Peace/Concord on Earth
As we wait in anticipation of the Christmas season, we look to what we have been told happened over 2,000 years ago.
A reading from Luke 2:13-15
13suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Gloryto God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.[1]
Even during the years prior to the birth of Jesus, the birth was foretold as well as the peace being foretold. It says in Isaiah 9:6
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
We are also told that the Lord will be the shepherd of His flock and there will be peace.
Micah 5:4-5
And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
I have had to pleasure of experiencing both stress and peace. The peace of the Lord has been presented to me while in the midst of stress. The stress is most often created by myself,when not trusting in what God has planned for me. We are never promised a stress free life nor an easy life. As Pastor Ben mentioned last week, God works all things for the good. This does not mean however that short term results will bepainless………but in the end it is for the good. Turmoil, pain, stress, loss, grief are all part of this world. At the same time, so is peace, joy, strength and comfort.
An Old Poem says;
In the center of the whirlpool, while the waters rush around,
There’s a space of perfect stillness, though with turmoil it is bound;
All is calm, and all is quiet, scarcely e’en a sense of sound.
I was speaking to a friend about peace and calm and was relating this to when Jesus calms the storms as Jesus and the Apostles cross the sea.
Matthew 8:25-26
25 And they went and woke him (Jesus),saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. [5]
Even when I was relating this story back to my friend, I recall picturing a painting that we were shown during our first Advent service this year. Warner Sallman’s “Christ our Pilot”…….
Traditionally we might think of Jesus calming the Storm, making things peaceful all around us. However in this painting, Jesus has not calmed the storm but is guiding the person steering the boat. We are in control of our decisions but Jesus is there to help guide us. My friend Julane says that her husband, Tim, often says; sometimes Jesus calms the storm…………….. but sometimes…… Jesus calms the captain.
Where do we receive our peace from? Each of us is different in so many ways. What one person receives as peace may be stressful to another. At the same time, we are always growing and what we receive as peace today is not necessarily what will be peaceful to us later.
God is the peace in wisdom of the Father. God the father has given commandments to be followed. In following those wise commandments peace can be found for some.
Jesus is the peace from the guidance of him as a compass, always pointing us to North. We can follow the path using the Jesus as the compass in asking, What Would Jesus Do?
The Spirit is peace that surrounds us in uncertain times. When everything is all stirring around us, the Spirit calms us and can gives us peace inside.
Peace as inserted in the Gospel reading today, just doesn’t do full justice to what God is having the angels tell the shepherds. In the Greek,we can translate this using a couple of other words, in place of peace. These I believe give a much more robust meaning to what is being conveyed.
Harmony can be used in place of peace.
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
This conveys a much better meaning but even at that, this still does not fully convey what I believed is said here. A little more wordy but better yet is;
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
Concord is not a word used often today, so I did some more research.
From Webster’s dictionaryand example is given;
“living in concord with people of different races and religions”
Yes, concord is synonymous with peace and harmony. However when you look at the origin of concord as an English word that we could use for translation, this more clearly presents what the Greek is conveying:
Concord comes from Middle English, from Anglo-French concorde, from Latin concordia, from concord-, concors agreeing, from com- +cord-, cor being heart .
It is not a word I would have used, had I not researched this verse. However it makes sense. To be in agreement in heart,……. in all races,…..in all religions, ……in all nations….in God. To be in concord…….
Some of you may have heard of, the Book of Concord, which contains the foundations core to our Lutheran beliefs.
What can we do to obtain this peace? Be aware of who we are in relation to God. Be open to God the Father in the Father’s wisdom. Askourselves…….What Would Jesus Do? Always be open to the Holy Spirit both in calm and in those turbulent times. The Spirit will provide peace even in the midst of the storm. We must always be prepared to receive God’s peace.
Here in this congregation, we share the peace with each other, every Sunday. We can be used by the Spirit to be God’sagents in Christ to be peace givers to all of the world, not just here in these four walls.
Norm Stevens was one of those people that gave peace to all those that he sounded. The same goes for Pat. Each were at peace with who they were and were not afraid to share that peace with others. They accepted whatever came at them, always knowing that the Spirit was there to be with them in the storms.
Let me leave you today with this story:
Can you sleep when the wind blows?
Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic,wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.
As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer.”Are you a good farm hand?” the farmer asked him.
“Well,I can sleep when the wind blows,” answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, Hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work.
Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, Hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, “Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!”
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, “No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.”
Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot.Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarps. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down.
Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.
When you’re prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life?
The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm. We secure ourselves against the storms of life by
grounding ourselves in the Word of God.
We don’t need to understand, we just need to hold His hand to have peace in the middle of storms.