The Angel's Song of Peace

Our greatest need: peace … shalom

The ancient Hebrew concept of peace, rooted in the word "shalom," meant wholeness, completeness, soundness, health, safety and prosperity, carrying with it the implication of permanence.

Peace! Peace! Peace! Everybody's for it. Nobody is against it. But what is that very elusive quality we call peace? For it means different things to different people.

Peace is what those who follow Eastern religions say comes only through the obliteration of the individual personality; becoming a part of the universe with no awareness of self. But they really mean serenity.Peace is what the elderly neighbor wants when the teenager across the street is practicing on his drums. She really wants quiet.Peace is what the shopkeeper wants when he's worried about paying his bills. He really means that he'd like his store to be busy and bustling with customers. Peace to him means prosperity.The patient waiting anxiously in the doctor's office to be told the results of a battery of lab tests wants peace. He really means good health.

When we don't have what we think we should have, we say we need peace!

Therefore, "peace" is oftentimes defined as the condition of life that should be. But who has the right to determine what should or shouldn't be? If all of us could get the kind of peace we wanted, it would be an imposed peace. It would be peace at the expense of someone else's dream of what peace should be. Peace cannot be determined by our own biased viewpoints or selfish needs. Nor can our standard for peace be set by the norms of our turbulent society. So where can we look, if not to ourselves or society? How do we set up criteria for defining "peace?"

Rabbi Robert I. Kahn of Houston, Texas, capsulizes the distinctives of "Roman" peace and "Hebrew" shalom:

One can dictate a peace; shalom is a mutual agreement. Peace is a temporary pact; shalom is a permanent agreement. One can make a peace treaty; shalom is the condition of peace. Peace can be negative, the absence of commotion. Shalom is positive, the presence of serenity. Peace can be partial; shalom is whole. Peace can be piecemeal; shalom is complete.

Adam and Eve were at peace with God and all He created. Their needs were supplied. They did not suffer hunger, disease or pain of any kind. Beauty surrounded them so that they could experience and enjoy it. They weren't lonely, for they had each other, and more importantly, they had an intimate relationship with their Creator. If any people ever experienced peace, it was Adam and Eve. The condition of peace existed in the garden only as long as they were obedient to God's will. Unfortunately, they disobeyed and the shalom of God was lost for them.

For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named...Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Glory to God in the highest heaven,and peace on earth to people he favors! Luke 2:14

The gift of peace

The first Christmas...a little messy Luke 2:1-7

● Messy time, people and place

● God shows up in the mess

God’s gift of peace Luke 2:8-15

● Peace with God is available

Alienated from God

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned. Romans 5:12

Cost of peace:

Humility “This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:12

Sacrifice

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son...will we be saved by his life. Romans 5:1,10

Have you made peace with God? (the single most important question of life)

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9-10

● Personal peace is possible...humility and sacrifice

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.” John 14:27

● Living as peacemakers...humility and sacrifice

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9

Living in peace

And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15

Peace, lasting peace, transcends the situations and flaws of our own personal lives because it doesn't come from us. It comes from God. We are not in a position to attain peace ourselves. Yet, God promises all the qualities of shalom – wholeness, completeness, soundness, health, safety – to those who will look to Him.

The prophet Isaiah wrote, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal" (Isaiah 26:3–4). Trusting in God means recognizing Him and giving Him His rightful place in our lives. We must also accept the agent of peace He has provided. Isaiah wrote of the Messiah who was to come:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." (Isaiah 9:6–7)

How was the Messiah to bring peace? Isaiah explains further in the 53rd chapter:

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4–5)

Remember what we celebrate at Christmas “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:24 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:25