Peace Has a Chance

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end... (Isaiah 9:6-7)

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2:13-14)

In December of 1914, during WWI, a strange thing happened on the western front. It was Christmas Eve, and the weather suddenly got cold, freezing the slush and water in the trenches where the men were bunkered down. In the German trenches soldiers started lighting candles. British sentries reported small lights, raised on poles or bayonets, and although these lanterns clearly illuminated the German troops, the British held their fire.

Even more startlingly, British officers saw through binoculars that some enemy troops were holding Christmas trees over their heads with lighted candles in their branches! The Germans, who celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, were extending holiday greetings to their enemies. A few German soldiers started singing carols, which were soon picked up all along the line as others joined in. Then they began singing Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht! The British immediately recognized the melody and began singing Silent Night along with the Germans.

Then one of the most unusual incidents in military history occurred. One by one, soldiers on both sides laid down their weapons and ventured into no man's land—too many of them to prevent their superior officers from objecting. An undeclared truce had broken out spontaneously, against all orders and rules of military combat.

One eye-witness account of the unofficial truce is given in the wartime diary kept by veteran Frank Richards. In it he wrote: "We stuck up a board with ‘Merry Christmas' on it. The enemy stuck up a similar one. Two of our men threw their equipment off and jumped on the parapet with their hands above their heads as two of the Germans did the same, our two going to meet them. They shook hands and then we all got out of the trench, and so did the Germans."

Richards explained that some German soldiers spoke perfect English. One, who had worked in Brighton before the war, said how fed up he was that they were at war and he would be glad when it was all over. His British counterpart agreed. The men sat around campfires together singing the choruses of Christmas carols, Silent Night being the favorite since it was known by both sides. Before midnight they said their farewells and returned to their own lines.

According to Peter Simkins of London's Imperial War Museum [PBS "Great War" interview], the Christmas Truce took place in numerous places along the battlefront.

"...the first curious, slightly headstrong people, perhaps, from both sides poked their head above the trenches, and being made aware that somebody on the other side wasn't going to shoot it off, then clambered cautiously out. Others followed suit. People stopped in the middle of no-man's-land, shook hands, exchanged buttons and badges, cigarettes. And, this went on, in some parts for two or three days. And, then, partly because the Generals didn't want it to happen, and partly because units moved out of the line and others came in, the thing died away. It was never repeated. So, it is very much a 1914 phenomenon."

The truce often ended just as it had begun, by mutual agreement. Captain C. I. Stockwell, of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers recalled how, after a truly "silent night," he fired three shots into the air at 8.30 a.m. on December 26th and then climbed onto his parapet. The German officer who had given him...beer the previous day also appeared on the German parapet. They bowed, saluted and climbed back into their trenches. A few moments afterwards, Stockwell heard the German fire two shots into the air and, as he said, "The War was on again." [http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/museum/59/war2.html]

That was a unique event, but Christmas is considered a time for peace. It's a time when we realize the peace we really could have if only everyone were to receive the message of Christmas. Peace is one of the central themes of Christmas—it's in our Christmas carols; it's in our Christmas cards; it's even displayed in lights in front of our houses. Of course, the reason peace is central is because of the promise of Scripture.

The prophet Isaiah said the coming Messiah would be known as the Prince of Peace—with no end to the increase of his government and peace (Isa 9:6-7). The angels announced Jesus' birth by saying: "...and on earth peace, good will to men" (Luke 2:14).

So if Jesus came to bring peace, why is there still so much fighting? Why is there still war? Why is there still divorce? Why hatred...hostilities...prejudice...violence? In 1992 a jury verdict led to race riots in L.A. that killed 53; Rodney King asked, "Can we all get along?" Apparently, we can't. So if Jesus came into the world to bring peace, where is it?

Take, for instance, this news report from a church in Bethlehem.  It's not about a dispute between Jews and Arabs or Christians and Jews. It's a report of fighting between Christians. In fact, between clergymen!

Click here to see video clip of brawling monks.

When we look around at this world—this crazy, mixed-up world—when we analyze the evidence, we are compelled to ask the question: If God promised peace, why don't we see more of it? Didn't he deliver on his promise?

We see plenty of evidence where peace is lacking: Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—but there are a half a dozen other wars in the world right now that we barely hear anything about: wars in Sri Lanka, Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Pakistan, and Mexico. There are about 20 more ongling regional conflicts where people are being killed, the oldest going back to 1948 in the Kayin state of Myanmar (Burma).

