Christmas night: The night when God’s blessings come to us—and more. They also come to calm our troubled souls. In ages past, long ago, God revealed Himself in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He also revealed Himself, not only in a still small voice but also in the clap of thunder, atop Mt. Sinai. Not so tonight, for this night is different: God now wears flesh and bone and sleeps in a manger.
The Creator of the cosmos is now incarnate. The night is half spent and peaceful stillness lay over all. For God’s mighty Word, Jesus Christ, descends from heaven’s royal throne (Wisdom 18:14-15). Born of virgin’s womb, He rests among the animals, the King of eternity now resident on earth. He is God’s heavenly splendor, shining salvation into our hearts with His life, peace, and favor.
Chaos, the turmoil of sin and death, terrifies. Such fear, however, is but child’s play when the Christ Child confronts the disorder of sin and death. In such a showdown, only one can leave as the victor.
Our eyes catch a flicker of this conflict when the angel comes to sleep-bound shepherds: “Do not be afraid! I bring you a gospel of greatest joy, which will be for all the people.” The holiness of God burns with fright in their bellies, but what He delivers through His Word brings them His calming peace. God’s Word from the angel silences the sin-caused panic within them. The shepherd’s fear reveals a rebellion, a wayward slant deforming the human heart since our fall into sin.
At the dawn of time, God creates Adam and Eve, planting His peace and love in their hearts. The serpent, however, slithers toward them and whispers his deception. Our first parents ponder the serpent’s word instead of the Word of God. They decide they want to be like God, to understand both right and wrong. Only delighting in what pleases the Lord is dull and boring. He is holding out on them.
One deed of disobedience—and destruction works its way through all creation. Filled with compassion, the Lord of love cannot remain silent. A Descendant of Eve will come to crush the serpent’s head. The Messiah, the Savior, must come, so peace with God once more is made.
Where sin’s madness provokes the world, satanic chaos quells the peace, which God first gave. Cain kills Abel, with brother slaying brother, and murder becomes our way of life. Noah passes out drunk, naked in his tent. His children laugh at the sight, as drunkenness continues to dull our senses and thinking.
Abraham sleeps with his wife’s servant. He thinks God will not be faithful in giving him a child, and adultery becomes all the more prevalent. David the King unleashes anarchy and death when he disobeys the Lord, choosing his standards of right and wrong to rule his world. Where sin’s madness provokes the world, satanic chaos quells the peace, which God first gave.
The Lord of love cannot remain silent. God sends His prophets to speak His Word deep into the life of His people. These messengers lament the anarchy of evil holding sway over Israel. Faithlessness descends when God’s people lust after idols, rely on their solutions, belittling their faith in the Father’s promises. The Messiah must come, so peace with God once more is made.
The Lord of love cannot remain silent. Prophet Isaiah sounds the warning bell of iniquity’s destruction. Do his words sound foreign to our experience of life?
People will oppress one another—man against man, neighbor against neighbor. A man will grab his brother in his father’s house, “This heap of ruins will be under your control.” Jerusalem staggers and Judah is falling, for their words and deeds are against the Lord, defying His glorious presence. [Isaiah 3:5-8]
The Messiah must come, so peace with God once more is made. On a quiet Judean night, when sin’s anarchy lulls for a moment, an angel speaks to sleep-bound shepherds. “Do not be afraid! I bring you a gospel of greatest joy, which will be for all the people.”
The eternal Peace for a fallen creation now enters the world. He does not come as suits the King of heaven but comes as the most common of commoners. He sleeps with the animals, revealing a Savior who points forward to the restoration of all creation, not only for a rebellious people.
Peace on earth is here because of God. The incarnation of peace steps into His creation. He almost sneaks into this world unannounced, except for the angel’s proclamation.
Do chaos and the disorder of sin disrupt your life? Perhaps, you do not suffer, as King David did, because of a murder committed, or an adultery unleashed. Still, sin is an insidious creature, touching every part of your life, leaving nothing unscathed. You age, sickness disables you, and one day you will die. You hurt others, and others hurt you. Sin’s harsh reality is in all our lives.
You ponder on this night of salvation: “Where can I find reprieve from the pain and hurt,” which leave you hollow and empty? You yearn for lasting peace amid the turmoil of this world. You exhaust yourself, trying to experience a moment of calm, a respite from the evil all around you, which keeps stealing from you, without rest or relief.
“Do not be afraid! I bring you a gospel of greatest joy, which will be for all the people.” All the people includes you. The Messiah is born, so peace with God once more is made. All the people includes you.
The Christ Child comes into this world, bringing eternal peace. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth, peace to those with whom he is pleased!” In Christ Jesus, God delights in you. The Peace He is and gives, is now yours.
Jesus comes to give stillness amid the storms of this world, which unleash their worst on you at every turn. He commits His life to do what you and I are too feeble to do: live a life of perfection and walk the way of the cross. He is born to give life, to bring into being the new creation, when the fallen world and our fallen nature are no more.
The new heaven and earth will become a reality because Jesus became incarnate. Jesus is now God in human flesh, which means the peace He brings is also real. Though the madness of this fallen world may inflict mayhem, without a moment’s warning, the Prince of Peace comes to end hostilities. He also comes to do more: to make everything right, so peace with God once more is made.
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth, peace to those with whom he is pleased!” Peace is yours because this Savior is yours. He enters to battle with the devil and all his demonic powers, to win the war on the cross of death. He comes to rise from death, to return on the Last Day, and call forth the new creation. The entire future becomes a reality because God becomes incarnate.
Do you not understand the end of the story? Peace with God is yours into all eternity! Jesus gives you this peace, which “which transcends all understanding,” which “guards your hearts and minds” (Philippians 4:7). Jesus lives, His love wins, and His peace becomes yours, unending.
The angels rejoice! “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth, peace to those with whom he is pleased!” God delights in you because of Jesus. Though we committed treason against God, His love cannot remain silent. For the Heavenly Father chooses His Son to carry your sin, all so His favor can rest on you. “Rest on you,” means God’s peace is yours because He forgives you of all your sins.
The battle is over, and the devil lies in defeat. The Word becomes flesh and God’s peace breaks into the anarchy of your sin. Death is incapable of taking away what God grants to you in Christ Jesus. So, if death comes your way next year, the unwanted visitor only makes the experience of God’s peace all the stronger. For your fallen flesh will be clinging to you no more. The Christ Child turns death inside out.
Tonight, angelic choirs sing with rapture: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth, peace to those with whom he is pleased!” In Him, in the Christ Child, the peace of God is yours. Jesus tells us, “In this world, you will suffer, but be brave. I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The peace He brings and gives is yours, now and into eternity. Amen.
