ADVENT WEEK FOUR
December 24, 2020
Peace: A Way of Life
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”
Luke 2:14
Peace is such a Christmas theme, isn’t it?
I’ve heard sermons on how you can have peace in your heart
Peace in your heart—no doubt there are apps and breathing exercises for that.
But it’s not what the angels proclaim in this first Christmas cantata.
“Peace on earth.” (Luke 2:14)
They’re not talking about cardiac peace but peace on earth.
First Isaiah proclaims a child who is to be Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6). The Christian tradition has often read this passage in relation to Jesus (reinforced by Handel’s Messiah). But Isaiah was not talking about Jesus—perhaps King Hezekiah (ruled 715-687 BCE).
Judea was threatened by Assyrian imperial oppression. The prophet anticipates a time when that menace would end. “The rod of the oppressor” will be broken; there will be “endless peace” (Isa 9:4, 7). The vision is not just of the end of military threat. It’s a vision of “justice and righteousness” (Isa 9:7).
Peace in the biblical tradition is not the absence of stress, anxiety, war. It’s not based on domination, military conquest, quests for greatness.
Biblical peace concerns a society marked by just interaction among all people. It embraces the dignity of all people made in the image of God regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, social status. It works for equal access for all people to the resources and opportunities necessary for good and satisfying life.
Peace is a fine Christmas, angelic vision but biblical—Christmas—peace requires a year-long way of life.
Dr. Warren Carter PhD
LaDonna Kramer Meinders Professor of New Testament
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