The Spirit IS Peace

intro - (after thanks - especially thank the GS for helping and for all they do) If there is one word that I think exemplifies this time of year it is easily our theme for the day - Peace.

And let me tell you, I really think that we are all looking for peace this, and every, Christmas season . Whether it is the peace offered by a silent blanket of snow, or the peace we feel through the reminder of the love this season offers, we seem to all appreciate and even expect the peace at Christmastime.

But that peace is complicated isn’t it? It’s complicated with long lines. With congested roads, and with decorations that you don’t feel like bringing up from the basement - strands of lights that worked last year, but no matter how many bulbs you replace just won’t work. For some of us, maybe it is boxing out other families to get your hands on an LOL Suprise egg, or hatchimal, or Star Wars toy.

Whatever your situation, our hectic holiday schedules, and hectic lives, can lead us to miss out on the peace of the season. And that’s a shame really. It’s a shame because, while not perfect, the peace of this season is an important reminder of the greater peace we are called to every single day of our lives!

[wide shot of Miss America]

And that is what I want to talk about today. The peace that we have been offered and the peace we have been called to in Christ.

But not just any old kind of peace. If you have ever watched the Miss America pageants, you know that, at least when I was growing up, almost all of them, when being interviewed, would talk about wanting world peace.

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John 1:29–34 NIV

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

John 1:29

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pray

[wide shot of Miss America]

But not just any old kind of peace. If you have ever watched the Miss America pageants, you know that, at least when I was growing up, almost all of them, when being interviewed, would talk about wanting world peace.

[picofadove]

“I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove,” John says.

Have you ever wondered why it was a dove? I mean, we all understand that doves are a sort of symbol of peace, but have you ever wondered why?

Well I have. I wonder about that stuff all the time.

It turns out, it is just as basic as it seems! Basic, but still notable. Basic because the dove had been used as a symbol of peace by early Christians almost solely because of it’s presence both here in our text, and in the story of Noah.

You remember that story. After the flood Noah would release a dove and wait for it to come back, and when it returned the last time, it was holding an olive branch. And because of that, Noah knew the waters had receded. Salvation, for Noah, was at hand.

So naturally, when God wants to show that same Salvation, the symbol, or shape, of a dove, is perfect.

What is not so basic, is why that became a symbol for peace - which it has been as long as Christianity has been!

I say not so basic, because there was already something used to convey peace for the Hebrew people. A word, but more than a word, an idea. An all encompassing thought that had been with them as long as they were a people!

Shalom

Shalom. Peace.

This word was fundamental to their lives. It was their greeting to each other, and their salutation. It was their presence, their aura. It was everything they thought they were supposed to exude since they were the followers of the one true God.

Shalom, to the Jews, was an idea of a permanent and lasting peace - a sort of covenant. It was completeness and wholeness. It came with the knowledge that if you had God, then you need no other thing - so naturally, you were at peace. So in a way, it was - and in fact still is - sort of like the Holy Spirit for the Jewish people. It is the glue that runs through all Godly people, binding them to one another and to this world in a constructive and loving way.

To them, Shalom - peace - was far more than just safety, or contentedness. It was Godliness itself.

[wide shot of Miss America]

That is a far cry from the modern view of peace, though. The idea of peace today seems more political than personal. And if I am being honest, it has for my entire lifetime!

I am sure many of you remember people being called “hippies” or “peacenicks” around the time of the Vietnam war. That “peace-shaming” sort of became a joke in popular culture, so much so, that it even started to play itself out in movies and in, of all things, beauty pageants.

It almost becomes a joke doesn’t it?

But not just any old kind of peace. If you have ever watched the Miss America pageants, you know that, at least when I was growing up, almost all of them, when being interviewed, would talk about wanting world peace.

If you don’t know, in these pageants, the announcer would go to each contestant, and ask why they think they should win, and what they would try to use that platform to achieve.

And almost all of them, at least when I was growing up, said the same exact thing.

World peace.

The very same thing this season reminds us of. One of those things we expect and are told to expect this Advent season. One of the gifts of God and fruits of the Spirit! Peace on earth, goodwill to men, as Luke puts it. Reduced to a mundane answer to a pointless question, or the punchline of a late-night monologue.

