Peace…strength to hold on
Many of our Christmas songs have something in common, let’s see if we can find it in these samples of lyrics– “peace on the earth good will to all, prince of peace”, “sleep in heavenly peace”, “peace on earth and mercy mild”, “with peaceful wings unfurled”, “peace! peace! Jesus Christ was born to save”, and “wild and sweet the words repeat of peace on earth” are we seeing a theme here? Yeah, many of our Christmas songs tote peace - and that’s just the Christian ones. Sometimes during this hectic season we feel anything but peace.
This time of year seems more tension filled instead of peaceful. We feel unsettled about things. The “musts” of the season usurp our normal routines and we often feel out of control. There are so many expectations and emotional triggers in this season. From all the “have to’s” of the season that we put on ourselves or allow others to put on us – things like we have to have a Christmas gathering, and it has to be perfectly decorated for, perfectly cooked and perfectly hosted, we have to get so and so such and such a gift, we have to make sure uncle Sam does not sit by Uncle Ed or there will be fireworks, but that means we have to rearrange the rest of the seating we thought we had worked out, and we have to have this or that food cooked perfectly and the table set just so for Christmas; to the anxiety that is produced in us in this season, things like are we going home or not and if we do how will we survive it and if we don’t how will we live it down, family quarrels that seem to be magnified because of the tension already inherent in the holiday, being alone for the holidays or going through the holidays for the first time with that empty seat at the table, to putting financial or emotional stress on ourselves – peace you say?
This scripture this morning begs us to put things into perspective, which is easier said than done sometimes. We need to keep what I call an “eternal perspective” in our lives, instead of a temporal or circumstantial one, especially when they are in the midst of turmoil. Does not deny the turmoil or its impact on our lives, but acknowledges the temporariness of it – even if it goes on for the rest of our lives, that is a drop in the bucket next to eternity! Even more than that, keeping an eternal perspective affirms the continual presence and ability or the prince of peace in our lives.
When we allow the prince of peace to rule our lives, John the Baptist tells us that he will make a clean sweep of our lives, changing us from the inside out. And that’s where some of the tension comes in. The whole place is clean to the casual observer, but when someone comes in and puts the white glove to it, or sticks the broom under the bed or dusts the corners, not so much. We like our little dusty corners – the habits we enjoy even though they destroy our bodies or minds or spirits or relationships, the petty grievances we hold on to for so long, the hurts we nurse that keep us immobilized, perhaps in fear, the self sufficiency that relies on self above God and all the ways that works out in our lives, the secret sins that we do not want to acknowledge, let alone give up. The Holy spirit trying to come in and mess with all these kinds of things and really clean house as our friend John suggests, gets us kind of worried and tense. Yet in doing that, in keeping our focus on God, that is where we find the peace our hearts long for. This peace that seems so allusive to us, so distant at times, really exists within Kingdom life, but we don’t have to wait for that life as if it were a distant dream. This peace can be manifested in our lives and in the world when we put into practice the way of peace. When we put into practice the way of peace, we will find peace with God, peace with others, and peace in our actions – from home to our life together with friends, family, associates, and far beyond. We will experience a deep, abiding sense within that we know our purpose and that by God’s grace we will live into God’s dream for us. It starts with pausing in the midst of the cacophony and chaos that surrounds us and focusing on Christ. We have a popular saying in most churches, which I’ve heard a good bit in the Methodist church lately. Trying to keep ourselves and our lives and our churches focused and going in the right direction, we often say we need to always, “keep the main thing the main thing.” But that’s not exactly true. There’s one slight problem with that idea, as good as it is: I submit that for the Christian, for God’s church, the main thing is not a thing! The main thing is actually a person. So kingdom life – this place where we can have true peace in the midst of chaos in our lives and world - exists when we keep the main character the main focus. It seems natural around Christmas that Jesus would be central, yet so often we lose that focus in preparing for the holidays.
