2018 Christmas Advent

The life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of the more famous poets and educators in our country’s history, was marked by a number of notable tragedies.

He was born in 1807, and seemed to have a love of and a knack for literature and poetry from early on. In fact, at the age of 13, he had his first poem published.

He and Mary Storer Porter, who was a childhood friend of his from their days in Portland Maine, married in September 1831. Just over three years later, he was offered a position as a professor of modern languages for Harvard, but before he could fully take the position, he was told that he needed to spend a year or so abroad, where he studied German as well as Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, and the Icelandic language. 10 months later, while traveling abroad, his wife Mary had a miscarriage of their first child. This brought on an illness for her that took her life just a few weeks later. As you can imagine, his heart was broken by her unexpected death. Not long after he wrote the following:

“One thought occupies me night in day… She is dead—She is dead! All day long I am weary and sad.”

A couple of years later, he met and soon fell in love with Fannie Appleton. As hard as he pursued her for marriage, she pushed back, but in the end, after seven years of a determined effort, she relented and accepted his proposal. In 1843, the couple were married, and the two of them had six children together.

Tragedy struck our Nation in April 1861 when the Civil War began. Only a couple months later, in early July, tragedy struck the Longfellow family. The day before the tragic event, Fannie had written in her journal: “We are all sighing for the good sea breeze instead of this stifling land one filled with dust.” It was so hot that she decided to cut 7-year-old Edie’s hair. After trimming some of her beautiful curls, Fannie thought she should preserve some of them, so she decided to save some of the clippings in a bag using sealing wax. While melting a bar of sealing wax, a few drops inadvertently fell onto her dress. Then, that gentle sea breeze she had longed for the day before, blew through the open window and ignited her dress on fire. In an effort to protect her two youngest children, she ran out of the room and into Henry’s study. He quickly jumped to his feet and tried to put out the flames with a small rug that was on the floor. When that didn’t work, he tried to put out the flames with his own body while embracing her, severely burning his own face, hands and arms. The next morning Fannie died. His own burns were so bad, that he was unable to attend Fanny’s funeral.

A few months later, during the Christmas season, Longfellow wrote. “How inexpressibly sad are all holidays.” and a year later he wrote, “I can make no record of these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday God will give me peace.”

On Christmas Day in 1862 Long fellow wrote in his journal: “A Merry Christmas’ say the children, but that is no more for me.”

Early 1863, their 17-year-old son Charley quietly snuck away to join the union army in Washington DC. He did very well and was soon promoted to lieutenant. In June of that year he contracted typhoid fever and malaria and was sent home for a few months to recover, heading back to join his unit on August 15, 1863. On November 27 he was wounded by a bullet that entered his left shoulder, traveled across his back, and nicked his spine, before exiting his right shoulder.

On Christmas day that year, unsure whether his son would ever walk again, or even live, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow did what writers do, he wrote. Before he was done writing, he had finished what became his most famous poem, which a few years later was put to music.

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I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

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And thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along The unbroken song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Some historians have speculated that after Henry wrote the above, the beautiful bells of Christmas morning were briefly silenced, possibly by the groans of his wounded son whom he was now caring for, and with the Civil War still raging on, no end in sight at the time, he wrote.

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And in despair I bowed my head; “There is no peace on earth,” I said; “For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

In very much the same way that many of the Psalmist’s write in the book of Psalms, when recording their own thoughts filled with despair. Henry looked back at the words he had written, and as he thought through them, and then, as his mind was drawn to the sovereign God, the Christmas Bells continued to ring yet louder still, reminding Henry, that despite his own heartache and despair, and regardless of raging Civil War, the Sovereign God still reigned! He then recorded the following;

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Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

With that story and song in mind, let’s look together at the next Advent, the Advent of Peace.

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The Advent of Peace

While we as a Nation are not in the midst of a Civil War, in many ways it seems, that peace.....peace is still hard to come by. So many lives are confronted daily by hardship and loss. We all probably know of someone who will be going through Christmas this year minus someone they love dearly, and for some of you, well you’re the one missing someone you love, and here I am talking about peace! For you peace is only a memory, and a distant memory at that. For others of you, there is so much turmoil in the home that peace is only experienced when the eyes close at night and you drift off to sleep, and in just a few short hours you will wake up and it starts all over again. And you don’t even feel rested at the beginning of the day.

For others of you, well you could easily add to to this list of why peace is all but out the door. Next Slide

For so many right now, there is no peace in life, your life is filled with storms.

