Luke 3.1-14

Can you put a price on peace?

Peace sells, peace sells

Peace sells, but who’s buying?

In 1986, Heavy Metal legends, Megadeth, growled these lyrics in their chart dominating hit that monopolized airtime on MTV.

In their aggressive poetry set to face-melting riffs, Megadeth was alluding to the fact that the idea of peace is popular, but the actual seeking out and making of peace isn’t as attractive as philosophically talking about it.

For example, how many Miss America contestants contestants answered, “World Peace,” when asked the question, “What is one thing you hope for in your lifetime?”

Or, John Lennon’s 1969 musical exhortation for everyone to “Give Peace a Chance,” and two years later in 1971, asking the world to join him to,

Imagine all the people

Livin’ life in peace

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

And, then, admitting,

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will be as one

Many people throw the word peace around but very few commit to practice what they preach.

However, this ideological using of the word peace is not new to 20th and 21st Century America.

Thousands of years ago, God the Father in Heaven, used his prophet Jeremiah to confront and convict leaders with misusing the idea of peace to give false hope to the people whom they served.

In Jeremiah 6.14, the prophet, through God’s inspiration, says this:

[14] They have healed the wound of my people lightly,

saying, ‘Peace, peace,’

when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:14, ESV)

Again, people like the idea of peace, but not the path that leads to having peace on earth.

Peace calls for action, not just talk.

The dictionary defines Peace as freedom from disturbance or tranquility.  The secondary definition of Peace is a state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended.

This morning, if you could choose one place in your life to have peace, what place would you choose?  Where would you choose to eliminate tension and conflict?

Would you choose to have peace in your home—with your spouse, children, and extended family?

Would you choose to have peace in your place of employment—with your co-workers, clients, and boss?

Would you choose to have piece in your friend group?

Or, maybe, you would choose to have peace in church—with God and with other parishioners?

During the Advent season, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, we annually explore the themes of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. 

This morning, we will focus on the peace we have while waiting for Jesus’ coming to us and through Jesus’ coming to us.

With that being said, let’s hear from the lectionary text chosen for this Second Sunday in Advent.

Luke 3.1-14 says this:

[1] In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, [2] during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. [3] And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. [4] As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

[5] Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall become straight,

and the rough places shall become level ways,

[6] and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

[7] He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [8] Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. [9] Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

[10] And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” [11] And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” [12] Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” [13] And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” [14] Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.” (ESV)

In this morning’s Biblical text from the Gospel of Luke, or Luke the physician’s biography of Jesus, we encounter a man named John who was out in the desert baptizing people that came from the surrounding towns to hear his message and who believed in his message.

As a reference point, John, also known as John the Baptist, was Jesus’ cousin.

John’s message went like this, “Listen to and follow God the Father in Heaven. Be baptized while repenting of your sin and God will forgive your sin.”

However, as mentioned in the text, the baptisms that John performed were only effective to bring peace between God and man because they were fulfilling the promises that God made earlier in history and recorded in Scripture.  These promises that God the Father in Heaven made to humanity make it clear that baptism, repentance, and forgiveness were made possible through the Savior’s, Jesus’, coming to us and by His living perfectly according to all of God’s commands, dying on the cross as the innocent lamb without blemish, and defeating the power of sin and death through His resurrection from the dead.

As today’s Biblical text from Luke chapter 3 tells you,

Jesus comes to you and brings peace.

The metaphor used to illustrate this is the evening out of creation or the elimination of difficult travel in life. For example, the crooked road will be made straight, the valleys will be lifted up to ground level, and the mountains will be brought down to ground level.  

Jesus comes to you and brings you peace with God.

Jesus comes to you and brings you peace on earth and in Heaven.

The metaphor used to illustrate this point is the cutting down and burning of all the trees that don’t grow properly and produce bad fruit.  That is, God will remove all of the false teachers who give false hope wth their false teaching.  This false hope comes from telling people that their good works will earn them God’s favor and the reward of eternal life in Heaven.

Jesus comes to you and brings you peace with God through offering you the opportunity to repent of your sin, be forgiven of your sin, and see the salvation of God.

Why is there peace with God through repentance?

Well, another word for repentance is honesty.

So, to repent is to be honest with God about your Sin.

Honesty always brings peace to our lives because we stop holding in the lies, the secrets, and the misinformation.  We stop worrying about being caught, being found out, being exposed, and covering our tracks with more lies. Instead, through repentance, we have a chance to move forward with the freedom.

To repent is to be honest with God about doing your own thing.

To repent is to be honest with God about your denying of His existence in you daily routine.

To repent is to be honest with God about your active disobedience to His rules for life and love.

To repent is to be honest with God about your inactive disobedience to His rules for life and love.

Overall, to repent is to be honest with God and admit that because of the internal brokenness of your thoughts, and the external brokenness of your words and actions, life has been hard, that there have been struggles for you along way, that you haven’t always done the right thing, and that you know you need God’s forgiveness, love, and strength to carry on and choose the good part of every hour moving forward.

And, here is the Good News for you today:

Your repentance is always met with grace from God.

Following Megadeth’s question filled lyrics, Advent and Christmas offer the answers the band is seeking.

Here goes:

God put a price on peace.

And, that price was the life of His One and Only Son Jesus Christ.

Eternal peace with God has been bought for you by God Himself in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

John 3:16–21 tells us about the price of peace with God.

[16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. [18] Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. [19] And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. [20] For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. [21] But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (ESV)

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 tells you that Jesus bought peace with God for you by paying the price for your peace with God with his own life.

