Christmas day
Angels announced on the first Christmas eve, peace on earth amongst all whom God favours,
and the traditional understanding of that is that there will be peace on earth in
our time, joy to the world, and goodwill towards men and women.
Peace in our time, joy to the world? Well that’s certainly a message of hope, and yes, the ancient prophets of Israel did look forward to such a time, but I don’t see much peace on earth in our time. The history of the world is littered with strife, war and conflict. World peace in our time is not happening. The crusades in the 12th century, the Napoleonic wars in the 19th century, two world wars in the 20th century, and the wars on terrorism in this century do not make for a peaceful picture of world history. So either the message those angels spoke that night was a hopeless one of a false peace, or we need to understand their message in another way. What kind of peace were those angels announcing?
There is a point in Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae where he writes, the peace of Christ must rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. Paul puts his word must in a way that means his readers are to cultivate the discipline of it in their spiritual and interior lives. It is the peace of Christ, it’s not the peace of the world, because there is no world peace. It is the peace of Christ that reconciles mankind on earth with God in heaven, a peace that puts mankind at rest with God. Where does this peace reside? In the heart, which is the centre of your being, not the mind, because from the heart comes motivation, desire, convictions, emotions, intuition, holiness of life, and the fruits of the Spirit. The mind might work them over, but the heart knows them.
The peace of Christ is not some temporary escapism from everyday worries, or retreat into nostalgia for more happier carefree days. The Christian is not immune from the clouds of worry, anxiety and other such stresses that lurk at the doorstep of all who live in today’s world. How then does the peace of Christ rule in the heart of every believer? Consider this: it is written that fools say in their heart, there is no God. Fools therefore cry out, we have no God! We are orphans! We have no peace! But hear this: angels appeared to shepherds, fools and social underdogs of their day, to bring good news that there is a God. And now the peace of that God comes, which surpasses all understanding, keeping our hearts and minds in the love of Christ.
God came among us on that first Christmas eve because he desires a relationship with us that does not fear tomorrow. We are given the gift of peace with God, such that we who believe can rest secure in tomorrow, knowing that in all things God works good for those who love him. The great neutraliser of faith is fear. Recall when Jesus was asleep in the stern of a boat with his disciples on Lake Galilee when a storm blew up. The disciples woke Jesus up, frightened and expecting to go down with a sinking boat. But Jesus rebuked them and said, why are you so afraid? Where is your faith? A bit unfair you say, seeing that Jesus had the power to calm a storm and used it at that moment, whereas the poor old disciples had no such power. But on the other hand, God himself in the person of Jesus Christ was with them in the back of that boat, and they had direct access to him.
For us in our century, don’t forget that Christ is risen and alive, and he can sit in the stern of our little boat tossed about by world cares, anxiety and worries. We are so preoccupied with own way and our own advantage. Is that letting the Christmas peace of Christ rule in our hearts? I don’t think so. Why are we so afraid? Consider this: the one who invests the treasure of his trust in God’s house will never be defrauded or alone with no god, because that treasure is safe with God, whose eye watches over that one. How dreadful it is when a person no longer sees that, when his eye loses all sense of godly perspective of life, such that he regards the paltry pennies and miserable crumbs of his worrisome lot more highly than the hand of God that provides all he knows we need, not all we think we need. And being free to look to the hand of God for all he knows we need, rather than being slaves of worry for all we think we need, is one the great blessings of the peace of Christ ruling in our hearts, those faithful believers on whom God’s favour rests.
So, what is the peace of Christ? What peace was announced by angels on that first Christmas eve? Well what did the master himself say about it? My peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives. So, do not be let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. The peace of Christ that must rule in your hearts is not world peace in our time. It is peace between God in heaven and man on earth; man reconciled with God; the interior life with an inner composure of security with God, such that when you pass through the waters of chaos, God will be with you, and when you walk through the valley of shadow of death, you shall fear no evil. For Yahweh is the Lord your God, the Holy One eternal of Israel.
The peace of Christ to which we are called is a secure confidence that God is with us; Immanuel, God with Us, is the name given to the Christ child at Christmas. It is a secure confidence akin to a light shining in the darkness of our night. I recall once when I was on a bird research trip to Hey in NSW looking for Plains Wanders. Our task was to catch and tag the birds with radio patches so that their movements could be tracked and mapped. At night outback of Hey, it was very dark, no town lights, no moon light. Just pitch black, and as a city dweller, for me a bit disconcerting. A small torch light appeared on the other side of the camp, which brought reassurance that I was not alone. As the light of Christ has come into our world because of Christmas, we can rest secure in the presence of Christ, who comes to us in our dark nights of the soul. His is a presence that gives peace and stillness of heart in contemplative prayer and love of fellow man. It is not a stillness and silence that is an empty void, but rather it is a rich and vibrant presence. It is a stillness and silent presence that surrounds you, alive and living, such that you desire little if anything else. From the peace of Christ ruling in your hearts, flows peace among men and women, your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ upon whom God’s favour rests.
Friends, it’s God’s world, yet it is broken, strife torn, and imprisoned in its own worry. It’s a world that needs the peace of God surpassing all understanding, and if it doesn’t see that amongst we who are God’s church, we who have the peace of Christ ruling in our hearts, then it will cry there is no God, we are orphans, we have no peace, and why should we listen to those Christians in that church over there?
Does the Christmas peace of Christ really and truly rule in your hearts? As I said earlier, I don’t see world peace on earth in our time, and yet the old prophets of Israel did speak of such a time, and the book of Revelation foresees a new order where there will be no more pain and no more tears. But until then, peace in our time begins with us who are the church. It’s our mandated mission to show the world that there is a God who loves it and who grieves over its brokenness. So take heart and let the Christmas peace of Christ rule in your hearts. It begins with us.
Philip Starks
Published under Creative Commons Copyright Licence
Published under Creative Commons Copyright Licence
