The passage that was just read for us
is one of my favorites of what have been called the Messianic prophecies, or
prophecies about the coming Messiah. But before we start into that, I want to
tell you all a story. I’m going to take you back a few years. How many of you
used to watch the Muppet Show? We have any Muppet Show fans here? Alright, we a
couple of decades ago, when Jim Henson was still alive, they did a Muppets
Christmas special where all the Muppet gang, including the characters from
Sesame Street, went to spend Christmas at Fozzy Bear’s mom’s house. Has anybody
seen that show? Oh it’s great. I don’t think they have it out in stores or
anything, but anyways, at one point Robin, Kermit the Frog’s nephew, goes down
to the basement and he calls Kermit down because he has found a Fraggle hole.
And Robin and Kermit decide to go in the Fraggle hole…if you don’t know what
Fraggles are, I don’t have time to explain it to you today…they go in the
Fraggle hole, and they of course meet some Fraggles. And the Fraggles say,
“Hey, what’s all the noise goin’ on upstairs?” And Kermit says, “Oh, well,
we’re celebrating Christmas.” And a Fraggle says, “What’s Christmas?” And
Robin’s answer is, “That’s the time of year when we get together and wish each
other peace on earth.”
Now, I know what you are all thinking.
That is a very secular answer, isn’t it? They are taking the Christ out of
Christmas! That’s terrible! Christmas isn’t about wishing each other peace on
earth, it’s about Jesus!
Well, this morning I want to tell you
that I think Robin’s answer was a good answer. I think Christmas is about
wishing each other peace on earth. Of course, it’s about Jesus, but what was
read for us from Isaiah? 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.
Do we believe that? I think a lot of
us can buy the idea that Jesus is a wonderful counselor. We can take any
problem to him. He is mighty God. He has authority and power over all of the
universe. He is Everlasting Father. He is eternal and he loves us like a father
loves his children. Prince of Peace? Do we just say, “Well, three out of four
ain’t bad.”?
And when he came in Luke chapter 2,
what did the angels sing to the shepherds? Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth…peace among those whom he favors.
You know, we don’t really celebrate
that aspect of Christmas. We don’t really celebrate Christ as the bringer of
peace. And you know, maybe there is good reason for that. It is hard to look at
the Christmas story as peaceful. Really, there’s nothing peaceful about it. A
treacherous journey imposed by a harsh ruler. Probably a lot of glaring eyes on
a pregnant teenage girl who isn’t even married yet. I highly doubt there was
anything peaceful or romantic about being forced to give birth in a barn. And
for all of you women who have gone through childbirth, you probably wouldn’t
describe that as “peaceful” either. Then, once Jesus is born, King Herod tries
to kill all of the baby boys in the region, but Mary, Joseph, and Jesus escape
and live in exile until the slaughter is over.
None of the events surrounding the
birth of Christ seem very peaceful. And let’s face it, his life wasn’t very
peaceful. He may have been, but those around him were not, and he died a very
violent death. Even after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, there has
been little peace among Christians. In fact, number wars have been fought and
countless people have died in the name of Christ and Christianity. I mean, look
at the Crusades. I doubt the men who fought in the Crusades did so in the name
of the Prince of Peace.
All in all, Christianity has not been
very peaceful. This “peace on earth” stuff doesn’t seem to have played out very
well. And if you think that, that peace has failed, you are not the first
person to have thought that. Many years ago, there was a poet named Henry
Sing
“I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”
Isn’t that just like God? Right when
things seem terrible, when it seems like there is no peace, God speaks up and
says, “Don’t lose faith! I’m going to win. There can be peace.”
And in
Folks, this morning I’m here to tell
you that I believe that one of the greatest things about Christmas is that it
invited in peace on earth. I truly believe that Christ is the Prince of Peace
and that there can be peace on earth. I think Robin was right when he said
that’s what Christmas is, wishing each other peace on earth.
But you have to understand something:
I have a different definition of what peace means. To me, peace is more than
just a lack of war. Isn’t that the first thing that usually comes to mind when
you talk about peace? Like, hippies and the peace movement and all that stuff?
