“The
Christmas Truce” (Romans
5:1-11; Isaiah 52:7-10) Christmas Day, Dec. ’11, Series B
1.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from
God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The
message from God’s Word this wonderful Christmas Day is taken from Romans
5:1-11 and Isaiah 52:7-11.
It’s entitled, “The Christmas
Truce,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
It was Dec. 25th, 1914, just
after midnight on Christmas morning, the majority of German troops engaged in
World War I cease firing their weapons and begin to sing Christmas carols. At certain points along the eastern and
western fronts, the soldiers of Russia, France, and Britain even heard brass
bands joining the Germans in their singing.
In the morning, many of the German soldiers emerged from their trenches
and approached the Allied lines across no-man's-land, calling out "Merry Christmas" in their enemies'
native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing
the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the
enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings
and sang carols and songs. There was even a documented case of soldiers
from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer.
3.
The Christmas Truce of 1914 reminds
us of the peace that our Lord Jesus came to give us, but it’s a peace that’s
beyond this world.
During the Advent and Christmas
seasons our emotions can get the best of us.
We get stressed out and uneasy about getting all that we need to
be done to prepare for our holiday celebrations. So our tempers get short and sometimes we
lash out against those whom we love. We
need to hear the message of Christ’s peace, not just during the Christmas
season, but all our lives. But, it’s
not just a message of peace that we have with one another, but most importantly
with our Heavenly Father.
4.
Isaiah
52:7 says, “7How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good
news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God
reigns.” The word peace here doesn’t refer to the end of hostilities with
the warring nations that surrounded God’s people. This peace has a meaning
much deeper. It’s the peace that God has made between his people and Himself.
God no longer burns with anger toward you. He has removed your sin. This peace
rests on the knowledge that Jesus would come to achieve it by His work on
earth. The angels would announce it at Christ’s birth, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor
rests” (Luke 2:14). Jesus announced this peace with these words: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and
do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
5.
But
some of you may be thinking, “This
message of peace, I’ve heard all this before.” When we talk about going to
church or reading the Bible, some say, “I’ve
studied that long enough already.” Some 8th graders in
confirmation say, “It’s the same old
stuff again.” We act like the writer of Ecclesiastes who said, “there is nothing new under the sun”
(Eccl 1:9). But, my friends let us never
tire of hearing the Good News (Is 52:1–7).
It’s essential to hear the gospel regularly. With a total grasp
of God’s Word and a perfect faith we wouldn’t fall into fits of depression. We
wouldn’t give in to our temptations. We would sail through life with unceasing
peace and joy. But it’s not so. We need to hear the gospel often, and we need
to hear it now. God has always spoken
Good News. He did it for Isaiah and he does it now. God proclaims peace,
good tidings, and salvation (v 7). These OT words are central concepts in the
ongoing proclamation of the Good News. The important ingredient is that each
new generation sees and receives them in faith.
6.
Isaiah says that the
message is good news.
It’s good in
an absolute sense, like the proclamation of God at the creation of the
world—all was good.
The psalmist gave thanks for the Lord’s blessings and proclaimed, “The Lord
is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all
generations” (100:5). Through our Lord Jesus, the situation between God and
humanity couldn’t be better. The blessings of God in Christ are for all
humanity. No one is a slave of evil’s tyranny any longer. When Isaiah speaks about the good news of
salvation, he means that through Jesus your deliverance from sin and death has
been accomplished. God has come to save you. He has set you free—not from
the oppression of your political enemies but from the tyranny of sin and from
the dungeon of death. The release of the Jews from Babylon and their return
to Jerusalem was only the beginning of God’s plan of salvation. A much greater
freedom would happen. Paul referred to this when he wrote, “There is now no condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life
set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1, 2).
7.
In Romans 5 the Apostle Paul writes, “1Therefore, since we have been
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...7For
one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person
one would dare even to die— 8but God shows his love for us in that while we
were still sinners, Christ died for us… 10For if while we were enemies
we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are
reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
8.
In
writing to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul said, “When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman”
(4:4). Christ
came according to God’s plan, not in response to any human choosing. Even
if we had wanted him to come we couldn’t have done anything positive to bring
it about. But,
the situation was that by nature we didn’t want anything to do with God and his
promised Savior, because we were “ungodly.” And yet, for such ungodly people as
us, the Father sent his Son to die. That’s a one-way love, the kind one can
hardly find in human experience. Do you want to know if God loves you? Look
at what he has been willing to do for you. When you were not just weak and
“powerless” but an “ungodly” sinner actively opposed to him, Christ died for
you. That’s God’s one-way love in action.
9.
There’s
much talk at Christmas about “love and
good will.”
God calls us to realize that we’re his servants in this world. We are to
communicate the love and good will of Christ to others. Today many relationships are breaking down,
and in particular marriages. God would have us realize that our spouse is a
child of God to be loved, cherished, and nurtured. Our marriages are to
reflect the love and joy Jesus Christ brings to each of us. So too, our
Lord Jesus helps soothe the irritations that may arise between parents and
children. Despite rebellious attitudes, broken rules, misunderstandings, and a
lack of communication, both parents and children should realize that the other
members of their family are also members of the family of God to be respected
and valued. The love of Jesus helps
us respond to all those who need to see the an example of the grace of God at
work in our life: your boss, the “grumpy
old man” down the street, the neighbor you can’t understand, those who live
in poverty whom we see as we drive past their neighborhood, and those who seem
to have everything but who are empty inside.
10.
God has proclaimed the message of
his salvation through ages past.
Yet when we hear it today, it’s still fresh and new. God calls us to
come to Bethlehem and see this miracle. Christmas
means so much more than giving gifts and seeing the family. The carols,
decorations, food, and festivities are all celebrations of the Christ Child,
born to bring us peace and salvation. We thank the Lord for this message from
Isaiah, which reminds us that our Lord Jesus has come to bring us perfect peace. Peace with one another and our Heavenly
Father. Amen.
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