Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Prince of Peace                December 22, 2002*

* *

*Scripture Reading: *# 634; Is. 9:1-7

 

/"A Shopper's Psalm" by Greg Asimakoupoulous/

/I'm weary, Lord./

/Bone tired./

/In spite of the fact that my shopping's half done/

/I need to crash./

/The crush/

/of the crowd has gotten to me./

/So, too, the deafening sounds/

/of a pre-Christmas city/

/throbbing with incarnate greed./

/I need to be reminded/

/that this season's more/

/than plastic Santas,/

/perpetual sales,/

/and Muzak./

/I need back/

/on the track/

/of reflection./

/I've derailed, Lord./

/My emotional fuel is leaking./

/I'm about to explode./

/And then I see it./

/A miniature creche/

/in a gift shop window./

/A guardian father;/

/a grateful young mom;/

/a baby asleep on the hay./

/A trio maintaining their harmony/

/despite the dis-chord all around them./

/And with my nose pressed against the frosted pane/

/my inner pain subsides./

/At once I am rested,/

/renewed, and revived./

/And I linger/

/and ponder/

/God's peace./

My wife and I drove around Friday night looking at the Christmas lights on the houses in nearby neighborhoods.

I can tell you that whenever we saw a display that actually included the nativity scene, it brought tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat.

It was absolutely wonderful to stop and ponder the peace that Christ's birth brings – with the promise of more to come.

Peace is an elusive commodity that most people desire but rarely obtain.

Peace is what we might call an inner sense of quietness and confidence that is not threatened.

It is a quality or commodity that is also important in the whole biblical record, being mentioned in 230 different verses, with the book of Isaiah holding the record at 23 verses.

Listen to some of these verses on peace in Isaiah:

 

“ You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”

(Isaiah 26:3 NIVUS)

 

 “ LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.”

(Isaiah 26:12 NIVUS)

 

 “ The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.”

(Isaiah 32:17 NIVUS)

 

 “ If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” (Isaiah 48:18 NIVUS)

 

 “ "There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked."”

(Isaiah 48:22 NIVUS)

 

 “ How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"” (Isaiah 52:7 NIVUS)

 

“ You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”

(Isaiah 55:12 NIVUS)

 

 “ For this is what the LORD says: "I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees.”

(Isaiah 66:12 NIVUS)

 

Peace is important to God between him and his people, and between his people themselves.

But alas, we know that there is much in this world of sin that threatens not only our peace but also our very existence.

We can discuss peace on both a personal level and also on the larger level of national or world scale.

Thankfully, there can be a difference between the two.

It is possible to know a degree of personal peace even when surrounded by a lack of peace.

At this Christmas time of year we celebrate the proclamation of the angels to the shepherds, "---and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (KJV) In the NIV it says, "---and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Evidently, with the coming of the Messiah, Jesus, there will peace for some and not others.

It depends on whom he wants to extend his favor or goodwill toward.

Romans 5:1 makes it clear.

“ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:1 NIVUS)

 

The peace of God rests on those who have faith in his Son, Jesus, the Christ-child whose birth we celebrate this season.

This very reason is why the world does not yet experience peace.

It is because not everyone believes in the Christ-child.

Have you come here this morning to worship him?

Do you want his peace?

You can have his peace personally even though the world has not yet experienced it.

But the world will experience it some day soon.

For now Jesus said:

 

“ "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth.

I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

(Matthew 10:34 NIVUS)

 

And we are reminded in Psalm 2:12:

 

“ Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

(Psalms 2:12 NIVUS)

 

What can we infer from this?

 

Jesus came peacefully, offering immediate and future peace to all who would receive it, but the world did not want his peace.

And what is another definition of peace but a lack of conflict.

If peace is rejected, conflict is all that remains.

Just take notice of what happened after his birth, all because of sinful jealousy.

“ When they (the Magi) had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.

"Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.

Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,  where he stayed until the death of Herod.

And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:  "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."”

(Matthew 2:13-18 NIVUS)

 

Even though peace is the Christ-child's eventual plan, for now the sword must be dealt with.

Peace has a cost.

We know all about that, don't we?