Peace on Earth

In 1996, a three-year-old boy fell nearly twenty feet into the gorilla enclosure that was home to seven gorillas at Brookfield Zoo, just outside of Chicago. An eight-year-old female gorilla (with her own seventeen-month-old baby on her back) rushed over to the unconscious boy, gingerly picked him up, cradled him for several minutes, and then carried him to a service entrance so rescuers could reach him. Amazingly, the child suffered only minor injuries. One of the many spectators captured dramatic video of the rescue, this moment of peace on earth.

2. Peace on Earth: Back to Reality.

December 8, 2019

Isaiah captures a moment of peace on earth as well. Well, the prophet Isaiah. Animals that would normally eat each other are now relaxing and eating together. A leopard stretches out and takes a nap next to a goat rather than crouching to attack. A wolf and a lamb are the two are best buddies, playing together. “Lions and tigers and bears”, oh my! They’ll eat grass and nap in a pasture with a bunch of cows, and not one cow will get nervous about the arrangement.

Isaiah captures a moment of peace. Animals that would normally eat each other are now relaxing and eating together. A leopard stretches out and takes a nap next to a goat rather than crouching to attack. A wolf and a lamb are the two are best buddies, playing together. “Lions and tigers and bears”, oh my! They’ll eat grass and nap in a pasture with a bunch of cows, and not one cow will get nervous about the arrangement.

3. Peace on Earth: Back to the True Beginning.

And a child, perhaps no older than a baby crawling, will find a snake to play with, laughing at the sound of the rattle it makes. And the snake is not warning the little one to stay away, but simply enjoying the laughter and company of the child.

4. Peace on Earth: Back to the Church.

The weakest and most vulnerable will be safe and secure. No one will get hurt. No one will be in harm’s way. No more injustice. No more enemies. No more war. Just living together in harmony and peace.

Sermon

Of course, that’s not the way it is on earth right now. Animals do not play nicely together. A wolf preys on the weak. Oh my, most animals need to be afraid of lions, tigers, and bears. A snake bite can kill.

1. Peace on Earth: Back to Eden.

Rev. Daniel Eggold

Terrorism won’t go away. Innocent people are killed. There are wars and rumors of wars. Environmental disaster threaten our future. And inside, in our hearts and minds, peace eludes us. In families, we have abuse and divorce. In school, we have shooting and violence. Turn on the new and you will hear it from every direction: fear, worry and doubt. No one seems safe and secure anymore.

A few years ago, a television commercial wonderfully pictured peace on earth. A dog enters a room, walks past a fireplace, and plops down on the floor. Next a cat comes in, walks over to the dog, rubs faces with the dog, and lies down. Then a mouse scurries in and lies down next to the cat. Finally, a little girl, about five years old, looks through the door and smiles at the three animals lying side by side by side. The last scene is of the three animals looking up at a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, and the words Peace on Earth appear on the screen to Christmas music. No one is afraid. No one attacks. Just resting together before the Christmas tree. Peace on earth.

In Isaiah’s picture, a little child plays with a snake without fear, but in the world we live in, peace on earth seems as far away as angels singing a couple thousand years ago to shepherds on a lonely hillside, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace” ().

Isaiah pictures peace on earth as well. Animals that would normally eat each other are now relaxing and eating together. A leopard stretches out and takes a nap next to a goat rather than crouching to attack. A wolf no longer snarls and prowls around a lamb, but the two are best buddies, playing together. You won’t hear “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” anymore. They’ll eat grass and nap in a pasture with a bunch of cows, and not one cow will get nervous about the arrangement. Natural enemies in the animal world will become friends, living in perfect harmony. A child, perhaps no older than a baby crawling, will find a snake to play with, laughing at the sound of the rattle it makes. And the snake is not warning the little one to stay away, but simply enjoying the laughter and company of the child. No harm, no danger, no threat, even from a poisonous snake.

