a-song-for-peace-lovers-sermon-notes

A Song for Peace-Lovers

Luke 2:8-16

Peace on earth; goodwill available to all people! This is the hope of the Christmas season that most people long for. I see in almost all the cards of the holiday – even that ignore Jesus. I believe we hear so much about peace at Christmas because human beings long for it so much. Deep down, people know there is a lack of “peace” in this world. Many people think that the Christmas Season is a time to experience it. As Fred, Ebenezer Scrooge’s nephew said to his uncle in Dickens’ Christmas Carol: “Christmas time is a time of peace; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to… think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!”

I enjoy Fred’s speech time each time I hear it in any presentation of A Christmas Carol. I’m sure most people in our world want peace like Fred wanted peace. Some folks think Christmas should be a time to have more peace in their lives than usual. But, then it doesn’t seem to happen – and they’re disappointed.

I’ve discovered that people in our day use the word “peace” in many ways. And, their thoughts about peace are usually good. 1) Sometimes we use the word to mean an end to global conflict, i.e., an end to war and – in our day – terrorism. 2) At other times, we use it to speak of the resolution of disputes with coworkers, family members or neighbors. In fact, I’m quite sure many of you are hoping, if your family gets together this Christmas season, that people won’t fight as much as they often do. 3) At still other times, we use “peace” to speak of inner well-being – of finding relief or healing from anxiety, shame or guilt.

The Bible uses the word “peace” in all the ways we usually do in the world. But there is one big difference: When most people in the world use peace in any of the ways I’ve mentioned, they leave out what the Bible says is the most important thing to any kind of lasting peace. That’s what we’ll talk about today.

The song we come to in the Bible today, the song of the angels called “the Gloria” in Luke 2:14 is about peace. The Bible’s prophecies about a Messiah coming into the world had foretold that Messiah will be the “prince of peace” (Is 9:6) and that when Messiah rules the world, his government will be one of “peace that never ends” (Is 9:7). And so, in keeping with that, when Jesus was born, a huge multitude of angels appeared in the sky to a group of shepherds and sang, “Peace on earth to people of goodwill.” It’s clear: Jesus came to bring peace.

There are few passages in the Bible that speak more clearly or succinctly about God’s promise to bring peace into our lives through Jesus than the angels’ song in Lk 2:14. It is a very Jewish form of poetry comprised of a couplet with two sentences. Let me show you how it’s constructed:

Phrase 1: Glory in the highest to God

Phrase 2: Peace (shalom) on earth to people

The Unexpected Addition: of goodwill

What were the angels proclaiming in their song?

Proclamation 1: Where/when God reigns, you see his glory! Glory to God in the highest (2:14a).

The first phrase of the angels’ song sounds majestic, doesn’t it? However, I’m afraid that few people in our world have any idea what it means. Let me explain it. The “glory” of someone means all the admirable qualities of that person. The athletic glory of the Lakers should be seen on a basketball court – probably not in a synchronized swimming competition. The skills of the LA Philharmonic Orchestra will more likely be experienced in the Disney Concert Hall than in a football game.

In their song, the angels begin by proclaiming God’s glory. By that, they are telling us that all the qualities of God we read about in Scripture are true. The angels have experienced God in “the highest” and declare to us that God is exactly who he says he is – all-powerful, faithful to keep his Word, just, compassionate and merciful. This is a concise way of saying, “You can count on God always to be who he is and to act in ways consistent with his character. He is truthful so he will keep his promise. He is strong so he will be able to keep his promise and do what human beings cannot do. He is merciful and will save you when you come to him in repentance and faith.” This is God’s glory!

So, this song is a trumpet blast saying, “Wake up, shepherds! Our glorious God is now going to reveal his greatness! In fact, you will soon see his glory yourself!” They really are saying, “When you see this child who will be born, you will see the glory of God!”

Let me say something to you now that I hope will lead you to trust Jesus for the first time – or to surrender your life more fully to God than you ever have before: When you place your faith in Jesus and Jesus becomes the Lord of your life, you should begin to see more and more of the glory of God growing in you. That’s one way you can know that your faith is genuine faith and not just religious observance. You’ll see more and more of what Paul called “the fruit of God’s Spirit” (Gal 5:16-25) growing in you. More love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” (To learn more of this, you can read or listen to the recent messages about this called “Synced” on our LAC website.) The works of your own flesh should begin to diminish – things like immorality, envy, and fits of anger.

And the same should be true of our church as a whole. In fact, Paul said in Eph 3:21 that there are two places that our world should see God’s glory (i.e., his character and ways) in our world: In Jesus Christ and in a church like ours. Paul wrote in Eph 3:20, “To God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus.” That’s why my main prayer for us at LAC is that God will produce his fruit in us so that our world will see His glory and be drawn to trust Jesus as Savior. May God’s glory in the highest be seen in us!

Proclamation 2: When Jesus comes, he brings peace into the world. Peace to people on earth (2:14b).

In the 2nd phrase of the song, the angels address the problem that both the shepherds and we know about very well, i.e., on earth, what we experience day-to-day does not yet fully reveal the glory of its Maker. In particular, people do not experience the peace that all people long for but find illusive. But, the angels sing, that’s about to change. The glory of God in the highest is coming to the world in Jesus and will result in peace among people on earth. That’s the song. That’s the promise: Our glorious God in the highest is launching the work that he promised through his prophets. God sent a child to this world to bring peace.