But understand, church, there in the midst of all of that - in the midst of all those competing ideas of peace - our own ideas about what peace is take shape.

Think about it, if you were to have to get up here today and describe for us all what peace is what would you say?

I imagine some would describe calm. Maybe a fire-lit home, with candles and hot cider. Stories and s’mores. That is peace for some of us. Maybe some of us would describe peace as just being left alone! Maybe for just 5 minutes, right?

I think that most of us, though, if pressed about it would talk about peace in terms of it’s natural contrast; war. And trust me, if you think that, you aren’t alone! In fact, there is a well known point in history that points to that same thought pattern.

[pax Romana]

Pax Romana. The peace of Rome. This ideal time just after the death of Christ, and right around the time of the writing of the Gospels, when for Romans, there was an almost complete cessation of violence.

At least in Rome there was.

You see, to keep peace in that sense, there must be oppression and violence somewhere else. At the very least, there must be intimidation! And all too often, when we think of peace, we think of it in these terms. Peace is for many of us primarily safety. A lack of violence where WE are.

But church, peace is so much bigger than that. In fact, you could argue that peace only where we are isn’t peace at all! True peace is more complete, more whole than that.

And John knew that. The early Christians knew that. That is why, I think, they were shown this symbol, one that could say far more than words ever could!

You see, if they had just said that Shalom rested on Christ, then the message would have been for Jews. Had they said that eirini (e-ree-knee), peace in Greek, had descended on Christ, then everyone would have associated it with Pax Romana, and thought the wrong thing!

But to be clear for us all, God send a dove. God wanted us to be crystal clear on what this Spirit that had now desceded to earth was. God wanted us to know just what Jesus was offering to all of humanity!

True peace. Shalom for all. Wholeness. Completeness. Justification. Salvation. This Spirit that descends is God’s Spirit, and that Spirit is peace.

[mangerscene]

I think that is part of the reason we are shown such a peaceful scene in the midst of all that chaos 2000 years ago. Just like our homes, their situation was as hectic as it could be! They couldn’t find a place to stay, they were in labor, with no help to be found! So they find comfort, solace, quiet, in that manger.

But they still hadn’t found peace. Sure, in those moments before Christ, they had a cessation of hostility, or worry, they had quiet, they had comfort. But it wasn’t until that silence was broken, until that comfort was comprimised - it wasn’t until the cries of that child and the love that then overwhelmed them that they had true peace.

Shalom. Completeness. Wholeness.

[dovepicJesus]

In much the same way, if we have faith in Jesus, we might have quiet, or comfort, lack of worry. But we still don’t have peace. It isn’t until we break our silence, and get out of our comfort zones; It isn’t until we, like Jesus, are filled with the Holy Spirit that we have true completeness and wholeness - everlasting peace!

You see, it isn’t until we, like Jesus, are filled with the Holy Spirit that we have true completeness and wholeness - everlasting peace!

Miss America?? Always asking for world peace…but what do they mean?......also, we can’t have peace in this world until we have peace in our hearts.

A peace that is so much bigger than just our own comfort and situation! A peace that transcends us and branches out to the rest of the world! A peace that we are reminded of at Christmastime, but that is intended to permeate every part of our lives - far beyond just this season!

As Paul puts it, it is a “peace that passes all understanding.”

That is what this moment means to us. That is the Spirit that in this moment rests on our Savior.

The Spirit that we heard Merry Leigh speaking of earlier in the text from Isaiah. You see, Isaiah was prophesying about this Messiah, the shoot that was to come up from the stump of Jesse. The one, “from whose roots a Branch will bear fruit!” And church, not to put too fine a point on it, BUT WE ARE THAT BRANCH!

Isaiah’s words resonate throughout this moment in John. You see, when this dove, the symbol of true peace - of universal Shalom - rests on Christ we are seeing the fulfillment of the words of Isaiah!

Isaiah 11:2–4 NIV

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

Is 11:2

Those words that remind us of true peace! They remind us that the Spirit of God that rests on Christ is a Spirit of wisdom and understanding; of counsel and might and knowledge! It is a Spirit that guides us not to judge by what our eyes can see or our ears can hear, but to judge with righteousness! To, in our wholeness that now comes with Christ, to be able to make our thoughts and actions right before God so that we can have justice with each other! That is what peace is all about, church!