Second Sunday In Advent

And yet, that angelic song, sung at the birth of Jesus, to start somewhere. Isaiah’s prophecy, written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, described the Messiah’s arrival as a shoot out of a stump. The nation of Judah was almost destroyed. Its rebellion against God had led to foreign nations taking it over and sending the people into exile. It looked dead, like a stump. But God had promised that a Messiah would come one day, and he would be called the Prince of Peace.

Peace on earth. The picture is beautiful. The weakest and most vulnerable will be safe and secure. No one will get hurt. No one will be in harm’s way. No more injustice. No more enemies. No more war. Just living together in harmony and peace.

This Prince of Peace would have the wisdom and counsel, the knowledge and might, to bring true peace. Isaiah says his delight is the fear of the Lord. Not frightened fear like a lamb before a wolf, but reverence and total submission to his Father’s will. Every breath he takes is to do just what the heavenly Father has sent him to do.

What was he sent to do? He was sent to bring peace. He was sent to bring justice. He came in all faithfulness to do what was right for us, for all creation—to make peace between God and us. His wisdom and counsel was a cross. His death would take care of whatever anger and hostility God had against us because of our sin and rebellion.

Of course, that’s not the way it is on earth right now. Animals do not play nicely together. A wolf preys on the weak. Oh my, most animals need to be afraid of lions, tigers, and bears. A snake bite can kill. We watch television programs with titles such as “Extreme Animals.”

Isaiah pictures peace on earth as well. Well, the prophet Isaiah. Animals that would normally eat each other are now relaxing and eating together. A leopard stretches out and takes a nap next to a goat rather than crouching to attack. A wolf and a lamb are the two are best buddies, playing together. “Lions and tigers and bears”, oh my! They’ll eat grass and nap in a pasture with a bunch of cows, and not one cow will get nervous about the arrangement. Natural enemies in the animal world will become friends, living in perfect harmony.

And then came that day where peace flowed from Jesus to his first followers. He rose from the dead. The violence done to him was undone. On that first Easter, the disciples were huddled in a locked room, afraid for their lives. Then the frightened disciples saw him alive and standing in their midst. He greets them by saying a powerful word ():

I know someone who raises a few chickens, about twenty or so. She takes good care of them and has them fenced in, so they are protected and stay put. However, one night a raccoon got into the chicken coop. Now, many people think raccoons have such cute faces and would make nice pets. But don’t be fooled. Raccoons are mean. This raccoon did not kill just one chicken for food. It killed them all, just to kill them. No peace on earth that night.

Grace Lutheran Church

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

But it’s not just the animal world where peace on earth seems missing in action. Terrorism won’t go away, car bombs go off, and innocent people are killed. Street crime takes lives of teenagers or even younger children. Drug deals and gang violence scare us out of the cities. No peace in those places.

With that, the true peace that Jesus brought into the world began to spread. The disciples took it wherever they went, fulfilling of Isaiah’s prophecy.

And inside, in our hearts and minds, peace eludes us as we listen to the news and see an economy in free fall. Retirement funds shrink. Jobs disappear. No one seems safe and secure anymore.

Peace on Earth

Jesus is the shoot that comes out of the stump, and He sprouts branches and leaves wherever his followers might be. No matter what year or what city, those who are a part of his Church are called to bring peace into this world of hurt and fear.

In Isaiah’s picture, a little child plays with a snake without fear, but in the world we live in, peace on earth seems as far away as angels singing a couple thousand years ago to shepherds on a lonely hillside, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace” ().

During the 2008 presidential race, John McCain was asked by Time magazine to share his “personal journey of faith.” In response he told a story from his experiences in a North Vietnamese prison camp during the Vietnam War. He tells how he would often be tied with ropes that pulled his head down between his knees. Sheer torture. Often, he was left that way the entire night.

Then one particular night a guard came to him, and without saying a word loosened the ropes. In the morning, before anyone knew, he returned and tightened the ropes again. No one else was aware of what had happened, but McCain was deeply grateful for his night of relief.