Add to that all the terrorist attacks on citizens in hotels or trains or busses. Recently in Mosol, Iraq, thousands of Christians left their homes and fled because gunmen were stopping cars, checking IDs, and shooting those with Christian names.

I thought the genocide of Hutus and Tutsis in east Africa from 15 years ago had ended, but just this fall Hutus hiding in the jungles of the Congo were chased down and killed just because they spoke the Kirundi language.

Where is the peace? Everywhere we see hatred and anger. We see walls of suspicion and misunderstanding between people. Barriers—figurative and literal barriers—divide people, races, and countries.

Hostilities and antagonism, however, aren't tied only to nations or geo-political boundaries. We also see the damage caused by a lack of peace in our own homes. Families are disintegrating, falling apart. Some husbands and wives live under the same roof, but can barely tolerate each other. You don't have to go far to find couples who aim poison words at each other. Or parents and teenagers who don't understand each other, who cannot get along, and who or hurl verbal grenades. Strife and anger and pain rip apart homes and families. Where is the peace that was promised?

But we really need to look no further than our own hearts. It's so easy to be consumed by resentment, bitterness, anxieties, fears—all the emotions that stir up inner turmoil. We allow jealousy, external pressures, sick or dysfunctional relationships, social obligations—even self-imposed expectations—to rob us of inner peace. We stress out over money and bills, people and work. We fill our days with too much stuff and then get upset because of the chaos. We try to regain control over our lives, but instead of finding peace, we become more upset. Ulcers or panic disorder push peace away.

So I come back to the question: If God promised peace, why don't we see more of it? Didn't he deliver on his promise?

To answer this question, we must remind ourselves of several important truths:

1. God always keeps his promises. If we don't see God at work, it doesn't mean he isn't there. It only means that we can't see what he's doing.

When the sun goes down and we're left in the dark, it doesn't mean that the sun really went down. The sun didn't change; rather, the earth has turned a different direction. The sun is still there, just as it was the day before. The sun didn't go away. The sun didn't abandon us. It's still there! We just can't see it. In the same way, when we can't see God, it's usually because we're looking the wrong direction—not because he isn't there. His promises remain reliable and true. He does not abandon his people.

When we don't see peace in the world like we would like to, it's not because God failed to deliver. The lack of peace is not God's fault. Something else is amiss. God sent his Son into the world on a mission of peace. God delivered on his promise! He sent Jesus into the world—the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Jesus is the answer to all sin and hatred and strife. The lack of peace in our world is not because God didn't uphold his part of the bargain.

He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Heb 13:5 (NKJV)

...surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matt 28:20 (NIV)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow felt the frustration of a nation at war—at war with itself. It was during the Civil War (1864) that he wrote the words to what became a well-known Christmas carol:

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

But since this hymn was writ­ten dur­ing the Amer­i­can civil war, Longfellow wondered if God would keep his promises of peach on earth, good will to men. The next couple of verses speak of the battle, and are usual­ly omit­ted from hymn­als.

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Longfellow didn't stop with despair, however. Despite the war, he went on to write the final verse.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men."

We can be confident of this truth: God always keeps his promises! Here is the second truth we must remember:

2. It's human nature to fight. We resist peace because we'd rather fight than give up our own way.

Peace would mean we'd have to surrender our way to accept God's way. God has a solution for anger and hostility—but human nature doesn't want to give up on the chance to get revenge. Human nature doesn't want to surrender. To find peace we'd have to surrender our old nature. In fact, peace requires that our old nature be executed. We'd have to let go of our desire for revenge. Human nature doesn't want peace; human nature wants to get even.

Perhaps we don't see the need to sacrifice our sinful nature because we don't fully appreciate the sacrifice Jesus gave. Perhaps peace is missing because we don't get it—we don't understand. Jesus didn't come as a baby to bring peace; he came as a sacrifice to bring peace. He came to earth to die on a cross so he could destroy the works of the devil—anger, bitterness, resentment, hostility, rage, animostiy.

If we see Jesus only as a baby, it's impossible to see him as the sacrifice for sin—for our own sin and the sins of the whole world. If we see him only as a tiny infant, meek and mild, we can't see him as the One who paid the price for peace with his own life. We need to see Jesus as something more than a baby!

Back in 1999 there was a big story in Chicago about how the figure of the baby Jesus had been stolen from the nativity scene at Daley Plaza. Eventually the police recovered the baby at a bus station after an anonymous tip. After that they started securing the baby Jesus with a cable, bolted and padlocked to the manger to prevent anybody from stealing the figure again.