You may recall that last week we looked at the first Advent, the Advent of Hope. From my own life, as well as things that I have learned as I have gone through Scripture, I believe the Advent of Hope is the perfect lead in to this weeks Advent, the Advent of Peace. You see, there are times that, like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, peace is not something you feel is present in your life, but that doesn’t mean it’s not available. Often times peace comes from the hope we have in Christ. The hope that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was reminded of when the Christmas bells rang loudly.

Perhaps one of the best Biblical examples of this is in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 14. Would you turn there with me this morning? Next Slide

Matthew 14:23-31 Page 1042 in the Pew Bibles.

Matthew 14:23-31

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Matthew 14:23–31 ESV

23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

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Peace in the midst of the storm.

Let me ask you a question, Next Slide

At what point in time in the story did the storm stop?

(after Jesus entered the boat). Yet in the midst of the storm, Peter was able to literally walk on the water.

I don’t know about you, but I find that absolutely remarkable. I mean to be honest with you, Jesus walking on the water isn’t nearly as amazing. Think about it for a moment, He had just fed as many as 15,000 people with 5 small loaves of bread and 2 small fish, and by the way, He was God in the flesh. But Peter? The dude is at times a stumbling, foot in his mouth, impulsive speak without thinking guy. Yet here he is, the only one of all the disciples to step out of the boat and walk on the water!

Let me ask you another question, Next Slide

When did Peter sink?

We see the answer in verse 30. Next Slide

Matthew 14:30 ESV

30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

Peter sunk when he took his eyes off of Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, and fixed his eyes on the circumstances. Please don’t miss this, because what held true for Peter in this passage holds true for you and me today.

We read in

Isaiah 26:3-4

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Isaiah 26:3–4 ESV

3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

So what is Isaiah’s message to us? Simply put, Isaiah’s message is all about your focus. Next Slides

As we face life’s storms, Isaiah instructs us to:

Focus on the Lord God, not your circumstances.

If your focus is on the struggles, the problems of life, your circumstances, well the storms, then you will live in an almost constant state of uncertainty and struggle. However, if your focus is on the Lord God, the everlasting Rock, then you can have perfect peace, even in the middle of the trials and the storms of life.

That is the lesson Peter was beginning to learn as he sunk into the depths of the troubled sea.

Now let’s take a look at how this fits within the Christmas story. Turn with me now to Luke chapter 1. Next Slide

Luke 1 Page 1088 in the pew Bibles.

(Read verses 26-30)

When Luke writes that this took place in the 6th month, he is referring to the 6 month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist, that we looked at last Sunday.

Now I don’t want to completely destroy your story book image of Christmas, but.....well ok, maybe I do…

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Wouldn’t you say this is a pretty common modern day manger scene for us? Most of the manger scene Christmas cards you will receive this year will have a lot of similarities with what we see in this picture. Kind of a serene tranquil scene, and of course baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph all have halo’s, I mean that is pretty much a given in manger scenes. And notice Mary, probably mid to late 20’s and Joseph, late 20’s early 30’s, and I’m not sure you noticed or not, but it appears Jesus was born as a toddler! We just love pictures like this don’t we? The problem is, historically it’s not accurate.

When Gabriel appeared to Mary, she was most likely between the ages of 12-14. We are not certain on Joseph, but he was most likely in his late 20’s. And neither of them had halo’s. Now perhaps you’re wondering why these things are important.

Our tendency when we think through the birth of Christ, the manger scene and all that led up to it is, we put all the players in an almost extra human category. What I mean by that is, they’re not like us. They don’t know our pains, our struggles, our storms. They were special, and by special, I don’t mean they were special because of the record of them in Scripture, no, they’re just special.

What I want for us today, is for us to view this remarkable story with a different set of lenses. Not the rose colored lenses of religiosity, but the every day lenses of reality. What we need to understand is, these were normal people like you and me. They had struggles, they experienced heart ache and despair.

Can I ask you to picture something in your mind for a moment? Not with the rose colored lenses I mentioned earlier, but with the lenses of reality. Picture in your mind a girl between 12-14.

Now for the next picture, you’re going to have to imagine a different culture, cultures like the one in the Biblical account. Picture that 12-14 year old girl was recently engaged. The engagement period generally lasted a year or more, and during that period she was to show her devotion to her future husband by living a life of purity and love.

The next thing I want you to picture is a young man, very possibly in his late 20’s. He already had a career. His job during this year is to set up a home for the 2 of them. For Joseph, well that wasn’t going to be too difficult, he was a carpenter, he was good with his hands, had all the right tools.

Most people thought well of both of them, both were hard working and people could just picture them being a great couple.

The next thing I want you to picture is this young girl alone in her parents home, probably just doing her daily chores, and suddenly an angel of God appears.

