Community Covenant Church - Sermons

December 3, 2006

“Radical Change”

Luke 21:25-36

On the front of this morning’s bulletin we find the word “PEACE”, for in Christ’s coming comes peace. A great multitude of angels proclaimed to the Bethlehem shepherds their praise to God, saying:

Luke 2:14

14"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

“On whom his favor rests”; on those who receive and take hold of God’s gift.... Jesus. Peace comes to those who receive Jesus; it comes as God’s Kingdom advances in the hearts of people who willingly yield themselves to God.

- This peace includes an inner peace, where one grows to love and accept one’s self.

- This peace includes a social peace, where one learns to love one’s neighbor as one’s self. And,

- This peace also includes our peace with God, where we learn to love God as a natural response to who God is and what He has done for us in creation and redemption.

- All three kinds of peace are included in the Hebrew word “Shalom”.

God desires to give us His peace, a peace which passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7). And as Jesus demonstrated throughout his ministry, and said before leaving his disciples on earth:

John 14:27a (NKJV)

27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.

During Jesus’ ministry, you may remember that when He sent out his 72 followers two-by-two to proclaim God’s Kingdom in word in deed, his instruction to them included:

Luke 10:5-6

"When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.

Peace comes and rests upon those who welcome Jesus’ coming; who welcome all who come in Jesus’ name.

In that simple instruction from Jesus to the 72, we find a wisdom that needs to be recognized generation after generation; that while followers of Jesus are commissioned to be peacemakers in this world (Matthew 5:9), and while some people will welcome that peace and allow God’s gift to rest upon them, others will continue to reject God’s gift of peace despite a nearly universal human desire for peace.

Few would argue, especially among generations who went off to war... and our generation, observing the present War in Iraq among the dozen of wars being fought in our world even as we speak; few would argue that peace is a difficult goal to achieve in our world. Whether one agrees with military or diplomatic means, peace not only takes time to achieve, but it also takes people ready to welcome peace.

One of my favorite songs has always been “Let There Be Peace on Earth”. It was written in 1955 by the late Jill Jackson Miller. She was a person who knew little peace; having been orphaned as a young girl, having experienced a difficult journey through foster care that led her into despair and an attempted suicide. Once, in a radio interview, she said "And when I attempted suicide and I didn't succeed, I knew for the first time unconditional love--which God is. God is unconditional love. You are totally loved, totally accepted, just the way you are. In that moment I was not allowed to die, and something happened to me which is very difficult to explain. I had an eternal moment of truth, in which I knew I was loved, and knew I was here for a purpose."

Part of that purpose was obviously the writing of what is perhaps the most recorded and sung lyrics about peace... the peace she had experienced, and wanted the world to experience.

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me;
Let there be peace on earth,
The peace that was meant to be.

With God as our Father
Brothers all are we,
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me,
Let this be the moment now;
With every step I take,
Let this be my solemn vow:

To take each moment and live each moment
In peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.

I don’t know the details of Ms. Miller’s theology, but her lyrics ring true with scripture; that while we can, and often do, blame many other people for a lack of peace in the world, we are called to first give ourselves for the cause (To remove the plank out of our own eye before we trying to remove the sawdust from your brother’s eye [Matthew 7:3-5]. As we live in this exciting time between God’s gift of Christ and Christ’s return; that age between God’s offer of peace and that day of final transformation when a “new heaven and new earth” will come with the completed “shalom” of God, we know that things have to radically change for God’s peace to fully come, and like the song declares, that change begins with ourselves. And as Jesus’ call to discipleship reminds us, that peace does not come without a price. Jesus’ died so that we might have peace with God. And for us too it takes sacrifice, “radical change” if you will, in how we are living in order to advance God’s Kingdom and its peace.

Do you see and accept the price needed for peace; do you recognize changes that need to be made in your life? Or, are you content with the world as it is, and see no reason to change?

Tell me something: What do you think it mean for us to be “ready” for Jesus’ return? What does it mean when Jesus teaches that it is good for a Master to find his servant awake & alert when he returns, or to have enough oil in our lamps to welcome the Bridegroom when He comes for the Bride? What does it mean in Matthew 24 and Luke 12 when Jesus commends the servant who is about the Master’s work when he returns home? Let me suggest that while many Christians might interpret that in terms of “playing church”... that is, in being religious, I challenge us today to understand our “watchfulness” and “readiness” in terms of living as Kingdom people... Being loving, peacemaking people... doing whatever God asks of us, no matter the cost.

As an example I lift before you Joseph.. you know... the “supporting cast” in the nativity story.. The Bible tells us he is a “righteous man”... a tsaddîyq in the Hebrew language; a person known for and highly respected for living a righteous life according to Jewish law. This would have been a very hard thing for a poor carpenter like Joseph to be, for unlike the wealthy who could hire out work so that they can accomplish all that the Torah required, Joseph had to be highly disciplined to complete all his work and still live as the law guided him to live.