And listen, that is just exactly what Jesus left with us! “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.” Don’t let your circumstances dictate the condition of your heart and soul! God has given us true eyes to see and ears to hear! And beyond even that, He has given us the true peace that we need to be changed by Christ!

[picofxmasscene]

You see, church, we must be changed. And not just changed for a month, but changed forever! This Spirit of Peace, the very same Spirit that we invite to come live in our hearts, is one that can and will change this world! But if you really want it to change this world, you have to let it change you first!

You have to accept that Spirit into your soul. And then like a child, you must be made in the image of your Heavenly Father! Just like that child in the manger, you have endless potential and limitless ability to change this world! You have the opportunity to carry with you the peace of God, the very Spirit of God, out into all of creation!

You see, peace, true peace,

Listen, we all come to this manger every year hoping for love - hoping for joy, and hope and peace! We all want to feel that same wholeness and completeness that this season offers! But understand the only way to be changed and to really feel that is to allow God’s Spirit to descend on YOU too, and then BECAUSE of that Spirit - be changed!

Become agents of peace, agents of change. Instruments for God.

[manger]

Church, when I see that manger, I see infinite possibilities. I see the child that would one day take on my sin and my shame, not just to get me a ticket to Heaven, but to convince me of the unbelievable value of His creation! He has given us His Spirit to break the chains of guilt, and hate, and violence, and oppression, and to in their place grant us His peace!

HE HAS GIVEN US NEW EYES AND NEW EARS! HE HAS LEFT US THE ONLY WAY FOR ALL PEOPLE TO TRULY KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THE PEACE AND LOVE THAT GOD HAS FOR THEM! HIS SPIRIT! HIS PRESENCE! HIS VERY NATURE! AND IT IS WITH US WHEREVER WE GO! AND THAT SPIRIT, CHURCH, THAT SPIRIT IS PEACE!

AND DON’T ASSUME THAT SPIRIT ISN’T WITH YOU WHEN TIMES ARE BAD. NO THAT SPIRIT IS WITH US ALWAYS! GOD LONGS FOR US, AND THE ENTIRE WORLD, TO KNOW THAT PEACE - THAT COMPLETENESS IN CHRIST! AND TO KNOW IT SO WELL, THAT WE WOULD ALSO KNOW THAT THERE IS NOTHING IN THE WORLD COULD EVER STAND BETWEEN US! AND HE WANTS US TO KNOW THAT, CHURCH, BECAUSE WE CAN NEVER HAVE TRUE PEACE UNTIL WE KNOW GOD IS ON OUR SIDE! THIS WORLD WILL NEVER KNOW PEACE UNTIL EVERY PERSON IN IT KNOWS THAT GOD IS FOR THEM!

IF WE HAVE SUCH A WONDERFUL FATHER, WHO LONGS FOR US TO KNOW COMPLETENESS IN CHRIST, AND IN OUR LIVES, THAN WHAT IN THE WORLD COULD EVER STAND BETWEEN US? IF WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN OUR LIVES TO JESUS, AND REST OUR SOULS WITH HIM, WHAT DOES ALL THIS OTHER STUFF REALLY MATTER? WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH HIS SPIRIT, CHURCH, AND THE SPIRIT IS PEACE! SO WHENEVER YOU FEEL TOSSED AND TURNED BY THE WAVES OF THIS LIFE, REMIND YOURSELF THAT GOD IS FOR YOU! THAT MANGER, THAT CROSS, THAT TOMB, IT ALL HAPPENED - AND IT HAPPENED FOR YOU - THAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND PEACE WHERE THERE SEEMS TO BE NONE!

(first slide should be a dove)

**********MOVE FROM JESUS’ EXAMPLE OF PEACE, TO HIS GIVING US THAT PEACE WHEN HE GAVE US HIS SPIRIT! THE VERY SPIRIT OF PEACE ()! AND OUR LIVES, CHANGED BY CHRIST, REFLECT THAT NATURE ()! TRY TO END IT ON AN UPLIFTING NOTE REFLECTING HOW THE TEXT (JOHN) REMINDS US OF OUR BIRTH IN THAT MANGER! THE BIRTH OF THE SAME SPIRIT THAT LIVES IN US!

