The Gift of Peace

Today we light the fourth advent candle, which means Christmas is almost here. It is the candle of peace. I talk quite often about peace. It is the Hebrew word shalom, and I identify shalom as one of the major themes of the Bible. In fact, shalom is on my top five list of the most important themes in all of scripture.

At the same time, we most certainly do associate peace with Christmas. One of the most well known Christmas carols, Silent Night, is all about a sense of peace. The message of the angels to the shepherds spoke of peace on earth. We exchange Christmas cards that often have pictures of peaceful scenes. In 1975 John Lennon wrote a song called Happy Christmas (War Is Over). It was meant to be a protest song against the Vietnam War. But the lyrics point towards the celebration of Christmas as a commitment towards peace.

peace defined in the negative (what it is not): not fighting, not conflict, not bitter division peace defined in the positive (shalom): thriving, flourishing, wellbeing

Often our world tends to associate peace with calm, serenity, and an absence of conflict. We think of peace as a condition in which everyone figures out how to get along with each other and live in happiness. Author and biblical theologian Douglas Moo notes that our world today tends to think about peace in the negative. What he means by that is we associate peace with what it is not; it is not war, not fighting, not conflict, not bitter division. Douglas Moo goes on to explain that the Hebrew people of the Bible understood shalom in the positive. The Bible associates peace with what it actively produces: thriving, flourishing, wellbeing. I’ve spoken often of these things as well. With today’s passage from Romans, I want us to consider another angle of shalom as the Bible presents it in the context of Jesus Christ. Notice the way in which this passage begins with an announcement of peace, and then the apostle Paul proceeds with an explanation of what that means which may not actually sound all that peaceful.

Romans 5:1–11 (NIV)

Romans 5:1–11 NIV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

There you go; peace. Paul talks about this with language like suffering, perseverance, sacrifice, death. Maybe not the kind of peace we normally think of when lighting the advent candle of peace and declaring peace at Christmastime. How about we spend a little time today rethinking what peace looks like. I’ve already mentioned the biblical idea of shalom. I talk about biblical shalom often. I don't want this message to just be a retelling of those things which we’ve talked about before. Let’s consider a new angle into shalom with this passage today. I don’t mean new as in different. We have talked about shalom in the past with words like thriving, flourishing, and wellbeing. Let me suggest a word that builds another layer of dimension upon this complex idea of shalom peace.

Wholeness. 

Paul’s idea of shalom peace in Romans 5 — wholeness

Just look at the way in which the apostle Paul introduces this passage as having peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (verse 1). And then moves on into a progression of taking various pieces of our lives and experiences, and putting them together to be built up into something.

Romans 5:3–5 (NIV)

Romans 5:3–5 NIV

3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Legos

One of my favorite childhood toys were Lego sets. When I was young, I would always have Legos on my Christmas list. It was an easily identifiable Christmas present. Even wrapped under the Christmas tree, one shake of the box made it obvious. I could hear all those small plastic lego bricks rattling around inside. My family got wise to it. Every now and then it was actually a new shirt, but they wrapped it up with a bunch of plastic beads in the box to trick me into thinking it was a Lego set.

Lego sets require taking a pile of disassembled pieces and putting them all together just right to make one thing. Maybe the Lego set was a car, or a spaceship, or a castle. My favorite part of spending time with Legos as a child was not in following the assembly instruction to build whatever the set was supposed to be, but in going off-script to make up my own creations. I would put Lego sets on my Christmas list not because of what the set built, but because of the pieces I saw in the set and wanted to use for building other creations.

whole in the sense of being everything that God has created us to be, being put together in a special way for a special purpose

Things like Lego sets and jigsaw puzzles show us an example of how lots of tiny disassembled pieces can be put together in order to make something whole. I think this is the way Paul is talking about shalom peace in this particular passage in Romans. Shalom peace is about being whole. Whole in the sense of being everything that God has created us to be. Whole as in being put together in a special way for a special purpose. Shalom peace is about that kind of wholeness.

with Jesus, there is a return towards shalom, a return towards wholeness

The brokenness of sin on our world and in our lives has disassembled the wholeness of God’s shalom. Both we, and our world, are shattered pieces of the shalom for which we were created. Paul’s interest in writing this part of his letter to the Romans is to talk about how the pieces of this shattered and broken shalom are being put back together by God through Jesus. With Jesus, there is a return towards shalom, a return towards wholeness.

in Romans, peace is not so much about serenity and calm and cessation of conflict as it is about being put back together and being made whole again

Within the context of Paul’s writing in Romans, peace is not so much about serenity and calm and cessation of conflict as it is about being put back together and being made whole again. That’s what Christ came to earth to do; that’s the peace which the angels proclaimed to the shepherds on the hillsides outside of Bethlehem. This proclamation of peace is not about silent nights or sleeping in heavenly peace or babies who don’t cry. No, this proclamation of peace is about God’s Messiah who has come to take the broken pieces of a shattered world and begin putting those pieces back together again. It is about taking people who are broken and making them whole again.

