The Power of Peace

Text: Luke 1:39-55

Focus: peace

Function: to help people find places of peace in their lives.

^39-45Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,

You’re so blessed among women,
    and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And why am I so blessed that
    the mother of my Lord visits me?
The moment the sound of your
    greeting entered my ears,
The babe in my womb
    skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.
Blessed woman, who believed what God said,
    believed every word would come true!

^46-55And Mary said,

I’m bursting with God-news;
    I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
    I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
    the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
    on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
    scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
    pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
    the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
    he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It’s exactly what he promised,
    beginning with Abraham and right up to now.

Good morning, and welcome to advent 4, our last Sunday of worship before we celebrate on Christmas Eve, 10:00 PM.

And today we focus on the theme of peace. Peace is an abstract concept that incorporates several different ranges. We can speak of the state of peace that we have with God through the atonement of Jesus Christ. We can speak of the state of peace that we have with others now that we have joined the family of God, everyone is our brother and sister and we love them as much as we love ourselves because Jesus said that if we loved Him, we would love others. We can speak of the peace that we feel within our own hearts because we know that we are forgiven and loved by God and are now considered sons and daughters of God. There is a another form of peace that we can speak about, and that is the peace that comes when the poor get the justice that is promised them through the coming of the Savior. Mary speaks of this kind of peace in her song of joy.

So, peace can have many different meanings and I think from our text today that along with the peace that comes when the poor are elevated to a just place is the idea that God has given to us a sense of peace within our hearts. At least it get it from the joy the two women experience at the moment. Someone said, and I don’t know who, Peace is joy resting and joy is peace dancing. Mary danced for joy, and John the baptist, inside the womb of Elizabeth, also leaped for joy.

Elizabeth, in her greeting declares that Mary is blessed because she believed what was told her.

Her niece, Mary, this woman who is blessed and called by God, believed when the angel appeared to her. Mary was different than Elizabeth’s husband who also had an angel appear to him and doubted. Her husband, Zachariah, was a priest to God and should have been the one with the stronger faith, But because of his doubt, he became mute until their child of promise was born.

Elizabeth speaks of how trust in God leads us toward an inner peace.

Mary, then picks up the theme of justice. Let me re-read from our text:

His mercy flows in wave after wave
    on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
    scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
    pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
    the callous rich were left out in the cold.

I find it significant that Elizabeth speaks of Mary’s individual and personal choice to believe and Mary speaks of how when it happens to individuals, it transforms into a corporate redemption of society. The Church is intended to transform the world into a loving place. It is our mission.

The Church embraced this concept during its first three centuries and the gospel was preached primarily among the poor and the outcast.

And because of their love for each other, and the way they cared for each other, and the way Jesus condemned anyone who was greedy, or callous toward the poor while hoarding wealth brought them to a point where they lived in community, shared and made sure that everyone had enough. You can read about it throughout the letters written in the New Testament. And, historically, the Church never grew faster than it did then.

It grew because it embraced the concept of love and justice for everyone.

And in this passage, that is the kind of peace that Mary speaks of.

I mention how God has called the church to transform society, let me tell you, we cannot do it alone.

You hear me speak often of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I believe that the Spirit’s presence in our lives brings us to a sense of peace with God.

And, it comes because, as Elizabeth said, because of faith, or trust, in God. We believe that we can gain direct access to God through Jesus Christ, who died, and then rose again and abides at the right hand of the power of God. Jesus saved us and lives again to redeem humanity.

It is the power of the Spirit that leads us to love God and to love others.

The Spirit entered my life when I confessed that I trust in Jesus Christ to save me. But I am reminded that God’s purpose was not to just save me from any punishment for the sins I committed, but to empower me to be the kind of person who loves his brother and sister as much as he loves himself.

God’s love flows through us through the power of the Holy Spirit. In our Kairos ministry. I like to give the talk about perseverance in the faith. And it goes like this. There are three legs to our Christian life, Action, study and spirituality.

I find peace in my life when I devote myself to Christian action. Actually sacrificing my time and effort as a way to show love to others. Loving others can be messy business, but as we do it, the Spirit of God flows through us and we feel His peace at work inside of us.

Study. The first thing I do in the morning, before I turn on the local news or anything is take time to study God’s word. I read the bible through with a reading plan that takes me through the Bible every year by giving me a history book, a NT book and a book from the Psalms or prophets. Sometimes it gets hard and I have to slug through a book, but when I am paying attention, oftentimes, it is like reading it for the first time as the Spirit of God reveals His word to me. It is a way of communicating with God and it is important for you. Don’t just rely on my to feed you God’s word. Take time to study it for yourselves and let the Spirit illumine you.

And Prayer. Take time to pray. I assume that prayer time is not a problem for you all. It seems to me that faith in this place is pretty high. Thank God. Prayer connects us to God and places us in a spot where God’s peace can fill our hearts and comfort us.

So, let the power of peace fill your hearts this season and beyond.