And yet, that angelic song, sung at the birth of Jesus, has it right. True peace on earth has to start somewhere, and in Bethlehem, long ago, true peace arrived as a little child, born so humble and vulnerable.

The two men never exchanged a word, but some weeks later, on Christmas Day, the same guard came to him in the courtyard of the camp. Again, he said nothing, nor did he look McCain in the eye, but with his foot he drew a cross in the dirt. The two men looked down at that cross, a wordless conversation that said everything.

Isaiah’s prophecy, written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, described his arrival as a shoot out of a stump. The nation of Judah was almost destroyed. Its rebellion against God had led to foreign nations taking it over and sending the people into exile. It looked dead, like a stump. But God had promised that a Messiah would come one day, and he would be called the Prince of Peace.

Lafayette, Indiana

Our eyes do not yet see the wolf dwell with the lamb (), but the little Child who came at Christmas has brought with him a whole new age. For now, the peace of this messianic age is often yet in hiddenness.

However, in this prophecy, the glory of King David is not mentioned. The time when Israel is at the pinnacle of power and prestige is not the heart of the message. No, Isaiah goes back to David’s early family, when he is a part of a little-known family of shepherds. King David’s father, Jesse, is named to show that the promised Savior of the nations would be born in humble surroundings. And he was. Mary and Joseph are not famous: a carpenter and his wife—simple working-class folk. Jesus is born in a manger, not a palace. He is raised in a small town among fishermen and other hard-working people, not in a capital city.

In 1996 a three-year-old boy fell nearly twenty feet into the gorilla enclosure that was home to seven gorillas at Brookfield Zoo, just outside of Chicago. Binti Jua, an eight-year-old female gorilla (with her own seventeen-month-old baby on her back) rushed over to the unconscious boy, gingerly picked him up, cradled him for several minutes, and then carried him to a service entrance so rescuers could reach him. The child, who was never publicly identified, suffered only minor injuries. One of the many spectators who looked on in horror captured dramatic video of the rescue.

But do you see how it works? One disciple brings Jesus’ peace to someone or someplace that desperately needs peace—not necessarily by taking away the pain or violence, but by bringing Jesus.

Yet he is the shoot out of that stump who will bring peace on earth. He has the wisdom and counsel, the knowledge and might, to bring true peace. Isaiah says his delight is the fear of the Lord. Not frightened fear like a lamb before a wolf, but reverence and total submission to his Father’s will. Every breath he takes is to do just what the heavenly Father has sent him to do.

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Who would think that something like that could happen?

Where can you bring Christ into this world?

What was he sent to do? He was sent to bring peace. He was sent to bring justice. He came in all faithfulness to do what was right for us, for all creation.

Well, the prophet Isaiah. Animals that would normally eat each other are now relaxing and eating together. A leopard stretches out and takes a nap next to a goat rather than crouching to attack. A wolf no longer snarls and prowls around a lamb, but the two are best buddies, playing together.

A visit, a meal, a prayer brought to a home that has been shattered by crime?

What was right was to make peace between God and us. God’s wisdom and counsel was a cross. His death would take care of whatever anger and hostility God had against us because of our sin and rebellion. We call it forgiveness, but we can also call it peace. Listen to how Paul describes it: “For in him [Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (). Did you catch what all is included? All things—animals and people alike are included in God’s wise plan to bring peace to this scary world, where violence and hate destroy the peace we so desire.

And “lions and tigers and bears”, oh my! They’ll eat grass and nap in a pasture with a bunch of cows, and not one cow will get nervous about the arrangement. Natural enemies in the animal world will become friends, living in perfect harmony.

A contribution to a Christian organization that provides a safe haven for abused children or battered women or a crisis pregnancy center?

And then came that day where peace flowed from Jesus to his first followers. He rose from the dead. The violence done to him was undone. On that first Easter, the disciples were huddled in a locked room, afraid for their lives. Then the frightened disciples saw him alive and standing in their midst. He greets them by saying a powerful word, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (). With that, the true peace that Jesus brought into the world began to spread into the world. The disciples took it wherever they went in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (v 10).

