When God Shows Up

Peace in Our Day?

This is the last Sunday of Advent as we prepare to welcome the Christ child yet again to the manger this evening as we gather again for worship. And on this last Sunday of Advent we celebrate peace. But, particularly during this tumultuous time in world history, it seems a little fraught to say the least to celebrate peace when all around the world in places like Ukraine and Gaza there seems to be anything but peace. Are we being hypocritical by celebrating peace on a day like this.

I struggled with this question mightily as I prepared for this sermon series. You see, there has been a strong call among pastors this year to refrain from lighting the candle of peace for Advent this year. Those calling for this act remind us that it would be a bit disingenuous to light the peace candle when the world seems to be at war. And at first, I was inclined to agree. I had thought about ways to speak about peace without actually lighting the candle.

But then I did a little research. If we were going to refrain from lighting the peace candle this year because of Israel and Gaza and Ukraine, how many other times has this occurred. I could find no example of this in recent memory. And in fact, my research tells me, courtesy of the Society of International Law based in Britain, that over the last four thousand years—that’s right, four THOUSAND years that there has been only two hundred and sixty-eight years of peace. If you make that into a percentage, it means that in the average human lifespan since the dawn of recorded history there is less than seven percent of the average human life in which the word experiences peace. At all other times there is war and conflict in the world.

And yet, we Christians boldly proclaim to worship the Prince of Peace. But we must admit that we don’t live in a world in which there seems to be much peace. And to me this begs the question of whether we have misunderstood peace. Have we looked in the wrong direction when it comes to peace? Do we understand what it is that we are asking for when we pray for peace?

The Shepherds

And now I want to take us back to Bethlehem. On the night that Jesus was born, our Scripture tells us that there were shepherds out in the field tending their flocks by night. And to fully understand the fascinating nature of this story we need to take a little time to understand the world into which Jesus was born and the way that world viewed shepherds.

Was the world that Jesus entered at his birth a world of peace? Well yes, and no. Officially, Jesus was born during a time called the Pax Romana, the time of the Roman Peace. During this time the Roman Empire had brought about a type of peace in which the entire Empire experienced a lack of armed conflict. So in that sense there was peace. People could travel without fear of armies invading or being forcibly recruited into the military.

But economically and socially? Economically and socially there was hardly any peace. Economically the people experienced one of the greatest tax burdens ever in recorded history sometimes up to 90 percent depending on where you were in the Empire and who collected your taxes (it was a for-profit business after all). And then socially there was a strict hierarchy in the Empire that privileged people who were born citizens and then among those born citizens there was another hierarchy based on birth, social status, and wealth.

And at the bottom of the social hierarchy in Judea, the province in which Jesus was born were people like shepherds. Were there people who were below shepherds on the social totem pole? Well yes, but the folks that were below shepherds were slaves, and many folks in the Empire would barely think of slaves as human in the same way as they would even a low class person like a shepherd.

But why all of this hate for shepherds? Part of the tension has to do with a conflict as old as Cain and Abel, that between people who make their living off of livestock versus those who make their living off of crops. These groups look with suspicion at one another. But by the time of Jesus, people looked askance at people who worked with animals. Moreover, shepherds usually did their work at night when the rest of the world was asleep. And many shepherds lived a semi-nomadic and solitary life.

But who were shepherds? Well, to bust another myth, shepherds were not just men. In fact that Bible is replete with women who were shepherds. Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife, was a shepherd, so was Moses’ wife. King David also was a shepherd too. Later, the role of both the king of Israel and the religious leaders of Israel would be identified with that of a shepherd. And today, most people know that one of the jobs of a pastor is to shepherd the flock—that is the congregation. But most of us don’t look on this with negative connotations. Interestingly, it seems that things change with the times.

From Shepherds to the Good Shepherd

But how do perceptions change? Why is it a good thing to be a shepherd these days? What made it change?

Well, first, we have to look to the role of these shepherds in the unfolding drama of the Christmas story. After all, it was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay keeping their sheep on a cold winter’s night that was so deep that the First Noel came, was it not? We sing it every year.