But now suddenly, into this world of the tsaddîyq Joseph came a dilemma. His betrothed, a young woman named Mary, is pregnant. Matthew records the story in his gospel:

Matthew 1:18-24

18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

Author & Pastor John Ortberg, whose efforts helped us survey the Old Testament a few years ago, offers interesting insight into the change God demanded of righteous Joseph so that God’s peace could come into this world through Jesus’ birth. Ortberg writes:

The angel says, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife." Why would Joseph be afraid to wed Mary? Of course Joseph would be afraid of offending God and violating the Torah, but it's not just that. Joseph would be afraid of losing his reputation.

He would be afraid of what everybody would think about him. Joseph knew about his own doubts when Mary told him about the angel. There's no way people in his town were going to believe an angel came to a poor couple in an obscure village and caused the conception of a child in the body of a virgin teenage girl. He knew that if he married her, his friends would never accept his account of what happened. He would not be invited to their homes, he would not be given their business, and he would never again be admired and respected as a lover of the Torah. If he committed himself to this baby—to the one who would be known as Jesus—he would do so at enormous sacrifice. His whole reputation, the work of a lifetime, would be trashed.

Ortberg presses us further as he writes:

Since that time, millions of people have made sacrifices for the sake of this one called Jesus. Many have given up status, possessions, convenience, freedoms, even their lives. But Joseph, who gave up his identity and reputation for Jesus, had not even seen him yet. When Joseph looked into people's eyes after he obeyed God, things were never the same. They never looked at him with the same respect and adoration. But when he looked into the eyes of that child, Jesus, he knew he had done the right thing.

Later, when Joseph was long dead and Jesus was a grown man, he taught in Matthew 5:20, "Unless your righteousness passes that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law"—the old system—"you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Jesus must have been thinking inside, I've seen the better kind of righteousness firsthand; Joseph was such a man.

What leaders can learn from the Nativity about the high cost of righteousness.
by John Ortberg This column is excerpted from the sermon "Recognizing Divine Interruptions" from the website PreachingTodaySermons.com. Copyright © 2006 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal. November 27, 2006

Today I cannot tell you what sacrifices you will be asked to make, to further the Kingdom of God and the peace only He can offer. It may be a sacrifice of your reputation; what others think about you. I may cost you financially or require precious time..... it may cost you friends and business contacts as you take an unpopular stance.

But are you willing to change your ways in obedience to God, so that His favor comes and rests upon people in need of peace?

- Are you willing to look deep within yourself, and do what is necessary to love and respect who God created in you? Are you willing to strive toward an inward peace by exposing the darkness and allowing the light of God’s love to redefine you as it did Jill Jackson Miller?

- Are you willing to advance God’s peace in your home by exercising a devotion to each other that goes against the declining norms of our society? Will you prioritize your relationship with your spouse? Will you give your children your time, and pass on not only the Word of God but His love as well?

- Are you willing to promote peace in the fellowship of the church, through humble servanthood and unconditional love?

- Are you willing to encourage peace in your community by getting involved and helping opposing parties to hear one another and resolve their differences in healthy ways?

-         Are you willing to let your voice be heard on state or national issues, standing for the values of God’s Kingdom over the positions of any political party? Are you willing to be citizens of a Kingdom whose King will settle disputes for many peoples. (Citizens who) will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
     (Are you preparing to inhabit a new heaven and a new earth where) Nation will not take up sword against nation,
       nor will they train for war anymore. (Isaiah 2:4alt.)

Are you willing to get ready for Jesus’ coming; to do as John the Baptist cried out;

- to make paths straight,

- to fill in valleys and lower the hills and mountains,

- to make rough places smooth...

...in order to welcome our King?

It has been a few years since JRR Tolkien’s books “The Lord of the Rings” were revived through lavish movie productions, but perhaps you remember “The Two Tower” storyline... a tale about the future of peace in a place called “Middle-Earth”. For peace to exist, a ring with enormous power to corrupt its possessor had to be slipped behind enemy lines and destroyed in a volcanic fire. The task fell upon Frodo Baggins with the support of his friend, Sam Gamgee... both of them hobbits, known for being peace-loving, self-effacing and unadventurous beings.

However, aware of the importance of their mission, they rose to the occasion, and through great struggle and sacrifice, accomplished the task. Citation: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (New Line Cinema, 2002), based on novel by J. R. Tolkien, directed by Peter

As Sons and daughters of God, we too are called to the seemingly impossible mission of joining with Jesus, and through the power of His Spirit to advance the peace of His Kingdom into this world. In the coming of Jesus comes peace;

- slowly and gradually at first, as Jesus was born and his message was first heard,

- but soon suddenly and completely it will fully arrive when Jesus returns in glory.

Will we be ready.... will we be faithful servants about His work when He returns? Peace requires a radical change; it requires hearts to be given completely to God.

As we celebrate the peace we have received through the birth of Jesus Christ, let us also prepare ourselves for what is yet to happen when Jesus comes again. And we do so as we gather around our Lord’s table where He comes to meet us and to offer us perace through His body and blood.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (r).