To say the least, she was startled by his presence, but he reassured her that she had nothing to fear from his presence. He goes on to tell her:

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Luke 1:31–33 ESV

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Now when we look at this story through our religious lenses, the ones that have heard this story too many times to count, we tend to discount what is happening here.

Keep in mind that as far as Mary knows at this point in the story, no one in Israel has heard from God in over 400 years. It wasn’t until a few verses later that Gabriel tells her that God had broken those years of silence 6 months earlier to her relatives Zechariah and Elizabeth. So here she is at 12-14 and God chose to break the 400 years of silence to her, not one of the religious leaders, not to a priest or any of the other respected MALE leaders of the day, and oh yeah, not to someone in the Temple in Jerusalem!

Oh, and did I mention what he told her when he broke that 400 years of silence? Mary, you’re pregnant!

It’s not surprising that Mary responded:

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Luke 1:34 ESV

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

In response Gabriel said: Next Slide

Luke 1:35 ESV

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Again, through our religious lenses this all makes sense, but the reality of what Gabriel told Mary that day was going to rock her world. How was she going to break this story to her parents? How was she going to break this story to Joseph? Can you picture the dinner table that night?

How was your day today Mary?

Oh, well it was a little strange to be honest. An angel of God appeared to me and told me I was pregnant, but don’t worry, I’m still a virgin, oh, and the child I am carrying was placed inside me by God and He is going to be the long awaited Messiah. Could you please pass the gravy?

Wow, that is a strange day! Did you want the white gravy or the brown gravy?

Ok, so maybe it didn’t go down like that, but I imagine her first conversation with her parents was very difficult. I mean, put yourself in the shoes of her parents, what would you think?

As far as Joseph, I’d say he was saddened, broken hearted and probably quite angered. What an absurd story! What we do know is that he sought to end the relationship quietly, and would have, had not an angel of God appeared to him. Next Slides

Matthew 1:19-23

Matthew 1:19–21 ESV

19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

With the reassurance from the angel, Joseph decided to travel this very difficult road alongside Mary. Oh, and by the way, this was going to be a very difficult road for both of them. While previously they may both haver been thought of highly in the community, that all changed when people started to notice the baby bump. As far as I know no one outside of Zechariah and Elizabeth believed their story about Mary’s pregnancy. They were likely looked down on by everyone, likely shunned, talked about, Joseph most likely lost jobs because of it. Yet they continued to trust in God through it all.

The question is why? Why did they trust God through it all? Why did they trust God even though they were shunned, ridiculed, even hated by people they knew well. I believe that one of the reasons is what took place at the end of the dream in which the angel appeared to Joseph. Joseph’s dream ended in Matthew 1:22-23 Next Slide

Matthew 1:22–23 ESV

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

So what was it that reassured them? Well I believe it was the name given to Joseph. Next Slide

“and they shall call His name Immanuel (which means, God with us).

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Joseph and Mary were able to have peace, even in the midst of some pretty significant storms of life, because they knew that at every moment, the God of the Universe was with them.

So what is the application for us today?

You know in order for Joseph and Mary to experience Peace in the midst of the storms of life, they both had to get rid of anything in life that took their focus off of the God they both loved. For them that meant they had to take their focus off of their circumstances and instead focus on Him. Next Slide

To experience the peace of God we have to stop focusing on the storms and start focusing on Immanuel, God with us.

If you continue to focus on the storms or circumstance in your life, you will never really have the peace of God, you will be like Peter when he took his eyes off of Jesus when he was walking on the water.

Remember the verses from Isaiah we looked at earlier?

Isaiah 26:3–4 ESV

3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Peace from God comes when our focus is on Him, even in the midst of the storms of life, and don’t forget, that doesn’t mean the storms go away, for Joseph and Mary, the storms were going to intensify, but God was with them every step of the way.

The next thing that Joseph and Mary had to do was to release control of their lives to the Lord. Without that release, they couldn’t experience God’s perfect peace. But that release was no easy task.

It meant they couldn’t lash back at their accusers, even though their accusers were wrong and they were right.

It meant they couldn’t return the hateful stares.

To release control of their lives to God meant that they simply had to trust Him and place their lives in His Hands.

So the next application is this, we have to

To experience the peace of God we have to release control of our lives to Immanuel, God with us.

And like Joseph and Mary, To release control of our lives to God, means we simply have to trust Him and place our lives in His Hands.

So church family, as we travel this Advent season together, this Christmas season together, let’s keep our focus on Immanuel, God with us, and release the control of our lives to Him, only then can we have lasting Peace with God.