Make Room in your Heart for Peace
Make Room in your Heart • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 22:41
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· 65 viewsWe often see in the Bible that peace is so much more than the absence of conflict; peace is an active momentum towards the flourishing of God’s world
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8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone 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 about.”
Shalom
Shalom
Often at Christmas we talk about peace. We send Christmas cards that say "peace on earth" and show a serene landscape that somehow looks peaceful. It's a common sentiment for Christmas. After all, today we light a candle on our advent wreath that is specifically labeled for peace. But what do we mean by that?
For most of us, the english definition of the word 'peace' is what we think about. By peace, we mean an absence of hostility, or an absence of conflict. When we are at peace with other people, we usually take that to mean there are no hostilities between us and others. Or sometimes when we say that we feel at peace, or have a peaceful feeling, what we mean is that we are not mentally consumed with some kind of conflict that weighs upon our minds. In that way, we might think of peace as being freedom from stress and anxiety. We live in a culture that could definitely use more freedom from stress and anxiety.
shalom = peace | Nicolas Wolterstorff - shalom = flourish
flourish = "to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment."
In the Old testament books of the Bible--which were written in the Hebrew language--peace meant something a bit more comprehensive than absence of conflict. If you have been with us for a while you know I have often talked about this. It is one of the central themes of the Bible. The Hebrew word shalom is commonly translated into our english Bibles as the word "peace." But shalom means more than peace. The scholar Nicolas Wolterstorff makes the case that a better english word for shalom is "flourish." An english dictionary defines flourishing as "to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment." This is shalom. This is what is meant whenever you read the word "peace" in the Old Testament books of the Bible.
Wolterstorff: "When humans are forced to live in sheer ugliness, that's not flourishing."
Wolterstorff says, "When humans are forced to live in sheer ugliness, that's not flourishing." The shalom that God originally created in this world was a condition in which all of creation would flourish. Instead, this world is broken by our sin. Now there is—as Wolterstorff says—ugliness. Yet God's commitment to the shalom of his creation has not diminished, not one bit. And so in Jesus the shalom flourishing begins with the action of God to remove the ugliness in our world as it now exists.
Mary and Joseph live in a world of ugliness
This is just a bit of what the original audience of the Bible would have known about the idea of peace. And into this, the message of the angels to the shepherds in Luke 2 is loaded with meaning. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” The shalom of God on earth during a time when the Roman Empire brutally held control over all the surrounding world with a military force that could never be matched? Unthinkable. The shalom of God on earth announced to a group of shepherds—ordinary nobodies? Ridiculous.
But then again, maybe not. Maybe there is connection to some other time in Israel’s history then the shalom flourishing of God seemed utterly impossible, and was announced into the context of shepherds. Consider Micah 5. Here's some background information about Micah and the message of this book of the Bible, and it's not during a time of shalom. Micah lived in the city of Jerusalem during the reign of king Hezekiah. It is during this time that the entire nation of Israel is under attack from the empire of Assyria. In fact, ten of the tribes in the northern kingdom of Israel have fallen to Assyria. And Hezekiah is fortified in the city of Jerusalem with whatever he has for an army trying desperately to repel the ongoing siege of the Assyrians against the tribe of Judah in the southern kingdom. And it's not going well. The prevailing attitude is an acceptance that Jerusalem cannot hold out much longer. This is what's happening when Micah writes these words.
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.
4 He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be our peace
when the Assyrians invade our land
and march through our fortresses.
We will raise against them seven shepherds,
even eight commanders,
From Micah to Luke
From Micah to Luke
Let's draw a connection to a few very important details that might help us understand what Micah is saying about God's shalom for his people, and how this carries forward to what the shepherds hear in Luke 2. The first comes from Micah. The promised Messiah of God will be the shalom flourishing of his people even when foreign invaders march in and take over.
Micah to people of Judah - the Messiah will shepherd his people with peace
Angels to shepherds (Luke) - the Messiah has arrived with peace
both messages come to an ugly world facing violent foreign oppression
The Angels in Luke 2 declare that the Messiah brings shalom to God’s people on the earth to a group of shepherds. The prophet Micah says the Messiah will shepherd his people; he will be our peace. These two passages taken together show a connection which reminds us that the peace brought upon the earth by the Messiah is a peace that is powerful enough to come into our hearts even in a world that remains torn apart by sin and violence.
That’s a tall order. How does the peace of Christ—the shalom flourishing of God—find room in our hearts in a world which seems so very far away from peace? How do we make room in our hearts for peace?
Hebrew ra’ah = shepherd, tending, graze
…ra’ah also = crush, devastate, annihilate
shows up several times in Micah 5 in a way that contrasts those two different meanings
Let’s look at a second detail that Micah tucks into his prophecy that carries forward to Luke 2. Micah uses a word-play using Hebrews words; one Hebrew word that has two different meanings. The Hebrew word for shepherd is ra'ah. But the Hebrew word ra’ah also can also mean crush, devastate, or annihilate. (The footnote for Micah 5:5 in an NIV Bible will tell you that the word 'rule' in that verse is literally ‘crush'.) This word shows up several times in Micah 5 in a way that contrasts those two different meanings of ra’ah.