How can we keep Jesus the main character in Christmas, and thus facilitate this peace in our hearts? One way is to imagine you are a stage hand for Jesus, kind of like how John the Baptist thought of himself. Your role is to point to him. I remember in seminary, my friend and roommate had a dream of doing a dramatic production of C.S. Lewis’ “The Great Divorce”. I was excited about this and wanted to be a part of helping make that dream of hers a reality. So when the drama professor ok’d it, and she began holding auditions for the play, I tried out for it of course. The after a few days, the play was cast and we got the results of who got what part etc. and it turned out I didn’t make the cast. I was so disappointed
I saw it as a disappointment, but really because I was working backstage and not in the play, I got to be an even bigger part of making her dream a reality, because my job was to do everything possible to see that things went smoothly behind the scenes, to create excitement in the school and community about this play so that it was a success. In other word, I got to do whatever I could to make her shine and her production a success. And that is how it is with our life in Christ. As followers of Jesus, we may feel sidelines sometimes, especially when we face disappointments or struggles, when things seem to be out of control and don’t go the way we think they ought to, when things cause chaos and division around us. But it is in those very spots that we get to be the best witness. We get to elevate Jesus, to point people to Jesus. Our lives set the stage for Christ to be honored, even in those times when peace seems so far away. So think about it, see your life right now – struggles, joys, problems, successes, trials, failures and all as the canvass for God’s creative work. Your role is to set things up for Jesus to be seen, heard, and experienced. What will you do? How will you focus the spotlight? How will you elevate Jesus? What kind of mood will you create so Jesus is best received? In other words, if you were to live as Jesus’ stagehands, how would we build a “set” for peace? How would we live our lives as part of that “set”? That’s what we do in worship, essentially. We set the stage for Christ to be honored. We can extend this mentality into our daily lives. The more we focus on Jesus, the more peace we will find. The song” turn your eyes Upon Jesus eloquently points to this truth (sing?) “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace. Reordering our lives with that focus in preparation for Christmas and the coming year should include intention for those things that make us both receivers and givers of peace. So I want to share with you some ways you can put this into practice, and respond to God’s message to you today.
First, think of one particular situation where you desire peace within your own life or elsewhere. Prayerfully ask God to guide you in doing something this week to strive for peace. It might be writing a letter to someone from whom you’ve been separated, or at odds with lately or it might be writing a letter to a congress person about an injustice. As you become a peacemaker you will find peace, even if the outward situation remains the same. That’s one concrete way you can be strengthened by opening your life up to God’s peace. Secondly, it is true that sometimes inner peace can be found through outward action, so practice peace this week: when you hear gossip, offer a good word; when you see brokenness, do what you can to bring healing; where you find sickness and death, offer a moment of life’s joy, even if it is in a funny moment, or noticing the small things that bring joy; If relationships in your life are tumultuous, do what you can to bring about peace, you can’t change the other person, but you can know you did what you could to bring healing; pray that your enemies be blessed. Another thing you can do to bring God’s peace into situations is just to listen. People need to feel heard, to know they are not alone in their suffering to find peace. Infuse all your conversations this week with God’s grace, letting the hope and peace of Christ assure you that no matter what the situation, peace can prevail. This season may you find peace by trusting that God knows your deepest need and cares.
You know, we do what we call the passing of the peace every Sunday, but often for us and other congregations, passing of the peace has turned into a meet and greet experience. Today we want passing of God’s peace to go further than that. You may not realize it, but the passing of the peace is a physical representation of God’s grace that we have received and do not deserve, passed on to others. This is a sacred process. God’s peace going to another through you. So today, in the passing of the peace, I want us to do it differently, more representatively of what it means. I want you to turn to one another and pass the peace of Christ with an embrace or a handshake, using words like “The peace of Christ be with you”, or “Peace be with you”, or “you are loved”, or “I love you” or “may God’s peace surround you” etc. instead of “welcome,” “good to see you” “how are you” “missed you last week” etc. that we generally say so we will be conduits of God’s peace to one another. Let us now turn to one another and exchange signs of God’s grace and peace.
