When Jesus Comes, Peace

It’s a bit audacious to talk about peace, even on Christmas day, here in the year 2005, or any year, for that matter. Internationally, we have 160,000 of our troops stationed in Iraq, in harm’s way and far away from home, for Christmas this year. And the protests by the Sunnis against the recent Parliamentary elections there make it clear that there is still going to be no easy exit for us. Although I think we still have a good chance of leaving a stable government there some day.

The World Trade Organization had another meeting last week, attacked by demonstrators for what they see as economic disasters brought to their home towns by world trade. The global economy has given us Wal-marts and K-Marts full of very cheap imports, but while we enjoy the bonanza of bargains, we need to remember the working conditions of the desperately poor people who produce those products.

Here in the United States, transit workers in New York were on strike just last week, causing terrible disruption of our largest city, but also reflecting deep tensions in most every sector of our economy, tensions that stress many, many people and not just New Yorkers. Employers everywhere are pinched. Workers are stressed out and fearful about their futures.

The tranquilizer Prozac brought in 2.6 billion dollars in the last year before cheaper generics versions came out. That says that there are a lot of individuals out there whose hearts are anxious and overstressed for all sorts of reasons.

Probably most of us could add stories of the stresses of the past few weeks trying to juggle all the expectations of the Christmas season on top of the normal routines and family challenges of modern life. I’m sure that even making it to church on Christmas day was a battle for some of us. And I appreciate that you are here.

But here we are, gathered together to express our faith in Jesus Christ, who was called “Prince of Peace” centuries ago. And we are here, not to moan about the problems of the world, but to celebrate his birth. We have tasted for ourselves what happens when he comes into our lives. Jesus Christ gives us peace with God. He teaches us to live in peace with one another. He empowers us and pushes us to work to bring peace among others throughout the world. He is the Prince of Peace. Nobody else can do what he does.

Headline News ran a report this week about a woman who had an inflatable Grinch in her front yard and came home to find that someone had deflated it and was about to steal it. She chased him. He threw it at her and drove off.

And then she said to the reporter, ‘Whatever happened to the true spirit of Christmas?’

The Grinch is a fun story about a cold-hearted creature who gets his heart warmed and softened. And the story gives us a warm feeling inside that might even last through the first two commercials that come on after its showing. But the world needs someone stronger than that. The world needs Jesus Christ. We find the true spirit of Christmas in Jesus Christ. There is no substitute.

The new movie, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” starts out with the imaginary land of Narnia caught in perpetual gloom, where it is always winter, but never Christmas. An evil witch has taken over and is terrorizing all the creatures of Narnia. But there are still those who remember the rightful lord of Narnia, Aslan, the great lion, who hadn’t been seen in years. But then Aslan returns to Narnia. The springtime breaks out. The river thaws. Hope rises among the creatures. The witch is defeated and peace returns to Narnia. C.S. Lewis wrote the story in an attempt to imagine what would happen if Jesus had come into a world very different from ours. Jesus brings peace.

I hope we have all experienced that thawing in our hearts, the birth of hope, the ordering of our lives that comes when we walk with Jesus. In the midst of all the chaos, Jesus brings peace.

Our scripture this morning comes from the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, words describing his hope that God would bring a savior for his people, words that were quickly recognized by the early church as being fulfilled in Jesus. Please stand for the reading of God’s word, Isaiah

6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.