Do you have a friend or family member who was born on Christmas? How do you celebrate? Is it with two distinct gifts, one with a Merry Christmas wish and the other with a birthday blessing? Or is it with one gift, perhaps larger, meant to encompass both. Put on your privileged pants for a moment. It becomes quite easy to see the dilemma of the gift giver as well as the plight of the person whose day of celebration is always trumped by someone whose birth means so much more. All entitlement evaluations aside, in similar shoes, we might all feel forgotten or neglected. Hang on to that idea of being forgotten for a moment and then carry on.
Five months into a war that would last four more years, a remarkable moment of peace occurred. World War I began in July 1914 and the battle only enraged as the holidays approached. Beginning on the evening of December 24, apparently started by German soldiers who adorned their trenches with Christmas trees, a miraculous holiday ceasefire ensued.
History says that the sound of German soldiers singing “Silent Night” was met by the British troops heralding “The First Noel.” Rendering the war-torn space between the trenches hallowed ground, men who had been firing at each other only hours before ventured out to shake hands, exchange Christmas greetings, and share festivities together. Some even reported a game of soccer played amongst the troops on the frozen battlefield.
This momentary truce wasn’t sanctioned by the officers and soldiers were eventually pulled back to their respective posts to resume fighting. Future opportunities to create similar instances were either forbidden or avoided, but this moment would be forever remembered as a beautifully bright light of peace within a very dark storm.
What Is Peace?
Perhaps you’ve witnessed the handshake before or after a tennis match or the glove tap before heavyweights take their corners. You’ve seen the fist-bumps before the coin toss and even the little leaguers lined up for hive fives post game. There has always been something special about sportsmanship that’s attractive. Opponents who want to crush each other on the sport court sharing side hugs and well wishes on the sidelines.
There is something special about enemies and opponents recognizing the humanity within one another, but even our most peaceful expressions as people can’t compare with the reality of biblical peace afforded by Jesus.
Picture 200 years of relative peace in an empire that spread from Great Britain through much of the middle east and north Africa. Pax Romana, Latin for Roman peace, began with the reign of Augustus in approximately 27 B.C. and continued until the death of Marcys Aureliius in 180 A.D. This is the world that the Jews endured and into which Jesus was born.
While characterized by remarkable political, literary, architectural, and artistic advancements, peace in this era wasn’t necessarily the absence of war but the ability of the empire to stamp out and eliminate all forms of rebellion and all abilities of conquered peoples to retaliate.
While some, often known as Jewish Zealots, imagined a Messiah who would wield a political sword, overturn the oppressive regime, and orchestrate the return and rise of Israel as a nation, Jesus had other ideas. The Book of Luke records that ideal for us in the best way:
"As He approached and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, 'If you knew this day what would bring peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days will come on you when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in you, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.'”
Luke 19:41-44
In one way or another, Jerusalem and her children already felt surrounded, crushed, and abandoned. It would have been easy in these days to have felt forgotten by God and ignored by the distribution of His promises. If peace between your people and your persecutor was all you sought, sore disappointment is literally all you received. Jesus had another definition. His peace wouldn’t be the absence of war of conflict. His peace wouldn’t be enforced by the military or ensured by the economy. It would, however, be the result of satisfied hostility.
You Can Be Secure
In Luke’s language, the Greek word translated as “peace” doesn’t only mean tranquility between nations or even friendship among individuals. Another part of the definition is such assurance of salvation as to be content with whatever one’s earthly lot. This kind of peace is a “no matter what falls” peace. In one sense, it’s inner peace whether one gets exactly what is hoped for or a rotten outcome altogether. It’s knowing that you aren’t forgotten. It’s remembering that you are loved. It’s understanding that you can be secure regardless of what is going on around you.
"The only way to sleep in heavenly peace is to recognize who that peace really comes from. When you do, you can rest regardless."
Sometimes godly peace will be the beautiful moment of rest between really chaotic battles. It will be a temporary ceasefire and a sweet moment of relief from the attack. But then tomorrow comes and there is still an enemy. There is still a struggle. There is still a raging war. His peace, the kind that He left with us, isn’t the absence of fighting but the ability to be full of hope and confident in Christ despite the war.
The line that closes the first stanza of Silent Night is, “sleep in heavenly peace.” One can be sure that the German soldiers in 1914 sang, “Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh.” One can rest in times of worldly peace, when the fighting stops, and conflict is resolved. The only way to sleep in heavenly peace, according to Jesus as recorded by Luke, is to recognize who that peace really comes from. When you do, you can rest regardless. If you feel forgotten or attacked, oppressed or overlooked, peace can reign in this life because it’s not from this world.