But what was that first Noel? It was the sign of the Angels. The sign that the shepherds would find wrapped in swaddling clothes a baby in a manger. This baby would be the one that would bring true peace, love, joy, and hope into the world. This would be the King who would shepherd Israel and bring about a new reign of God on earth.

And to these unlikely messengers angels appeared. Now, when we get a picture of angels we often think of winged creatures with halos. Maybe even chubby little baby angels that decorate little knick-knacks in our home. We have a few of those too. But the problem is that there are no descriptions really in the Bible that line up with our modern picture of angels; that picture comes from the Middle Ages.

In fact, in the Bible itself, angels seem to come in two varieties. The first type of angel looks very much like a human figure. These types of angels are found in books like Daniel and Revelation—even Genesis 18 where it seems that Abraham entertains God and angels unawares. And the other type of angel are those fantastical creatures that have more than one face, many pairs of wings, and more eyes to see than are normal for a bipedal creature. If you’ve ever wondered why people were scared out of their wits when an angel appeared it’s because they don’t look like what we expect. And it is an invasion of the holy heavens into our sinful fallen world.

But nonetheless, it was to these shepherds that the angels announce the glad tidings that the Savior of the world was born. And they were given a sign. Signs are strange things. Typically, the Bible tells us not to look for signs, that to do so is testing God to give us proof of God’s promises. But I think that God knows that some things God plans to do are so fantastical that there needs to be some corroboration. And to people like the Wise Men and the shepherds signs were freely offered so that they would understand both their unique place in the story of salvation and the ultra-unique place of Jesus in that story.

Signs Today

But what about us? Are there still signs among us? Should we expect God to act in the same way today that he did “way back when” in Bible times? Well, yes and no. I don’t think God needs to give us signs today that Jesus is who he said he was. I think the testimony of Scripture and Tradition are sufficient to provide that evidence. But on the other hand, God still gives us the sign and the witness of the Holy Spirit. God still speaks to us in our lives to confirm that all of God’s promises find their yes and amen in Christ.

And what are those promises? Those promises are that we can have true peace today. But what about the world of conflict around us? It’s true that the world is at war and has been over ninety percent of world history. But true peace is not dependent on the actions of countries but on the actions of individuals. Peace starts with us.

The first type of peace we can have is peace with God. This is, as the Bible tells us, the peace that passes all understanding. Peace with God is to cease our struggle against God’s will by turning to sin and self and turn back Godwards and receive salvation which is the forgiveness of our sins. That’s the first and most important definition of peace.

But then we need to come to peace in our own mind. Peace within ourselves is an inward journey in which we reconcile all of the “stuff” we’ve dealt with in our lives. This type of peace often involves the help of a trusted friend, pastor, or counselor as we deal with things like bullying, trauma, difficult relationships, and more.

And then there is the peace that we can have in our relationships with others. And this is the peace that has the most possibility for bringing about the type of peace we seek in our day. But peace among people is dependent upon peace with God and inner peace. We must be both at peace with God and ourselves if we hope to truly live at peace with other people. Sin and self are the two strongest forces I know that disturb relationships with other people. Sin in that it almost always harms others and selfishness because it often costs other people dearly when we look out for number one.

The Good News of the Good Shepherd

And this is where the Good News comes in. Jesus tells us that he is the Good Shepherd. Jesus lays down his life for the sheep—that’s us. And because of what Jesus did on a hill two thousand years ago and because of what the Spirit accomplished three days later, we now can have peace with God just for the asking. We commit our lives to God in Christ, we receive forgiveness of our sins and we are able to walk in newness of life in such a way that we need not let sin and self get in the way of loving God and loving neighbor.

Today, sisters and brothers, Christ is yet again born in the manger. But instead of coming to lowly shepherds in the field, Christ comes again in our hearts and in our families. Will you let Christ be your shepherd? Will you let Christ guide you as you seek to love God and love others?

If you do you can know peace. You can know peace with God. You can know inner peace and triumph over the demons that bind you. And you can know peace in your homes, your workplace, and indeed in the world as the Kingdom of God spreads out into the world.

True peace comes to us today, will you accept it? Amen.