And a child, perhaps no older than a baby crawling, will find a snake to play with, laughing at the sound of the rattle it makes. And the snake is not warning the little one to stay away, but simply enjoying the laughter and company of the child.

A bag of groceries to a food pantry with a greeting of “God bless you” for the work done to feed the hungry?

The weakest and most vulnerable will be safe and secure. No one will get hurt. No one will be in harm’s way. No more injustice. No more enemies. No more war. Just living together in harmony and peace.

A word of encouragement and a helping hand for someone struggling in tough financial times?

But don’t stop with the disciples. Jesus is the shoot that comes out of the stump. He sprouts branches and leaves wherever his followers might be. No matter what year or what city, those who claim to be a part of his Church are called to bring peace into this world of hurt and fear.

Of course, that’s not the way it is on earth right now. Animals do not play nicely together. A wolf preys on the weak. Oh my, most animals need to be afraid of lions, tigers, and bears. A snake bite can kill.

A visit to the hospital or nursing home to read a devotion from the Bible or Portals of Prayer to someone who is lonely and scared?

During the 2008 presidential race, John McCain was asked by Time magazine to share his “personal journey of faith.” In response he told a story from his experiences in a North Vietnamese prison camp during the Vietnam War. He tells how he would often be tied with ropes that pulled his head down between his knees. Sheer torture. Often he was left that way the entire night.

Terrorism won’t go away. Bombs go off, and innocent people are killed. Street crime takes lives of teenagers or even younger children. Drug deals and gang violence scare us out of the cities. No peace in those places.

Support for laws that protect animals and the Humane Society that cares for God’s wonderful creation, because the animals, too, will share in the peace that Jesus will bring on the Last Day when he creates a new heaven and earth?

Support for organizations like the Humane Society that cares for God’s wonderful creation, because the animals, too, will share in the peace that Jesus will bring on the Last Day when he creates a new heaven and earth?

Then one particular night a guard came to him, and without saying a word loosened the ropes. In the morning, before anyone knew, he returned and tightened the ropes again. No one else was aware of what had happened, but McCain was deeply grateful for his night of relief.

The two men never exchanged a word, but some weeks later, on Christmas Day, the same guard came to him in the courtyard of the camp. Again, he said nothing, nor did he look McCain in the eye, but with his foot he drew a cross in the dirt. The two men looked down at that cross, a wordless conversation that said everything.

Our eyes do not yet see the wolf dwell with the lamb (), but the little Child who came at Christmas has brought with him a whole new age. For now, the peace of this messianic age is often yet in hiddenness.

Do you see how it works? One disciple brings Jesus’ peace to someone or someplace that desperately needs peace—not necessarily by taking away the pain or violence, but by bringing Jesus.

And inside, in our hearts and minds, peace eludes us as we listen to the news and see an economy in free fall. Retirement funds shrink. Jobs disappear. No one seems safe and secure anymore.

Yes, the Last Day is when Isaiah’s prophecy will be completely fulfilled. On that Last Day, animals will lie down together in peace and harmony. The world will be right again. No more hurt or violence or wars. Peace on earth.

Where can you bring peace into this world?

In Isaiah’s picture, a little child plays with a snake without fear, but in the world we live in, peace on earth seems as far away as angels singing a couple thousand years ago to shepherds on a lonely hillside, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace” ().

But until then, we are the branches and leaves that grow out of this shoot called Jesus. We are the instruments of peace for the Prince of Peace. So humble, so small, usually with no fanfare, what we do can bring Jesus to a world so desperate for peace.

But until then, we are the branches and leaves that grow out of this shoot called Jesus. We are the instruments of peace for the Prince of Peace. So humble, so small, usually with no fanfare, what we do can bring Jesus to a world so desperate for peace. So, go in His Name. Amen.