This is Advent Season, which means that just as the shepherds were anticipating the coming of the “Prince of Peace”, we are anticipating the return of the Prince of Peace to finish what he has started. Let me read you what that will be like: God’s dwelling place is now among the people. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Rev 21:3-4).

At the beginning of the sermon, I said that in our world we usually think of peace as being a world without global conflict or terrorism, personal relationships without divisiveness and an inner being free of anxiety, guilt and shame. That’s all true. When we are at peace, all those things are true. But, I also said there is something missing in that list, i.e., that we will have no lasting peace until we experience peace with God. In Gen 3, the thing that led to a lack of peace was people walking away from God and living for themselves – or, at lest, living life without God. But you and I have been created to know God. I tell you without any equivocation: You will have no lasting peace until you bring God into your life.

The meaning of the angels’ song is that Jesus came to the glory of God into this world and into the lives of people. I want you to notice how the Bible makes this point. Beginning in 2:10-11, one angel appears with this announcement: I bring you good news that will bring great joy for all people. On this day, in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Notice these things. God coming to the world happened in history:

On a real day -- It happened on a real day in history. Not a day in some mythological, imaginary story, but a day when “Quirinius was Governor of Syria.”
In a real city -- in the real world, in the city of David.
As a Savior -- He came to deal with real problems, to rescue us from all the things we need to be rescued from, past failure, guilt, shame, addiction, disillusionment…
As the Messiah -- This was the one that prophecies said would be born as a child through a real mother, i.e., the mother we met in Luke 1.
As the Lord – The one who will make known the glory of God, meaning that he has the power to defeat all the enemies that ruin our lives and to bring us peace.

The angel said that this is news – not ritual or philosophy. This sets our Christian faith apart from other religions. Our faith is not about religious rituals we must follow in order to please God. It is good news about something that happened in history that we must believe – and allow to change our lives. Do you believe the good news about this child? God’s glory in the highest is real and, through Jesus, God’s glory breaks not only into our world but also into each individual who receives Jesus by faith. “Glory in the highest to God bringing peace on earth to people...”

But how? And to which people?

The Unexpected Addition: God peace comes to “people of goodwill” (2:14c).

Who are these people of goodwill who will receive peace?” You may know that some versions of the Bible translate it as peace comes to people “upon whom God’s favor rests”. But, that translation doesn’t help us answer the question of who they are. And the original word in the Bible was simply “goodwill”!

In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the phrase “people of goodwill” speaks consistently of those people whose deepest desire is to know and please God. And, in the early church, those people of goodwill who begin to experience God’s shalom are all kinds of people. What they all shared is that they all repented of their sins and self-directed lives to believe on Jesus and to follow him by faith. So, just think of the people of goodwill who begin to know God’s peace in the Gospel of Luke: People of goodwill are people like Mary the young virgin mother who obeyed God even when it seemed that this would ruin her life. She experienced peace.

Keep reading Luke and you will discover that “people of good will” are lepers, desperate prostitutes, a faith-filled Roman Centurion, a wealthy and repentant tax collector, etc. The point is this: The angels’ song is a song announcing that with the birth of this child, there is now an opportunity for all people to experience healing from all the inglorious impact of evil in the world. It is the song of God’s offer of the peace that comes from hearing God say, “Your sin I will remember no more.”

In Luke 2:8-14, the specific and highly unlikely “people of goodwill” are shepherds. The Pharisees of that time said that there were six professions that were unworthy of respect. One of those was shepherding. A shepherd was not permitted to give testimony in a court of law. A shepherd was not allowed to enter a synagogue, because the requirements of his job kept him ritually unclean. In Numbers 14:33, people who had engaged in serious wrongdoing were punished by being forced to be shepherds.

But, one day in history, a multitude of God’s angels clearly told shepherds that they can be among the people who experience the peace of God. Two thousand years ago, God delivered highly sensitive, vitally important news to shepherds, to those considered by most to be the opposite of “people of goodwill.”

God still offers this good news to shepherd-like people. When you hear the angels’ song, I want you to marvel that the Prince of Peace came for you. Be stunned again with the remarkable truth that God searched you out with his “good news of great joy.” He has never given up on you, even when you were indulging in sin or resistant to his invitations. He loves you so much that he comes to you now and asks, “Do you believe in Jesus?” Have you made him your Savior and Lord? Have you believed the good news about Jesus? Then you are one of the “people of goodwill” that God promises to bring his peace to.

My prayer for you today is that you will experience God’s peace. Jesus has come to begin to bring about that peace in your life. You must first find peace with God. That happens when you trust Jesus by faith. God then declares you right with him on the basis of Jesus’ dying in your place on the cross. Peace with God flows into peace within your own soul. God removes the basis of guilt or shame by cleansing you. And then you can offer peace to other people – in your family, school or workplace. And if that seems either too hard to imagine – or too wonderful to imagine, I can only say it comes because the glory of God comes you’re your life when you trust Jesus. He can do the impossible. He is Immanuel: God in you and God for you. He is God with you.

Glory in the highest to God and peace on earth to people – to all people of goodwill.