CHRISTMAS EVE SERMON for December 24, 1999 at Our
Redeemer Lutheran Church, Penticton, B.C. SERIES: B
by Pastor Jim Hill
TEXT: Isaiah 9: 2-7
TITLE: "The Prince of Peace"
Perhaps you’ve heard of the famous Christmas truce that occurred during
World War I, on Christmas Eve of 1914, that first year of the War. German and
British forces were facing each other on the battlefield, each in their muddy
trenches, separated by a strip of flat, ugly land intersected with barbed wire.
The air was cold and frosty, of course, because it was winter, and
things were very quiet. Both sides had to keep alert, however, as there was
the odd shadowy figure creeping across the no-man’s land.
Suddenly, the British soldiers were amazed to see lights coming on,
along the line of then enemy trenches. Then came the unbelievable sound of
singing— German soldiers raising their voices to "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht"
— the familiar verses of "Silent Night" ending in "...sleep in heavenly
peace". When the sound died away, the British soldiers replied with "The First
Noel".
Back and forth, the singing went on for about an hour. Then there were
voices of invitation to cross over to enemy lines. One German with great
courage started walking across the "no man’s land", and was soon followed by
some of his buddies, all with their hands in their pockets to show that they
had no weapons.
When they’d crossed over to the enemy trench, one German soldier said,
"I’m a Saxon, you are Anglo-Saxons. Why do we fight?"
The soldiers on both sides started to talk together and decided to
declare peace for one day, beginning in the morning, Christmas morning. As
Christmas Da passed, without the usual noise of gunfire and mortar-fire, even
the wild birds returned, and the soldiers fed them.
The high commanders on both sides were very displeased. They knew that
friendships formed between declared enemies would hinder the business of
warfare.
What a shame that those men were not free to obey their own desire for
peace! The lives of eight and a half million men would have been saved.
That’s the number who died before the armistice was signed in 1918.
"Why do we fight?" asked that German soldier. "Why do we fight?"
Well, conflict is the very essence of life. The Scripture tells us that
the problem is WHOM we are fighting and WHAT we are fighting. Those European
nations before World War I had such optimism and such tremendous energy. It’s
too bad they didn’t direct that energy toward fighting EVIL instead of fighting
each other.
That’s still true today, and therefore peace is as elusive as ever.
At this time of year, when you’re in your car, fighting traffic, WHOM
are you fighting? Other drivers, who are trying to cut you off? Are you
fighting your own car, struggling to get the most torque out of it when the
light turns green? Whom are you fighting?
Perhaps you’re fighting God, racing against time, as if you could win!
As if God would speed up time for you! No, God’s not going to change a minute
into 50 seconds, so you might as well give up fighting with God, and pray,
"Lord, Thy will be done."
If you compete with somebody to be first in line, or compete for a
larger portion of the economic pie, whom are you fighting? Other people? Is
that really necessary? Why fight other people? Our real battle is with
ourselves, isn’t it? With our impulsiveness, our impatience, our greed, our
baser instincts and our fears.
One road to peace is to avoid wasting our energy fighting unnecessary
battles. The battle MOST WORTH fighting is to overcome our personal problems,
our physical and emotional and spiritual problems; especially our lack of trust
in God, which leads to all kinds of fears and needless stress.
Why fight God, who is all-powerful and only wants what’s best for us?
Why fight other people, when they’re doing the best they can? St. Paul said in
Ephesians 6, "Our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this
present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
And especially against the enemies within. As Paul says in Romans 7:
"For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now
if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells
within me."
So the name of the game is "War against Sin". Fight THAT with
Churchillian bulldoggedness. But in all else, Peace.
You know there will never be peace on earth as long as there is evil in
the world. In the time of Caesar Augustus, when Jesus was born, there was
peace throughout the Roman Empire— what they called the "pax Romana". It was a
forced stability and relative calm and civility, because Roman law was so
thorough, and the Emperor Augustus was so intelligent and so powerful. They
even called him the "Prince of Peace" and considered him a god. The common
greeting on the street was "Caesar is Lord". Statues and shrines were erected
in his honour in all the provinces of the Empire. Some of them were inscribed
with the words, "God and peacemaker and saviour of the world."
Yet that empire, so outwardly at peace, was rife with evil and unrest of
spirit. As in every age, a prince of peace is needed who will bring shalom to
people’s hearts, who will bring forgiveness of sins, renewal and new life, and
the assurance of eternal life in heaven. For this peace, Jesus was born. To
make this peace accessible to us, Jesus was born. As that old song says, "Let
there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me."
Peace will always be elusive until the message of Christmas really sinks
in, to each and every heart, namely, the cosmic truth that this "holy infant,
so tender and mild" is the only Mediator between us and God, that this Christ
has reconciled us to our Creator and made us one, and reconciled us to each
another, that all people should be one.
So on THOSE fronts, peace HAS come! — we no longer have to fight those
battles. We have peace with God, peace with the environment, peace with other
people, peace with ourselves.
Jesus has signed the Armistice for us. All we have to do is accept it.
Open your hearts to this peace. Take a deep breath. Relax. Maybe
close your eyes and open your hands. Let the love of God flow in. Let
Christ’s shalom wash over you and give you peace.
(PLEASE STAND) The peace of the Lord be with you all.
(PLEASE GIVE THE GREETING OF PEACE TO ONE ANOTHER, SAYING: "The Lord’s
peace to you.")