It didn't work, though, because in 2004 the same thing happened. This time it was a 19-year-old college student who was able to slip the baby out from underneath the cable. The law caught up with him after two days. They returned Jesus to the manger, and the thief was charged with a misdemeanor.

So they upped the security measures once again. Now a team of people is responsible for making sure that baby Jesus doesn't get stolen anymore from Daley Plaza. They're known as the "God Squad"—and they're very tight-lipped about what security measures they've put in place. The goal of the "God Squad" is to make sure that Jesus never leaves the manger again.

I think some people feel uncomfortable whenever Jesus "gets out of the manger" and enters the real world where there is crime and hatred and strife. They can deal with a baby Jesus—a baby who is meek and mild. They can accept a Jesus who stays under lock and key, a Jesus under control, a Jesus tethered to a nativity scene. But the Jesus who gets out and roams around loose upsets their world. You can't control a Jesus like that. You can't tell a Jesus like that what to do. A Jesus like that is much more than a small, helpless baby! A Jesus like that is...well, he is Lord! He's the One in control. He's the One who gave his life as a sacrifice in order to win the peace we need. And he's the one who asks us to lay our lives down and sacrifice our old nature so he can do his work of redemption in us!

Several of the thoughts in today's message come from a message by Skye Jethani, an editor of Leadership Journal. He writes that it's normal for us this time of year to think of Jesus as the sweet baby in the manger. Our songs are about him being tender and mild, how he lays down his sweet head and no crying he makes, and all these wonderful images of the divine child, complete with glowing halo surrounding his head. That's appropriate at this time of year.

But in holding to that image I wonder if we have locked our perception of Jesus to the manger? It's easy to imagine Jesus as an adult the same way we view him as a baby. So we picture him as an adult being a mild, sweet-natured, gentle Savior, someone who talks softly, who's got a tender smile and a twinkle in his eye—pretty much a big, grown-up baby. We rarely think of him as being aggressive or belligerent or combative or in any way socially impolite.

At Christmas time we sing the song, What child is this? But if we're really going to answer that question, if we're really going to understand who it is that we worship and welcome at Christmas, we've got to let Jesus leave the manger. We have to see him in the world doing good. We have to see him on the cross. We have to see him conquering Satan. We have to see him rising from the dead, coming triumphantly from the tomb.

5 ...there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men (1 Tim 2:5-6)

If we don't see Jesus in this way—as a mediator giving his life—then we'll never discover what he wants to do within us. We'll never find the peace promised to us. Human nature resists peace, because it's our nature to fight. Peace has a chance because Jesus came, but it's impossible until we finally see Jesus on the cross, a sacrifice for sin. His sacrifice makes it possible for us to sacrifice our own way—our old, sinful nature—so peace can finally come.

This leads us to our next truth to remember:

3. Peace by force is not real peace.

In war-torn lands, when negotiations finally establish some sort of truce or treaty, peacekeeping forces are often brought in to enforce the peace. The agreements on paper don't always translate to good feelings among the people in the country. They are still dealing with the injustice and the suffering caused by war. Some of them lost family members. They would still like to get revenge—because that is human nature. So the U.N. sends in soldiers to stand around with weapons, looking threatening and menacing, imposing peace by their presence, so people don't get the idea that they can start up the hostilities again. Peace is enforced on the land, but individual hearts are still at war.

God has the power to enforce peace, but it wouldn't be real peace. God doesn't want to threaten or bully people into submission. He wants us to open our hearts to him of our own free will. He wants us to receive his gift of love by choice, not by force. He wants us to surrender willingly, to lay down our weapons and hostilities, and experience a genuine change of heart.

On March 10, 1974, Lt. Hiroo Onada was the last World War II Japanese soldier to surrender.

Onada had been left on the island Lubang in the Philippines on December 25, 1944, with the command to "carry on the mission even if Japan surrenders." Four other Japanese soldiers were left on the island as Japan evacuated Lubang. One soldier surrendered in 1950. Another was killed in a skirmish with local police in 1954. Another was killed in 1972. Onada continued his war alone.

All efforts to convince him to surrender or to capture him failed. He ignored messages from loudspeakers announcing Japan's surrender and that Japan was now an ally of the United States. Leaflets were dropped over the jungle begging him to surrender so he could return to Japan. He refused to believe or surrender.

