great, but real relationships sometimes require conflict and confrontation. Avoiding conflict altogether can isolate you from your fellow humans and deprive you of the true peace of reconciliation and forgiveness.

We might create something we’re content to call peace by our efforts, and then crown ourselves the savior of our world. But that won’t bring real fullness of life with God. Luke know that we need Jesus to give us real peace.

Shepherds: Christ the Savior is Your Peace

That brings us to the next character we’re going to look at: the shepherds. The angels did not announce the birth of the true king to the emperor in Rome, they announced it to a few shepherds outside town. Why shepherds?

Partly because of Micah chapter 5. This is another passage that you've probably heard before at Christmastime, it’s the OT prophecy used to prove that the Messiah, the Christ will be born in Bethlehem: Micah 5:2 “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” But why was Bethlehem the city that the true king would come from? Because Bethlehem is where King David was from. And what was David before he was a king? A shepherd. That’s why the passage goes on to say Micah 5:3-4 “Therefore [God] shall give [Israel] up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And [the Christ] shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.” The Christ, the ruler from Bethlehem who would save Israel, would be a shepherd king like David. How appropriate then, that his birth was announced to shepherds of the flock in David’s hometown.

But there’s one more thing that Micah has to say about this shepherd ruler from Bethlehem: “And he shall be their peace.” Jesus would be the true savior, the king who would be great to the ends of the earth and would bring real peace to his people. Not the false peace of Augustus, but real restored relationship with God and with man. Jesus would bring completion and fulfillment to all the promises of God, he would bring his people into wholeness of life and unity with God. All of that is packed into the angel’s song about peace on earth among men with whom he is pleased. Jesus came to bring shalom to all people, real reconciliation and abundance of life with God. And he wouldn’t do it through force or violence, but through forgiveness. The cross of Jesus is where he makes peace between God and man. As Paul says in Colossians, God reconciled all things in heaven and earth to himself through Jesus, making peace by the blood of his cross. All of you who are in Jesus Christ by faith and the promise of Baptism have peace with God. Your relationship with God that was broken by sin is restored through the birth, the life, the death, and resurrection of Jesus. God’s forgiveness has made you one of those with whom God is pleased. You have peace on earth.

That peace extends to your other relationships as well. Paul says in Ephesians that the cross brings peace between people. He writes to the Gentiles in Ephesus that Jesus himself is our peace, who has made both Jews and Gentiles one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility between groups of people. Peace and reconciliation with God means peace and reconciliation with other people with whom God is pleased, that is, those who are also in Christ. That means you can give up your efforts to bring about peace on your terms. You don’t have to destroy anyone or their reputation to create your own empire of peace. You are in Jesus’ kingdom of peace because you have received forgiveness and reconciliation. You can extend that forgiveness and reconciliation to everyone, even those you have conflict with. Living together in the peace of Jesus is the way to true shalom with others.

Mary: Meditating on the Word of God will Bring Peace to You

There’s one more thing I’d like to consider: how should we Christians respond this revelation of peace? When the birth of Christ and the peace that he brings among God and men have been announced to us, how should we react to it? Here we can learn from one more character in the story: Mary. Of all the characters, she is the only one who is said to hold on to the things she heard. The shepherds returned to their fields glorifying and praising God, but we don’t hear anything more from them after that. Perhaps some of them became followers of Jesus, but we just don’t know. They may be like those in the parable of the sower who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root.

Mary, on the other hand, “treasures up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” In Greek it says, she “kept all these words.” She did exactly what one is supposed to do with the revelation of God: guard it, hold onto it and meditate on it. She was like the good soil in the parable of the sower, the people who hear the word and hold it fast in an honest and good heart. Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. Mary was one of those people.

Follow the example of Mary, and follow the wisdom of Proverbs chapter 3: “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.” There’s that word again. Holding the words of God in your heart is the way to live in peace with God and with men. Don’t forget the word God has taught you, but root yourself in it. Meditate on and ponder the Scriptures everyday. I invite you to read the words of Luke 2 again this Christmas season. Ponder what it means that the birth of Christ has brought you peace and salvation. Then try reading the rest of Luke’s Gospel and the book of Acts. Watch how Christ establishes his kingdom and watch how his empire of peace spreads all the way to Rome. That would be something worth treasuring up and pondering in your heart.

Conclusion

Caesar may have thought he was the savior who brings good news of peace on earth, but Mary and the shepherds know the truth. Jesus Christ has brought “peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.” Jesus gives us real “shalom.” So let’s join with Mary and the shepherds to “Proclaim the savior’s birth. To God on high be glory and peace to all the earth.” Amen.