A visit, a meal, a prayer brought to a home that has been shattered by crime?

And yet, that angelic song, sung at the birth of Jesus, to start somewhere, and in Bethlehem, long ago, true peace arrived as a little child, born so humble and vulnerable.

A contribution to a Christian organization that provides a safe haven for abused children or battered women or an alternative to abortion?

Isaiah’s prophecy, written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, described Christ’s arrival as a shoot out of a stump. The nation of Judah was almost destroyed. Its rebellion against God had led to foreign nations taking it over and sending the people into exile. It looked dead, like a stump. But God had promised that a Messiah would come one day, and he would be called the Prince of Peace.

A bag of groceries to a food pantry with a greeting of “God bless you” for the work done to feed the hungry?

However, in this prophecy, the glory of King David is not mentioned. The time when Israel is at the pinnacle of power and prestige is not the heart of the message. No, Isaiah goes back to David’s early family, when he is a part of a little-known family of shepherds. King David’s father, Jesse, is named to show that the promised Savior of the nations would be born in humble surroundings. And he was. Mary and Joseph are not famous: a carpenter and his wife—simple working-class folk. Jesus is born in a manger, not a palace. He is raised in a small town among fishermen and other hard-working people, not in a capital city.

A word of encouragement and a helping hand for someone struggling in these tough financial times?

Yet he is the shoot out of that stump who will bring peace on earth. He has the wisdom and counsel, the knowledge and might, to bring true peace. Isaiah says his delight is the fear of the Lord. Not frightened fear like a lamb before a wolf, but reverence and total submission to his Father’s will. Every breath he takes is to do just what the heavenly Father has sent him to do.

A visit to the hospital or nursing home to read a devotion from the Bible or Portals of Prayer to someone who is lonely and scared?

What was he sent to do? He was sent to bring peace. He was sent to bring justice. He came in all faithfulness to do what was right for us, for all creation.

Support for laws that protect animals and the Humane Society that cares for God’s wonderful creation, because the animals, too, will share in the peace that Jesus will bring on the Last Day when he creates a new heaven and earth?

What was right was to make peace between God and us. God’s wisdom and counsel was a cross. His death would take care of whatever anger and hostility God had against us because of our sin and rebellion. We call it forgiveness, but we can also call it peace. Listen to how Paul describes it ():

Colossians 1:19–20 ESV

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Did you catch what all is included? All things—animals and people alike are included in God’s wise plan to bring peace to this scary world, where violence and hate destroy the peace we so desire.

And then came that day where peace flowed from Jesus to his first followers. He rose from the dead. The violence done to him was undone. On that first Easter, the disciples were huddled in a locked room, afraid for their lives. Then the frightened disciples saw him alive and standing in their midst. He greets them by saying a powerful word ():

4.

John 20:21 ESV

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

4.

With that, the true peace that Jesus brought into the world began to spread into the world. The disciples took it wherever they went in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.

But don’t stop with the disciples. Did you catch what all is included? All things—animals and people alike are included in God’s wise plan to bring peace to this scary world, where violence and hate destroy the peace we so desire.

But don’t stop with the disciples. Jesus is the shoot that comes out of the stump, and He sprouts branches and leaves wherever his followers might be. No matter what year or what city, those who claim to be a part of his Church are called to bring peace into this world of hurt and fear.

Yes, the Last Day is when Isaiah’s prophecy will be completely fulfilled. On that Last Day, animals will lie down together in peace and harmony. The world will be right again. No more hurt or violence or wars. Peace on earth.

Jesus is the shoot that comes out of the stump. He sprouts branches and leaves wherever his followers might be. No matter what year or what city, those who claim to be a part of his Church are called to bring peace into this world of hurt and fear.

But until then, we are the branches and leaves that grow out of this shoot called Jesus. We are the instruments of peace for the Prince of Peace. So humble, so small, usually with no fanfare, what we do can bring Jesus’ peace to a world so desperate for peace.