MOVE THAT IDEA TO WHAT PEACE REALLY IS - RESTING IN GOD - USE THE PICTURE OF THE DOVE AS THE TEXT (JOHN1) ALONG WITH (CTW?). MOVE FROM JESUS’ EXAMPLE OF PEACE, TO HIS GIVING US THAT PEACE WHEN HE GAVE US HIS SPIRIT! THE VERY SPIRIT OF PEACE ()! AND OUR LIVES, CHANGED BY CHRIST, REFLECT THAT NATURE ()! TRY TO END IT ON AN UPLIFTING NOTE REFLECTING HOW THE TEXT (JOHN) REMINDS US OF OUR BIRTH IN THAT MANGER! THE BIRTH OF THE SAME SPIRIT THAT LIVES IN US! [[[[[[[THE SPIRIT THAT CRIES OUT “ABBA, FATHER!” THE SPIRIT THAT TESTIFIES THAT WE BELONG TO GOD!]]]]]]]]] TALK ABOUT THE SAME SPIRIT BEING…GET ON A ROLL WITH THAT…MAYBE TALK ABOUT BEING AGENTS OF PEACE....DEFINITELY CLOSE WITH AND END OF . TALK ABOUT THE BABY WE CELEBRATE DIDN’T HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERY DAY. [[[[[[[THERE WERE BAD DAYS, AND BAD MOMENTS. THERE WERE HARDSHIPS, AND TRIALS THAT WE KNOW JESUS WOULD HAVE ENDURED, AND MANY MORE THAT LIFE ALMOST DEMANDS TO HAVE HAPPENED! BUT THROUGH IT ALL, HE HAD PEACE. THROUGH IT ALL HE WAS PEACE! THIS SPIRIT THAT DESCENDED ON HIM, THAT HE LEFT FOR US, IT IS THE VERY SPIRIT OF PEACE, BECAUSE IT IS PEACE! IT IS THAT SPIRIT THAT PULLS US THROUGH THOSE HARD TIMES, THAT LIFTS US UP FROM THE PITS OF DESPAIR! (ELABORTATE IF NEEDED)…WHEN THOSE STORMS COME, AND LIFE SEEMS TO TAKE AWAY OUR PEACE, WHAT, THEN, DO WE SAY? WHAT ON EARTH CAN BE THE RESPONSE TO THE UNENDING STRIFE AND STRUGGLING WE OURSELVES ENCOUNTER EVERY DAY OF OUR LIFE?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$THE SPIRIT THAT CRIES OUT “ABBA, FATHER!” THE SPIRIT THAT TESTIFIES THAT WE BELONG TO GOD!]]]]]]]]] TALK ABOUT THE SAME SPIRIT BEING…GET ON A ROLL WITH THAT…MAYBE TALK ABOUT BEING AGENTS OF PEACE....DEFINITELY CLOSE WITH AND END OF . TALK ABOUT THE BABY WE CELEBRATE DIDN’T HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERY DAY. [[[[[[[THERE WERE BAD DAYS, AND BAD MOMENTS. THERE WERE HARDSHIPS, AND TRIALS THAT WE KNOW JESUS WOULD HAVE ENDURED, AND MANY MORE THAT LIFE ALMOST DEMANDS TO HAVE HAPPENED! BUT THROUGH IT ALL, HE HAD PEACE. THROUGH IT ALL HE WAS PEACE! THIS SPIRIT THAT DESCENDED ON HIM, THAT HE LEFT FOR US, IT IS THE VERY SPIRIT OF PEACE, BECAUSE IT IS PEACE! IT IS THAT SPIRIT THAT PULLS US THROUGH THOSE HARD TIMES, THAT LIFTS US UP FROM THE PITS OF DESPAIR! (ELABORATE IF NEEDED)…WHEN THOSE STORMS COME, AND LIFE SEEMS TO TAKE AWAY OUR PEACE, WHAT, THEN, DO WE SAY? WHAT ON EARTH CAN BE THE RESPONSE TO THE UNENDING STRIFE AND STRUGGLING WE OURSELVES ENCOUNTER EVERY DAY OF OUR LIFE?

