Last month, Juli, Ashlyn, and I were in Rothenburg, Germany for the annual Euro-American Family Retreat. I love spending time in this part of Germany and attending this excellent retreat. But not having lived in Europe for the past four years, something stood out to me this time around. Black Friday is now a major event, even in Europe! The idea of having a sales promotion isn't wrong, in and of itself, but making Christmas about consumerism, rather than Jesus is troubling. It seems to have gotten worse in the US over the past couple of decades and Black Friday now joins the list of tacky cultural exports that the US has shared with the rest of the world. Christmas shouldn't be about consumerism, but it is about gifts and the best of those gifts has already been given - it's been given to us from God the Father, through his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is our gift of peace.
And we are all in need of peace. The world is need of peace. From the Palestinian/Israeli conflict in the Middle East to the drug cartel violence in Mexico, the world is overrun with conflict and violence. In late 2019, there are over 25 significant conflicts globally and the US is involved in no fewer than 5 of them. Many others affect us indirectly - in fact, the more our world is connected through technology and travel, the more any and every conflict will affect us all. We also experience conflict at the local, familial, and personal level. The world needs peace. Our countries need peace. Our communities, our families, and all of us individually are in need of peace. But conflict and war has been par for the course for most of human history. Biblical history is no different.
In 2 Samuel chapters 13-19, we read of the tragic story of David's son, Absalom. I won't go into all the details here, but to make a long story short, rather than enjoying the privileged position of a prince, Absalom instead rebels against his father and tries to usurp the throne. Absalom and David are at war. But its obvious that David does not desire this state of affairs. He longs to be reconciled with his son. He longs for peace. But his son's rebellion has forced the issue and David must do what's right for both himself and for the greater good of his kingdom. So, Absalom must be defeated. Absalom must be destroyed. If there were any other way, David would pursue it, but Absalom's selfish desires force David's hand. When Absalom is killed, David is in pain. He weeps and mourns for his son - the same son who wanted him dead and tried to steal his throne.
The story of Absalom's rebellion gives us some insight into humanity's relationship with God. Sin isn't just us breaking a few rules. Sin is outright and open rebellion against God, our King. Through sin and idolatry, we shake our fist in God's face and we tell him that we would rather do things our way, than his way. And our rebellion has catastrophic effects, not just on our relationship with God, but also on our relationship with one another. This, in some ways could be a summary of the macro story of the Bible.
In the beginning, we had unhindered access to God as he walked among us and communed directly with us. But, Eve was lured by the promise of the fruit and decided that being in relationship with God wasn't enough. She wanted to be like God and Adam joined her in this idolatry. Like Eve (and Adam), we have all reached out and grasped for the fruit. We've all desired God's position, rather than God himself. Or like Paul described it in Romans, we've worshiped the creation rather than the creator.
Right after Adam and Eve are kicked out of the garden, we read of the tragic story of Cain and Able. These two brothers are at war as Cain kills Able. And this tale has been replayed millions of times throughout human history (at the familial, local, national, and inter-national level). And just like Cain, Eve, and Absalom, our sin is outright rebellion. Through our rebellion we entered a war with God as we severed our relationship with him. Our sin has led to real hostility between us and our Father and to real hostility amongst ourselves. We need peace. Thankfully, God initiated a peace process.
Paul writes in Romans 1:18 that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth." Paul doesn't say that God's wrath is directed towards humans themselves, but to their actions. God still loves the human beings who commit these wicked and evil attrocities, but the result of evil behavior is death. The wages of sin is death as Paul will say later in the Roman letter.
David did not hate Absalom, but loved him. But Absalom loved his sin more than he loved his father and it led to his death. It's the same for us. God loves us, but if we love our sin more than God, it will lead us to death - both physically and spiritually.
David had to consider the good of his entire kingdom, not just the good of his son. God too considers the good of his entire creation. We're all in this together - it's not just about us as individuals. If we continue to rebel against God's creational intentions, then we will miss out on life in the new creation. The wages of sin is death.
So, if we are at war with God and the wages of sin is death, how do we escape the destruction that our sin demands? How can we be reconciled back to God? How might we find peace? In Luke chapter 1, we discover the answer. After the birth of his son, John the Baptist, the priest Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke these words: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from old...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."
In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul describes what Jesus, the gift of peace has accomplished. In chapter 1, verses 3-14 we discover that our redemption (being bought back from slavery and being forgiven of our sins) has been accomplished through the blood of Jesus. Paul then goes onto say that the mystery of God's will is the coming together of heaven and earth through Jesus. In other words, there will be heaven's peace on earth. And we can be certain of this because God has given us the down payment of the Holy Spirit on our future inheritance.
In chapter 2 of Ephesians, Paul states that we have peace through Jesus. In fact, Jesus is God's gift of peace. We were far off, he states, but through Jesus we've been brought near. All that stood between us and God has been abolished. And all that stood between Jews and Gentiles has been abolished too. Jesus came proclaiming peace to the far off Gentiles and peace to the nearby Jews. And now, both Jews and Gentiles, united in Christ, make up the new humanity. It is just like it was in the beginning. God's new humanity is where he dwells through his Spirit.
The Biblical notion of peace isn't just the absence of conflict. Biblical peace (shalom in Hebrew) includes the additional meaning of things being as they should be. It's the idea of things functioning as they should function - things working right for good. The Biblical notion of peace is not unlike what Julian of Norwich said, "All shall be well and all manner of things shall be well."
Still, all is not well, at least not yet. We live in a broken world. We live in a world of conflict - a world of war - a world of sin. We live in a world that needs healing. We live in a world that badly needs peace. Thankfully, Jesus has become our peace. So, the message of Christmas is good news for the entire world. As the angels proclaimed to the shepherds on the night of Jesus' birth, "Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, peace among those whom he favors!"
One day, Jesus will bring wholeness and healing to the entire creation. All shall be well on that day and true peace will finally be realized. So, let's celebrate Jesus, the gift of peace, this Christmas! Let's rejoice in the good news that the war is over. Peace has been achieved through Jesus Christ! Let's celebrate our Prince of Peace this Christmas! - Shay