And let’s be honest, that left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths. Men get
drafted, are forced to go to war, then come home and they’re called baby
killers? No wonder we don’t talk about peace very often. We’ve tainted it. In
this part of the country, we definitely don’t talk about the fact that as
United Methodists, our official stance on war is pacifism. Did you know that?
But we don’t talk about it. Now listen, I think that’s ok, and I don’t think we
all need to be pacifists, though I commend those who are. Because I don’t think
that’s what the angels were talking about when they said “peace on earth” was
coming through Christ, and I don’t think that’s what Isaiah meant when he said
that Christ would be the Prince of Peace. I don’t think they were trying to say
that through Christ, we are going to end all wars and stop all violence and
killing and everything is just going to sit around camp fires and sing Kum Ba
Ya.
So what is peace, if it isn’t all of
that? Well, the best way I can describe it is by the way I have experienced it.
In my life, there is no greater peace than the peace I have from having
assurance that one day I will be with Jesus in heaven. That is true peace to
me. Peace is no longer having that inner conflict and constant battle of who I
should follow and how I should live and what’s going to happen when I die. If
that conflict is going on inside of you, then you know that is not a peaceful
way to live. When your soul has unrest, then you have no peace.
Has anybody seen those bumper stickers
that say, “No God, no peace. Know God, know peace.” That’s what I’m really
trying to get at here. Peace is something way bigger than protesting a war.
Peace is something way bigger than walking away from an argument. Peace is what
you get inside when you are confident that your relationship with Christ has
saved you. Nothing brings more peace than that.
There’s a great old hymn, one of the
greatest of our faith in my opinion, that really captures this. I’m going to
read it for you, and just listen to the peace that is found in these words.
This is Blessed Assurance.
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. O
what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of
his Spirit, washed in his blood. Perfect submission, perfect delight, visions
of rapture now burst on my sight; angels descending bring from above echoes of
mercy, whispers of love. Perfect submission, all is at rest; I in my Savior am
happy and blest. Watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness,
lost in his love. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the
day long! This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day
long!
Isn’t that true peace? Being sure that
you are saved. And that is the true meaning of Christmas – that Christ came to
save the world. He is the Prince of Peace. And you know, assurance of Salvation
is a tricky thing. If somebody would come up to you and say, “Hey, are you sure that you are going to Heaven when
you die?,” could you say yes? Or would your answer be more like, “I think so.”
Or “I’m not sure.”
John Wesley, the founder of the
Methodist Church, had that question asked to him. Someone said, “Mr. Wesley are
you sure of your salvation?” And he wasn’t. And he was a pastor at the time! No
one is immune. And it took him years before he was able to say yes, I am sure.
And I want to share with you today the way he was able to finally answer yes to
that question, are you sure?
He found his answer in the words of
Jesus, the Prince of Peace, in Luke 6:43-45. Jesus says this, “No good tree
bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is
known by its own fruit. Figs aren’t gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked
from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart
produces good, and the evil person out of the evil treasure produces evil; for
it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.”
This is where Wesley, and I think we,
can gain assurance. Good trees produce good fruit. In other words, your
actions, how you live, what you say, reveal where your heart is it. If your
heart is with Christ, then we should live as Christ lived. That is not to say
from time to time we will not mess up. In the same way, even an evil person
will do good from time to time. But where is your heart? I hope that you are
able to look at your actions and words and say, “Yeah, I mess up from time to
time, but more than anything I try to live the way Christ lived.” And I hope
you can take some assurance from that, and in that assurance, I hope you can
find some peace. That is the peace that Christ has brought into the world. A peace
within. A peace of knowing that he will never leave you or forsake you.
And if you don’t have that peace, if
you don’t have that assurance and you want it, I’d love to pray with you. If
you feel like you really need to pray and receive Christ into your life and
gain that peace that passes all understanding, I’d invite you during this last
hymn to come and just have a seat in this front pew, and I’d love to pray with
you. There’s no better time than Christmas to find the peace of Christ in your
life. If the Holy Spirit is tugging at your heart, maybe today is the day to
answer that call.
Hymn
218 It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Van Buren United
Pastor Dan Metzger