(CHANGE SLIDES TO :31B)

AND THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD EVER KNOW THAT IS IF GOD’S SPIRIT OF PEACE, HIS SHALOM - THAT DOVE - RESTS ON OUR LIVES AND IN OUR HEARTS!

IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?

IF YOU DON’T HEAR ANYTHING ELSE I SAY TODAY, HEAR THIS - WE CAN’T BRING THIS WORLD PEACE UNTIL WE HAVE PEACE IN OUR OWN HEARTS!

[[[[[REWRITEIFNEEDED[[[[[[[[[IF WE HAVE SUCH A WONDERFUL FATHER, WHO LONGS FOR US TO KNOW COMPLETENESS IN CHRIST, AND IN OUR LIVES, THAN WHAT IN THE WORLD COULD EVER STAND BETWEEN US? IF WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN OUR LIVES TO JESUS, AND REST OUR SOULS WITH HIM, WHAT DOES ALL THIS OTHER STUFF REALLY MATTER? WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH HIS SPIRIT, CHURCH, AND THE SPIRIT IS PEACE! SO WHENEVER YOU FEEL TOSSED AND TURNED BY THE WAVES OF THIS LIFE, REMIND YOURSELF THAT GOD IS FOR YOU! THAT MANGER, THAT CROSS, THAT TOMB, IT ALL HAPPENED - AND IT HAPPENED FOR YOU - THAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND PEACE WHERE THERE SEEMS TO BE NONE!

And church, that starts in this manger, in this season, and in your hearts. But it can’t end there. It was given so that this whole world would know and understand who God is, and how much God loves us all.

IF WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN OUR LIVES TO JESUS, AND REST OUR SOULS WITH HIM, WHAT DOES ALL THIS OTHER STUFF REALLY MATTER? WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH HIS SPIRIT, CHURCH, AND THE SPIRIT IS PEACE! SO WHENEVER YOU FEEL TOSSED AND TURNED BY THE WAVES OF THIS LIFE, REMIND YOURSELF THAT GOD IS FOR YOU! THAT MANGER, THAT CROSS, THAT TOMB, IT ALL HAPPENED - AND IT HAPPENED FOR YOU - THAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND PEACE WHERE THERE SEEMS TO BE NONE!

[pic of xmas dove]

THROUGH HIM WHO MADE US WHOLE. THROUGH HIS COMPLETENESS AND HIS COMPLETE LOVE FOR US. THROUGH HIM WHO GIVES US PEACE.

Church, I am convinced, that nothing can ever separate us from that love and peace, but to have it we must put our faith in God’s Spirit alone.

The Spirit of the Christ child.

(slide of Is 11)

The Spirit that doesn’t judge by what He sees with His eyes or decide by what He hears with His ears; but with righteousness judges us. The needy. The Spirit that grants us peace beyond our comprehension, and that draws us constantly home - to the Father - that we might be where He is forever. And more than that, that we might have peace in our hearts to give each other, and the world. That we might be complete. That we may experience and help others to experience, Shalom.

The Spirit is peace, church. Don’t let this season pass you by without allowing Christ to bring you wholeness and completeness. Don’t pass by His Shalom. Don’t stop that Spirit for filling your heart. Let your life be made complete by Him. Become a pure reflection of our Christ - our Savior - the Prince of Peace.

After all, He didn’t leave His throne for nothing. He came to earth to make us whole, and to call the entire world to Him. He came to bring us the peace that we could never have without Him.

The Spirit is peace, church. He has left it with us. Don’t let your hearts be overcome by what this world offers. Don’t let this season pass you by without bringing you wholeness and completeness. Don’t pass by His Shalom. Let your life, and your heart, be made complete and then become a pure reflection of our Christ - our Savior - the Prince of Peace.

So let’s take Him up on it, and then take Him into the world.

Invitation.

Intro

Scripture

Dove - talk about what peace is to us (ask question)

Pax Romana - talk about how we view peace that way

Shalom - Use website and talk about that term…bring in . that is the peace God has in mind for us. That is the peace that rested on Jesus that day in the form of a dove. That is what the Spirit of God is all about! Completeness. Wholeness.

Goto *************

Tie all that peace in with the peace of the manger. The peace of a child. Compare us all to children who cry out…($$$$$$$ section)

MOVE TO CLOSE