The Way of Peace
December 8, 2024 + Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane
“Because of the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
These are the Holy Spirit inspired words of Zechariah. He has been mute for nine months, silenced by the angel Gabriel after he scoffed at the angel’s message – that his wife would bear a child, a messenger of the coming of the Lord. For nine months, Zechariah sat in silence, listening to two pregnant women – Elizabeth and Mary -- talk about the miracles that God was birthing in their bellies, and how God was doing something new – something that seemed impossible. And yet, what seemed impossible was happening! Zecharaiah had a long time to think and pray. And so, when John was born, Zechariah spoke – or rather sang, proclaiming the goodness of God, quoting the prophets of old and pointing to the coming of the Messiah and the role his baby boy, John, will have in preparing the way.
When Zechariah speaks the Word of the Lord it is hopeful and inspiring. “Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” With these words, we can be assured that God is indeed present – even for and especially for those who are in darkness, in despair, who feel as if they are dying. And… for a moment, it seems as if the world will be transformed just because the Word has been spoken.
But transformation takes time. We don’t hear any more from Zechariah but thirty or so years later, John appears in the desert. He has become known as the baptizer and he is not mute. Perhaps Zechariah had hoped that John would follow in his father’s footsteps and become a priest and reform the faith from the inside out. But this is not what happened. Instead, John takes none of the robes or trappings of the priesthood and instead goes to the wilderness, eats what’s there – locusts and wild honey -- and proclaims a baptism of repentance, the need for people to change their focus, their way of life and live in accordance with God’s way. And somehow the message gets out and people come, hungry for the word of God and for direction. They ask John: What should we do?
John’s answers are simple and achievable. He doesn’t tell them to go on a marathon pilgrimage or to walk ten miles on their knees. Instead, he tells the tax collectors to take only their fair share. He tells the soldiers to be respectful and to stop harassing the people – and instead to ask for and be satisfied with fair wages. He tells people, in ordinary language, to do what the prophet Micah had proclaimed: Do justice. Love Kindness. Walk humbly with your God. This is the way of peace. This is the way to prepare your hearts and your lives for the coming of the Messiah, of Christ.
How are you preparing for Christ? Perhaps, like me, you clean your house, you set out the Advent and Christmas decorations, you bake – or buy – cookies and special foods. You think about others – and buy gifts both for loved ones and for those who can’t afford gifts for their children – like the NEAR gift giveaway. Perhaps you go to concerts or listen to music written for this Christmas season. And why not?! This is a time to celebrate the coming of Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah. This is all good.
However… during this season of Advent and Christmas, it is also most important that you keep in front of you the “reason for the season.” Even that phrase has been marketed but it’s worth saying because we actually have to be intentional about keeping Christmas about Jesus because there are so many other distractions. In addition to all of the “Christmas” movies, songs, shows, and stuff that have nothing to do with Jesus, there is a push from our consumer culture to buy, buy, buy. And, sometimes we – I – can become overwhelmed by the expectations of making the “perfect Christmas” that we put upon ourselves. So in the midst of this season, I encourage you to take time to: Stop. Hear the story; tell the story of how Jesus – God incarnate came into the world – and then to remember …God Emmanuel is with us still. For Jesus Christ has come, Christ is with us AND… Christ will come again.
So how do we prepare for Christ in this time?
In Jesus’ day there were wars and rumors of wars. And I’m afraid that is true today too. In addition, we have another challenge – social media and an over-abundance of “news” sources which may or may not tell the truth.
I ventured back onto Facebook this past week. I had been taking a break from it for a while because of all of the vitriol that I would see – just popping on to wish people a happy birthday. But I saw that a pastor friend of mine had posted a Bible verse so I clicked on the thread. And I wished I hadn’t.
There were a couple of people having an argument over the latest news and one of them had called on my friend to find a quote from Jesus. She responded by giving the Gospel, chapter and verse – but nothing else. More people jumped on the thread and they went back and forth, the vitriol was rising with one of them attacking Jesus as unjust and it just got worse. At one point, my friend wrote, “Can’t we leave Jesus out of this?”
I am guessing that my friend was wishing she had not jumped into the fray at all and I’m also guessing that what she meant was that Jesus should not be weaponized. Because, every time you draw a line and claim that Jesus is on YOUR side -- look again. Jesus has a way of showing up where you don’t expect him. Also, you’ll notice that Jesus refuses to abide by the divisions that we create. For example, in Jesus’ day, the Jewish zealots were intent on overthrowing the Roman government but the Jewish tax collectors worked for Romans. There was no love lost between them. But Jesus called both a tax collector AND a zealot to be one of his disciples. Jesus did not exclude any group – he ate with pharisees – and with “sinners.” Jesus calls ALL people to repent, to turn toward GOD and live… and calls us to do the same. And so, while we can’t box Jesus in – and claim him as “on our side,” we also can’t just leave Jesus out of it. For Jesus is Emmanuel – God with us – and is with us through all of our challenges.
Paul addresses one such challenge in his letter to the Philippians. Right before this beautiful passage, he addresses two of the leaders of the church by name, Euodia and Syntyche. They are having a conflict – what it is, he doesn’t say and no one else does either – so it is probably not all that important in the big scheme of things. However, Paul was concerned that the conflict was causing problems for them and for the church and so he begs them to “be of the same mind in the Lord” and asks the other leaders of the church to help these two women to reconcile their differences.
He then urges them to not only reconcile but to: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice.” He calls them – and us – to be our best selves. “To be gentle – with others and with ourselves.” This is true whether we are in the church or online or wherever we are.
Without a doubt there is evil and there are challenges in our world. But let us, brothers and sisters in Christ, be different from the world around us. For we know that because of God’s great mercy for all of us, Jesus Christ came as a babe at the manger; Jesus comes to us each day as Emmanuel, “God with us” and Jesus will come again to bring peace to the world. And that’s why – despite the current challenges of this world, we can join with Zechariah in glorifying God and proclaiming, “Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Thanks be to God. Amen.