OUR attempts at greatness show up as [ra’ah] CRUSHING other people
the MESSIAH’s greatness shows up as [ra’ah] a SHEPHERD of all people
the shalom of God comes by a Messiah who shepherds the nations | our own efforts result in the crushing of the nations
Here is what Micah is saying in chapter 5: OUR attempts at greatness show up as [ra’ah] CRUSHING other people. The MESSIAH’s greatness shows up as [ra’ah] a shepherd of all people. The greatness of Christ will bring about peace by ra'ah — shepherding people. But by contrast our quest of greatness brings about ra'ah — crushing people. The shalom of God comes by a Messiah who shepherds the nations. Our own efforts result in the crushing of the nations.
Make Room in your Heart
Make Room in your Heart
Bring the scene forward again to Luke 2. The announcement of peace—of shalom fourishing—first comes to a group of shepherds. It is an announcement that Luke places in his gospel story as a reminder for all of us that this shalom peace of God is revealed by the way in which God shepherds his people. But now there is more to the story because the shepherds in Luke 2 have an opportunity to respond.
shepherds started with a simple response: “let’s go see this thing that we have been told about”
These ordinary people who live ordinary lives doing ordinary things demonstrate a heart that makes room for peace. It comes as a rather simple response. Let’s go see this thing that we have been told about. The angel gave a sign so that they would know what to be looking for. And their response was immediate. They did not wait until morning; Luke says they hurried. And after they found the baby just as they were told, they returned telling others and praising God.
everything else in their world around them remains just as chaotic and messed up and ugly as it was before.
Hang on. Imagine this scene. The shepherds just simply go back to everything they had left. They were still ordinary people in an ordinary place. They still had rather ordinary jobs living outdoors working the night shift protecting flocks of sheep. They were still in a world which remained under the oppressive control of the Roman Empire. This announcement of peace did not change any of that one bit. Sure, the part about angels showing up in the middle of the night is spectacular. But for those shepherds, everything else in their world around them remains just as chaotic and messed up and ugly as it was before.
now they are filled with praise, cannot help glorifying God | what has changed? shepherds have made room in their hearts for peace
Yet, something is different. Something is changed because these shepherds cannot help telling everyone about what has just happened. Something is new because now they are filled with praise. They cannot help glorifying God. What is this difference? What is the thing that has changed? The difference is that these shepherds have made room in their hearts for peace—for shalom. They have created space in their hearts for the shalom flourishing of God to show up.
do all that while still going back to plain ordinary shepherds in messed up and ugly world | that part did not change
The example we see in the shepherds is a group of people who are expectant to find what God has promised. They go out and look for it. They are attentive to the world around them to see and experience what has been revealed to them. They make room in their hearts to receive this shalom into their lives—and the actions of their lives show it. They obediently respond to the sign of the angel; they tell others; they worship and glorify God. And catch this, they do all that while still going back to being plain ordinary shepherds who live plain ordinary lives and work plain ordinary jobs in messed up and ugly world. That part did not change. The world around them did not magically transform in a single instant. Yet, they are different people because there is room in their hearts for the shalom of God to enter in, to be experienced, to be shared.
how can we make room in our hearts for peace?
What is the take away for us today? You and I are not shepherds living outside of Bethlehem. We have not been given instructions from angels to go find a baby in a manger. But we can learn from the example here how to be people who make room in our hearts for peace. Here are two things you can do this week to begin that process. First, identify one thing in your life that is taking up too much room in your heart to get rid of. Is there something in your life which you are allowing to hog up space in your heart so that there is no room left for peace to enter in?
get rid of ra’ah to make room for ra’ah
what are you letting take up space in your heart which only seems to fill your head with crushing and devastating thoughts?
pick one source of crushing devastation (ra’ah) to remove from your heart this week
In particular, get rid of ra’ah to make room for ra’ah. Remember, that Hebrew word we saw in Micah 5 has two meanings. It means crushing devastation; but it also means shepherd, tending. What are you letting take up space in your heart which only seems to result in crushing? Are you letting anything into your heart which leaves your soul cold, which leaves your heart bitter and angry, which only seems to fill your head with crushing and devastating thoughts? Pick one thing—one habit—that you can change or get rid of from your life this week so that your heart will not be sucked into and filled with an attitude of ra’ah crushing devastation.
add one source of tender shepherding (ra’ah) to fill your heart this week
room for in your heart for seeing glimpses of the shalom flourishing which Jesus brings into a broken and messed up world
God has revealed a sign to us as well | his word which gives testimony to God’s salvation
And now there is some room in your heart for peace. There is room for another kind of ra’ah—the tender care of our great shepherd, Jesus. There is room for in your heart for seeing glimpses of the shalom flourishing which he brings into a broken and messed up world. The shepherds in Luke 2 followed the sign that was revealed to them in order to see Jesus in their world. God has revealed a sign to us as well. God has revealed his word which gives testimony to God’s salvation. We have the Bible as the sign which was given to us to see and know who Jesus is. This week let Jesus—the great shepherd—fill your life with peace by filling your heart with the word of God.
In Jesus we are called to participate in God's shalom, for his glory, because he is our great shepherd. In Jesus, we can once again make room in our hearts to flourish. This week let Jesus—the great shepherd—fill your life with peace by filling your heart with the word of God. That's the peace of Christmas.
Jesus himself is our peace, even in the middle of a broken, messed up, ugly world. Today we light the candle of peace. And we do this in a way that makes room in our hearts for the shalom that comes from God. In Jesus we are called to participate in God's shalom, for his glory, because he is our great shepherd. In Jesus, we can once again make room in our hearts to flourish. That's the peace of Christmas.