Dec 6, 2009 - Can I Just Have Some Peace?!
Micah predicts the coming Messiah who will bring peace. What are some ways you experience peace?
Micah 5:
1-5 Now you are walled
around with a wall; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike
the ruler of Israel upon the cheek. 2But
you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans
of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
3Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.
4And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his
God.
And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth; 5and
he shall be the one of peace.
When it comes to Christmas and the birth of Christ, people tend to glamorize the idea of a baby born into a holy night, a silent night, no crying he makes. Seriously?!
Jesus was born in a barn! Yet through the years, stories and songs, somehow the Prince of Peace has been put in a box…
If the overly romanticized Jesus grows into manhood in this same way, what I imagine is the Messiah walking along the road with his rugged fisherman disciples – scruffy faces, large calloused hands holding Jesus hands and singing “let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”
Micah predicts the coming Messiah that will bring Peace. In order to help us experience peace and be messengers of peace this Christmas, it may be helpful to recall the difference between being a peacekeeper and a peace-maker…
Peacekeeper: “the preservation of peace, especially as a military mission in which troops attempt to keep formerly warring armed forces from starting to fight again”
Peacemaker “One who establishes peace, who brings peace and reconciliation to others” (Encarta Dictionary)
Police may be referred to as peace officers within the peacekeeping role.
People of faith may be referred to as peacemakers who bring peace and reconciliation to others. Jesus himself said “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matt. 5:9) So many need to have the absence of conflict on the outside in order to be at peace on the inside.
I still remember my mom coming to the end of her rope w/five active kids in the house, she’d holler “Can I just have a little peace?!” Absence of noise, chaos, and conflict would have been good for mom.
However today, that absence is not likely in the presence of such world war, economic downturn, and violence. Therefore, if we can be at peace on the inside, then we can bring that peace to the chaos, disorder, and dis-ease on the outside – be peacemakers.
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The ancient Jews had a word to describe those better days. They called it shalom, Hebrew for "peace." In the Bible, God's peace—shalom—meant much more than simply the absence of war. It indicated more than a positive state in my soul or a private transaction between God and me. The longing for God's shalom included those things, but for those radical Jewish believers, peace was much bigger and broader. Shalom meant not only inner peace or spiritual peace; it meant wholeness and completeness throughout all creation. It meant the end of injustice. It meant the rich would no longer devour the poor. It meant all brokenness would be set right and healed. It meant that people would love one another. Shalom would flow deep and broad, embracing all of creation, including plants, animals, and the earth itself. Micah remembers the promise of shalom. The prophet Micah lived about 700 years before Jesus was born in a mid-sized town called Moresheth, about 25 miles south of Jerusalem. Micah saw things everyone else wanted to ignore. He records unspeakable violence and injustice in 2:9 and 3:1-2. Not only did this injustice outrage Micah, it also connected him once again with those ancient promises of better days. God whispered into his ear, "Remember, Micah; someone is coming who will bring peace." The Messiah comes quietly. Micah's times were much like ours. Micah 5:1 describes a king being publicly humiliated: "They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek." In verse 3, the prophet describes the time when the nation would be conquered, divided, and sent into exile. Micah compares these days of abandonment and groaning to a woman's groaning during childbirth. Yet into this violent and seemingly hopeless situation, God will send his peace bearer.
But look carefully, Micah warns, or you might miss his coming. When God brings peace, he will do it so quietly that you just might miss it. That's the way God's shalom comes: not with a marching band and hoopla and press coverage, but quietly and to unlikely people. the Messiah, will come from a very quiet place: Bethlehem. Though he comes from an insignificant place, he is nevertheless God's peace giver. Verse 4 tells us, "he will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord … and they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth." How big and broad and all-encompassing God's shalom is! Finally, Micah says, "And he will be the one of peace." This promised shalom is wrapped up in one person. This reality we're aching and longing for that seems always out of reach has come, and it's wrapped up in a person, the Messiah. Seven hundred years later, as it is recorded in our New Testament, someone is born, and the clues begin to point in the same direction. Just as Micah predicted, this peace bringer comes from Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-12). Another witness proclaims the following about the Coming One in Luke’s gospel: "By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:78-79)." When he comes, an entire host of angels start singing, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors" (Luke 2:14). Around the globe on Christmas Eve, followers of Jesus will celebrate the coming of the peace God intended for his creation—once lost because of sin and longed for by all creation—has come in Jesus. He's the one Micah pronounced, who would be our peace. That's why the New Testament declares so joyfully that peace has been offered: "Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Less than a century after Jesus lived, Epictetus wrote “Ask not that events should happen as you will, but let your will be that events should happen as they do, and you shall have peace.” (Manual of, c.110) As a follower of Jesus, I am now called to announce the good news that others can be reconciled to God. We begin this peacemaking journey in our homes and neighborhoods and families. Peace does not mean the absence of conflict; it means working through the conflict to bring peace into our relationships. We stand up for those who are treated with injustice. We ask for Messiah to bring his peace into our city and community. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus preaches “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” (Matt. 5:9). Fred Winters, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Maryville, Illinois, was shot and killed during a Sunday service on March 8, 2009, by a troubled young man. A week after the tragic event, his wife, Cindy Winters, was interviewed by Julie Chen of CBS's Early Show. When asked about her husband's alleged killer, Terry Sedlacek, Cindy spoke only a message of forgiveness and peace: “I do not have any hatred towards him. We have been praying for him. One of the first things that my daughter said to me after this happened was, "You know, I hope that he comes to learn to love Jesus through all of this." We are not angry at all, and we really firmly believe that he can find hope and forgiveness and peace through this, by coming to know Jesus. And we hope that that happens for him.” (source: CBS, "Pastor's Wife Forgives Accused Gunman," www.cbsnews.com (3-16-09) We do well to remember that the Messiah, Prince of Peace went on to say “‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart, Christ has overcome the world! Amen?! Then he tells his followers “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (John 14) Therefore, (sing) “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”
(Thanks to Matt Woodley, senior pastor of Three Village Church in East Setauket, New York for his ideas on this subject) |