[19] … You are not your own, [20] for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (ESV)

Our Biblical text from this morning doesn’t end with the good news that when Jesus comes to us, he brings peace with God.

Our Biblical text for this morning goes on to let us know that God expects us to be peace makers in this world to show that true and lasting peace is possible.

So, now that we have peace with God through Jesus’ death on the cross, how do we live with peace on a day to day basis?

Well, our Biblical text from Luke’s biography of Jesus tells us how we will experience peace in this world.

Looking at verses 10-14, we hear this:

[10] And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” [11] And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” [12] Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” [13] And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” [14] Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

After attaining peace with God through faith in Jesus, according to Jesus’ words, daily peace comes from sharing, caring, honesty, truth, and contentment.

Here, Jesus is telling you that in order to experience peace everyday, prayerfully ask God to work in and through you by the Holy Spirit to bear fruit.

You may be saying, “Pastor Fred, does Jesus mean that I am supposed to give out apples and bananas?  What does it mean to bear fruit?”

Well, elsewhere in the Bible’s Scriptures, specifically in Galatians 5.22, we hear the apostle Paul encourage the Christians in the city of Galatia by defining what God’s Spirit will produce in the life of those who have faith in Jesus.

Paul says:

[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [24] And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

[25] If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. [26] Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:22–26, ESV)

These words of Paul follow exactly what Jesus is commanding in verses 10-14 of this morning’s Biblical text.  Once you find yourself believing in Jesus, you find yourself being a new creation with new hope, new peace, new love, and new joy.  And, all of that comes from being empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit which strengthens you to see the world with the eyes and mind of Christ.

So, the new you has a new desire to become a peacemaker.  

Now, due to the ongoing battle with the sinful flesh, you won’t always get this right, but the knowledge of what is right will drive you to prayer to do what’s right and to repentance when you do what is wrong.

In 1 Corinthians 10:31, the apostle Paul, again, gives similar encouragement when he says to you:

[31] So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (ESV)

The Christmas season can easily turn into a time to dwell on perishable gifts. Children are especially prone to the unceasing wave of advertisements that feature the latest toys and games. Any parent can testify to the noticeable uptick in the phrase “I want that!” from toddlers and young children during the Christmas season. Yet adults, too, can buy into the temptations of materialism that come during the Christmas season. In doing so, we forget that “our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20). Christmas reorients our focus on the mission of Jesus to make all things new by his incarnation. It reminds us that this world will one day give way to the glorious inheritance that awaits all those who believed in Jesus—the eternal life he secured by being born in the manger. 

When Jesus took on flesh, God declared that the creation he had made would be made new. The world he created—indeed, the bodies of believers—would not be obliterated but remade, refashioned in the new heavens and the new earth. 

Christmas, therefore, brings with it an eschatological—an end-time—hope for the world. The fear of death no longer holds power, nor can it enslave those who belong to Christ. Why? Because Christ has come. He was born in a manger for us. He lived for us. He died for us. He paid the eternal price of God’s wrath for us. He came so that we might live forever. This, however, he could not do unless he became like us in every way. 

Not only do we announce in this season the coming of the Savior, but we also proclaim a day when sin will be no more, when death will have no power, when Satan will forever be silent, and when all tears will be wiped away. Our Christmas carols ring with the message of the birth of the Son of God who dwelt among his people in the flesh, who radiated grace and light, and who secured through his ministry the city of heaven. As we celebrate Christmas, meditate on this particular aspect of why Jesus came. He came so that we might inherit the new Jerusalem, a new earth, where God will dwell with his people forever and ever. He came as the fulfillment of all God’s promises.

The Huntington Station poet, Walt Whitman, said, “Peace is always beautiful.”

Peace with God, through faith in Jesus Christ alone, is beautiful because it gives us the hope of peace that comes from knowing that God is no longer against us but for us every moment of everyday.  And, one day there will be complete peace when Jesus comes to us again to completely and fully eliminate sin and death from our experience ensuring that there will never again be pain, suffering, or tears.

Today, rest in the peace you have with God through Jesus’ coming to you.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

December 8, 2024. Second Sunday in Advent.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, 

Our hearts are constantly storm-tossed by our varied circumstances. When life is going well, we are elated and feel infinitely strong. When we face problems and frightening situations, we are cast down and feel sure that we will drown. Instead of thankfulness and peace, our hearts are often ruled by forgetfulness and fear. We imagine ourselves to be abandoned because of our sin and cut off. We feel isolated from one another as well as from you. We know that you have overcome this world, but our peace is fleeting and is built upon flimsy things, and we are not comforted by your strength and love. Father, forgive us. 

Jesus, thank you for your perfect peace in all life’s deepest trials. You were able to rest in the midst of the storm, because you knew that you were the Father’s priceless treasure, whom he would not allow to see destruction. Even when the Father’s wrath was poured out upon you for our sake, you rested in his sure promises and trusted in him. Thank you that this peace is now given to us as a free gift. Because of you, we are the Father’s priceless treasure, his beloved children, whom he will never give up. 

Holy Spirit, quiet our unruly hearts. Banish our fear and sadness with your truth. Give us the peace that we so often lack by reminding us of the rich word of Christ. Teach us to find solid hope in Christ’s blood, which is shed for us. Thank you that even when nothing feels well with us, all is well with you—the gospel is true in spite of our feelings. Help us to celebrate this when our hearts are cold, our will is weak, and you do not remove our fear as we wish you would. May we encourage one another joyfully and boldly with this great news. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Benediction:

Go in peace today.  Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, you have peace with God and are strengthened to daily live in peace with man and woman.