This return to wholeness all fits within the Bible’s understanding of shalom peace. But this return to wholeness is anything but what we might consider to be peaceful. That should seem pretty clear in this passage from Romans. The process of being made whole again is actually kind of messy. The reformation theologian John Calvin was a guy who did not mince words. Calvin wrote a commentary on the book of Romans. Listen to what Calvin has to say about Paul’s message of peace here in Romans 5.

“Then peace means tranquillity of conscience, which arises from [faith], — that it feels itself to be reconciled to God. This the Pharisee has not, who swells with false confidence in his own works; nor the stupid sinner, who is not disquieted, because he is inebriated with the sweetness of vices: for though neither of these seems to have a manifest disquietude, as he is who is smitten with a consciousness of sin; yet as they do not really approach the tribunal of God, they have no reconciliation with him; for insensibility of conscience is, as it were, a sort of retreating from God. Peace with God is opposed to the dead security of the flesh, and for this reason, — because the first thing is, that every one should become awakened as to the account he must render of his life; and no one can stand boldly before God, but he who relies on a gratuitous reconciliation; for as long as he is God, all must otherwise tremble and be confounded. And this is the strongest of proofs, that our opponents do nothing but prate to no purpose, when they ascribe righteousness to works; for this conclusion of Paul is derived from this fact, — that miserable souls always tremble, except they repose on the grace of Christ.” (John Calvin, Commentary on Romans)

we are still broken people who are being put back together; and that process of being put back together isn’t always fun

Granted, Calvin is not exactly known for stating things in easily understandable common language. His point is this: the shalom peace of God is always held within an acknowledgement of just how desperate and hopelessly messed up and broken our lives are without the grace of God which comes through Jesus. We are still broken people who are being put back together. And that process of being put back together isn’t always fun. As any of you who have had joint replacement surgery know, the physical therapy needed as follow up to surgery can be painful. But how else can your joints return to health and be made whole again? Being made whole again can be messy. Paul makes this point clear.

Romans 5:8 (NIV)

Romans 5:8 NIV

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

at the cross Jesus puts an end to all that shatters and breaks and disassembles the shalom of God in this world

While we were still sinners. In other words, while we are still broken and shattered. Christ, who is not broken, takes our brokenness to the cross. Christ, who is completely whole, takes our shattered humanity to the cross. Christ, who perfectly represents God’s shalom, takes everything we have ever done to mess up that shalom to the cross. And at the cross Jesus puts an end to all that shatters and breaks and disassembles the shalom of God in this world.

through the cross Jesus claims that all the shattered and broken pieces of our humanity are now his

However (and there is huge caveat here), we still need to be put back together again. Through the cross Jesus claims that all the shattered and broken pieces of our humanity are now his. Without the cross of Jesus you and I would just be broken pieces of trash left for nothing except to be swept away and thrown out. But through the cross of Jesus, God says all those broken pieces now belong to God, not as junk to be thrown away, but as his prized possession to be reassembled.

what reassembly towards shalom looks like: reconciliation

Greek katallage “reconciliation” = assembling what has been broken

Paul uses a particular word in this passage for what this reassembly towards shalom wholeness looks like. Reconciliation. It is the Greek word katallage. It means reconciliation as we understand it; to make things right, but with an nuance of resembling relationships that have been broken. Reconciliation is taking what is broken and putting it back together again. The Greek word katallage is where we get our English word catalog. A catalog is something that assembles a complete collection in one place. I don’t think card catalogs are a thing anymore at libraries. But back when they were, you could find a complete collection of the whole library in that one place. Instead of random books scattered on shelves, the library is made whole by its catalog; the catalog is what brings and holds all the pieces together. The catalog is what brings the library towards being whole. In Paul’s words, the katallage (reconciliation) is what what brings us—God’s people—towards being whole.

katallage (reconciliation) is what what brings us—God’s people—towards being whole

This is what the gift of peace means for us at Christmas. It means that all our broken and shattered pieces are no longer counted as worthless junk to be thrown out. It means that our humanity, still broken as it is, is now claimed by Jesus as God’s treasure. It means that our lives—broken as they still may be—are securely held by God for all eternity. And here in Romans Paul reminds us of one more thing. That Christ takes all those broken and shattered pieces of our lives which he now claims as his own, and Christ gives those pieces over to the Holy Spirit, and Christ says to the Holy Spirit, “here, start putting these pieces back together again. Start making these people whole. Start restoring the shalom of this world, one piece at a time.” That is what the gift of peace we celebrate at Christmas looks like for us today. 

Christ takes all those broken and shattered pieces of our lives which he now claims as his own, and Christ gives those pieces over to the Holy Spirit