Through the shepherds comes the meaning of the most significant event in cosmic history! The meaning is ‘peace’—God’s peace, shalom, blessedness, fullness. This is the message from the angels to the shepherds … and from the shepherds to us, tonight. Christ’s coming means ‘peace.’ Not the abolition of war, necessarily, but a different kind of peace—a peace that only God can give us. Jews in Israel, even today, still greet each other with ‘shalom’ (peace). You could offer no better wish to anyone than … ‘shalom.’
So, as we begin our time in God’s word for this Christmas Eve, let me be the first to wish you … ‘shalom’—God’s peace. Now, here’s the Christmas story from Luke, Chapter 2:
“At that time Emperor Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 When this first census took place, Quirinius was the governor of Syria. 3 Everyone, then, went to register himself, each to his own hometown. 4 Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the birthplace of King David. Joseph went there because he was a descendant of David.
5 He went to register with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him. She was pregnant, 6 and while they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have her baby.
7 She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger—there was no room for them to stay in the inn.8 There were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid, 10 but the angel said to them, "Don’t be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. 11 This very day in David’s town your Savior was born—Christ the Lord! 12 And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great army of heaven’s angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God: 14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!" 15 When the angels went away from them back 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."
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and saw the baby lying in the manger.
17 When the shepherds saw him, they told them what the angel had said about the child.
18 All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said. 19 Mary remembered all these things and thought deeply about them. 20 The shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it had been just as the angel had told them.” – Luke 2:1-20 (TEV)
Peace was God’s gift to the world through the shepherds … and peace is still God’s gift to our world today. As Jesus said in John 14:27a (TEV), “Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you.” But, he goes on to say, “I do not give it as the world does….”
Folks, please understand that the ‘good tidings of great joy which will be to all people’ that is read every Christmas … really meant ‘to all who will receive what God wants to give.’ The word used here is ‘laos,’ from which comes our word ‘laity.’ The ‘laity’ or ‘laos’ are ‘all the people of God’—those who have received the gift that God has given. Israel was referred to as the ‘laos’—the chosen people of God. And, today, those who believe in the Christ of Christmas and accept him as a gift from God are the ‘laos’—the new Israel. If you are able to receive what God wants to give, the message of peace is for you. Yes, it is available to all … but it is when we receive the gift that God wants to give us … that we also receive his peace…
The angel told the shepherds that this peace was to come by ‘…a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’ This angel used 3 names to describe the one who would bring peace…
- Savior – a Hebrew word meaning ‘rescuer’ (like the Children’s moment)…
- Christ – a Greek word for ‘the anointed one, the chosen one’…
- LORD – a word used by Greek-speaking Hebrews to refer to God Himself.
So, Jesus was to be the Rescuer, the Anointed One, God Himself—the bearer of this peace…
The angels predicted that this peace would come when we give glory to God…
- It won’t come when we win an arms race…
- It won’t come with arms limitations treaties…
- It won’t come when a general feeling of good will wells up in us and we feel especially generous toward our neighbors…
The angels give us the precondition for this peace: it’s when we give glory to God in the highest…
How surprising that this profound message of peace was entrusted to shepherds—of all people! They were a despised class of people, really outcasts from all respectable society. Their honesty and integrity was so questionable, in that day, that they were not even allowed to testify in a court of law. These particular shepherds were probably pious Jews, but nevertheless, they were still a part of an outcast class of people … whom God just happened to choose to reveal the meaning of Christ’s birth—peace. And, folks, needless to say these shepherds were ASTONISHED… Then, Mary & Joseph and all who heard them were ASTONISHED… What about us?
One simple lesson that we can take away from the Christmas story is this: we need to be peacemakers—God’s way … and it’s a three-fold peace: First…
WE NEED TO MAKE PEACE WITH GOD. This is where peace really begins… We may have a history of running from God, but remember what the angel said: “Fear not!” We need only stand still, offer ourselves to God, then allow him to catch us… Or, we may just be caught up in our business—the business of the world, like the innkeeper was; if so, know this: God has dealt with our sin and His grace is sufficient. We can come home; we belong to Him. No matter what we’ve done, we can come home & our relationship can be reconciled. Peace with God is where peace really begins… Next:
WE NEED TO MAKE PEACE WITH OUR NEIGHBOR. We need reconciliation between ‘the haves’ and ‘the have-nots’ in our cities and in our land. America—and we’ve talked about just how rich we are—is a nation of ‘haves’ like no other nation in the world! How do we begin to be peace-makers with all of the ‘have-not’ nations of the world? Along with that, we are called to reconciliation in families, between husbands & wives, and between parents & children—those being our neighbors, too. We are also called upon, as followers of Christ (even though I have to say that I really don’t like politics, though it’s a reality), to reconciliation between:
- the right & the left…
- radical & conservative…
- the minority & the majority…
- and even between those who are pacifists and those who defend the arms race…
Whatever situation we find ourselves in, we should be the ones that promote peace—peace with our neighbor, beginning with the peace of God; that’s where it really begins! And finally…
If we make peace with God a priority, followed closely by peace with our neighbor, guess what else we’re going to find? If you guessed, ‘peace with ourselves,’ you’re absolutely right! Finding a harmony in our relationship with God & with others … always results in harmony within ourselves, too.
The last verse of our Bible story today says that after the shepherds had seen such wondrous things, they went back to the commonplace—what they knew best. And, that’s true for all of us each year that we celebrate Christmas, isn’t it?
- Where will we be when the excitement & fun are over?
- How do these events change the lives we lead in the commonplace—back at our jobs, our homes, and our schools?
If we believe the message of the angels, as told to the shepherds, then we go back to our everyday lives as … peacemakers. We begin to live the Christmas story … and share God’s peace with the world we live in…
Joseph Bayly wrote a wonderful poem about the meaning of Christmas. Let me share this with you, in closing:
Praise God for Christmas.
Praise him for the Incarnation, for the Word made Flesh.
I will not sing of shepherds watching their flocks on frosty nights, or angel choristers.
I will not sing of a stable bare in Bethlehem, or
lowing oxen, wise men trailing star with gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Tonight I will sing praise to the Father who stood on heaven’s threshold and said farewell to his Son,
as he stepped across the stars to Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
And I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son,
who became most finite,
a baby who would one day be executed for my crime.
Praise him in the heavens, praise him in the stable,
praise him in my heart.
It’s not our birthday, is it? It’s Jesus’ birthday! … and he brought us the greatest gift—peace.