Over the years he lived off the land and raided the fields and gardens of local citizens. He was responsible for killing at least 30 nationals during his personal war. Almost half a million dollars was spent trying to locate and convince him to surrender. 13,000 men were used to try to locate him.

Finally, almost 30 years after World War II ended, after receiving a personal command from his former superior officer explaining the terms of peace, Onada surrendered his rusty sword to President Marcos, who pardoned him. His war was over.

Onada was 22-years-old when he was left on the island. He returned a prematurely aged man of 52. Onada stated, "Nothing pleasant happened in the 29 years in the jungle."

Like Onada, many people are fighting a lonely battle against the God who all the time is offering reconciliation and peace. [Summarized from a 1974 story in Newsweek; http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/weekly/01-04-09/12977.html]

Peace can't be forced or imposed upon a person who remains defiant and refuses to surrender. Just because peace is offered—just because peace is available—doesn't mean everyone will receive it. Peace is a gift—and a gift has to be received if it's going to do any good.

[Jesus said] "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives..." (John 14:27)

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

For [Christ] himself is our peace... (Eph 2:14)

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near... (Eph 2:17)

This brings us to our last point—that peace must begin in our own hearts by surrendering to God.

4. Inner peace doesn't depend on circumstances.

"I have told you these things, [Jesus told his disciples] so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble..." (John 16:33)

The best peace is spiritual. There are many expressions of peace—peace between nations, between people, between relatives, between family members. But inner peace comes when our hearts and souls are at peace with God. And if our hearts and souls are at peace, then we can navigate through whatever other kind of battle or storm we might have to face.

The Bible tells us that when we get too cozy with the world and its ways, we make ourselves into God's enemies (Jas 4:4). It also tells us that we are enemies of God until we are reconciled to him through the death of his Son (Rom 5:10). In other words, until we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we will be at war with God. As long as we fight against God, as long as we refuse to wave the white flag of surrender, as long as we rebel against his will and purpose, we will never know spiritual peace. We will be forced to endure inner turmoil and strife.

"There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked." (Isaiah 48:22)

But when we finally accept God's terms of peace (unconditional surrender), then we will be able to experience peace with God. Isaiah prayed to God, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." (26:3)

When our souls stop fighting with God and start trusting him, then peace will fill our lives—no matter what the circumstances of our lives, no matter what kind of chaos rages around us, no matter what others may be doing or saying.

When we surrender to the Lord, we can have inner peace despite what's happening all around us. When we find peace with God, only then we can be at peace with ourselves. The inner turmoil can subside. The anxieties and resentments and jealousy toward others can then dissolve in the sea of God's forgiveness.

When we find inner, spiritual peace, then we'll finally be able to move towards peace in our relationships. We may not always be able to achieve physical peace, but at least we'll have the chance to try.

So the question is NOT Why don't we see more peace? The question is NOT Didn't God deliver on his promise?

The question is: Why haven't we surrendered to God? Why do we continually resist God's offer? Why do we insist on having our own way? Why do we still want to be angry...bitter...unforgiving? Why can't we let go of our old sinful nature? Why do we feel the need to get even? To have revenge on those who hurt us? Why can't we make the sacrifice necessary to receive the peace of God?

Remember the baby Jesus being stolen from Daley Plaza a number of times?

Fox News reported last June that thieves had stolen figure of Jesus in Detroit as well. Only this one wasn't a baby; it was an 8-foot Jesus on a cross outside the Church of the Messiah. The odd thing was that they took Jesus but left the cross.

The minister thought perhaps thieves who had been stealing the church's copper pipes for salvage costs over the previous months were fooled by the green color of the plaster statue of Jesus into thinking that he was made of copper too. It doesn't matter what their motives were, it's still a picture of our culture:

We want Jesus; we don't want the cross. We want all the benefits of faith. We want the assurance and comfort and joy and peace, but we don't want the sacrifice and the suffering. We don't want the cross; we just want Jesus.

But if we're going to find peace of heart, we must see Jesus on the cross and not just a baby in a manger. If we're going to find inner peace, we must take up our cross and follow the One who carried his cross. If we're going to see an end to fighting and hostility, we must surrender to God.

Do you want peace in your home? in your marriage? in your relationships? in your life? Do you want the chaos and turmoil to calm down? Begin by laying your old life down, by surrendering to God, by receiving his peace in your soul. When you find inner peace—peace with God—you can face the circumstances of life and discover a chance for peace in your other relationships.