1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas to all of you!!! The message from God’s Word as we celebrate the birth of our Savior on this Christmas Eve is taken from Luke 2:13-14, it’s entitled, “A Multitude of the Heavenly Host Announces a Peace Which Brings Renewed Hope,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Lk 2:13–14) A sea of flickering candles dotted the dark sanctuary as a chorus of voices sang: “All is calm, all is bright.” And for a few moments, it was. Few nights offer such a sense of peace and tranquility as the eve of Christmas, especially when the air is filled with the soothing, almost haunting music of “Silent Night.” There in the pew, we wish that all nights might know this peace. But, we’re aware that just outside the walls of the church exists a world that on a daily basis is riled up with ongoing turmoil. Ours is a world not at peace, not in many places. But, each generation hopes that this year the long-hoped-for peace will finally arrive. Those living now remember cataclysmic wars that engulfed our world—from the bombed fields of Europe over eighty years ago and now again so recently, to East and Southeast Asia ravaged by war on frozen hills and steaming jungles, to dry desert wastelands in the Middle East, to terrorist bombings in countless cities the world over, to civil wars and ethnic strife, to daily shootings in our neighborhoods. Peace seems a rare commodity for which to hope.
3. Yet this night we hear of peace. A real and lasting peace. A peace that God announces not just with a chorus of a few weak and hesitant voices, but with a “multitude of the heavenly host” erupting in a thundering chorus of praise. Heaven explodes in celebration: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14). In the midst of a world so often marred by violence, hatred, and hardship, a multitude of angelic messengers breaks into the night to announce a living hope: peace for those on whom God’s favor rests.
4. What is this peace that the angels announce with such fanfare in a world still in war, bloodshed, and violence? And how does such peace grant us hope when mankind still seems bent on self-destruction? When our own hearts feel unrest and anxiety? All of the treaties and efforts to stop the turmoil on this planet will ultimately fail. Moments of tranquility will surface, only to descend into the morass of human sin and brokenness. All the counselors in the world can bring years of expertise and words of comfort, but deep down in the heart something will always be missing. The peace the angels so boldly announce this night is different, enduring, and powerful. It doesn’t depend on us. It doesn’t require our efforts. For at the center of our problem, we ourselves are at war with God. We rebel and fight against his will. If God doesn’t bring peace, we are doomed. We have no hope. Yet this very night he does bring real peace by sending his own Son, Jesus. God comes into our world in our human flesh to take our place. To suffer for us, for what we rightly deserve. To die our death. To heal the broken relationship. Yes, he is just a tiny newborn infant at this moment, and it’s easy to miss the significance. And that’s why the angels amass in such grand formation with an overwhelming song of praise straight out of heaven’s glory. This night marks ground zero for God’s eternal peace plan. It starts here. In this place and this time. Now, at this very moment. Hope is reborn.
5. But just how might this hope be reborn in such a dramatic way? St. Paul writes that “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1). God has declared us holy, who by faith are in Christ, clothed in his righteousness. Paul goes on to declare that “through him [that is, Christ] we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (5:2). This peace of a restored relationship with God—the real and only true peace!—is a divine gift that leads directly to a new hope. And not just any hope, but a “hope of the glory of God,” a hope that extends all the way to eternity.
6. Many who want peace don’t understand where real peace comes from—and therefore despair when it fails to come. They think they will see it realized in the next political treaty, the end of the latest war or conflict, the right conditions in their own personal lives. But Paul said that the “peace of God” is ultimately beyond understanding (Phil 4:7). At least in the purely human sense. A mystery, of sorts. But not an unknowable mystery. For as Jesus said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you” (Jn 14:27). True peace comes only from Jesus, not from governments, not from other people, not from drugs, not from a sense of calm and tranquility which is only temporary at best. Only one person: Jesus.
7. So here, in that simple manger, surrounded only by common barnyard animals and a humble Palestinian couple, the heart of true peace lies. Here in a vulnerable little child. Visited that night of his birth only by the sometimes-despised shepherds, not the important dignitaries we might expect. They come to visit this little one who bears the amazing royal title of “Prince of Peace” (Is 9:6). He is the ruler who brings peace. He has the power to make it real.
8. But how can I realize this peace in a broken, warring world? How can I possibly hope to find it in my often confused and troubled mind? This holy night’s special charm will only last so long. In a few precious moments, we will leave to the cold outside. The “all is calm” of “Silent Night” will be interrupted soon enough. But Franz Mohr, the author of the beloved lyrics, knew that this calm was more than just a soothing song or comforting lullaby. “Sleep in heavenly peace,” the stanza ends. “Sleep in heavenly peace.” He calls for the sleep of peace in this “holy infant, so tender and mild” (LSB 363:1). Where we find the “holy infant,” we find our peace.
9. Each Sunday that we gather for worship we are again led to that manger. Led to the one who brings peace. Led to the one who creates peace. Lasting peace. “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” the pastor declares to repentant sinners, and peace is again restored. Peace in the assurance of absolution, a declaration that we are again right with God. He is not our enemy. We are reconciled. “Take, eat, this is the body of Christ,” the pastor repeats again at the altar-table of the Sacrament. Peace in the life-giving presence of the Christ. A body broken in death on our behalf. Blood-shed in payment for our sins. Eaten. Internalized. Christ with us. Immanuel. Peace again restored and assured.
10. And from this peace comes renewed hope even in an unlikely place. In World War I, the warring sides declared a brief truce on Christmas Day. For a short time, the concussions of exploding bombs ceased. Gunfire stopped. Coming out of the bloody trenches, they dared to sing Christmas carols to each other. They exchanged small gifts. For a moment, peace came. It ended too soon. Yet one has to believe that in the midst of the melodies of those beautiful carols sung over a blackened battlefield, a hint of the real peace endured. The real peace came even in the midst of death and some of the worst horror the world had known. They sang of the Christ Child. They sang of what the angelic multitude announced. Their carols thundered louder than any of the bombs and guns before or after.
11. It was a great contrast that day, as it was the first Christmas. Who would expect a “multitude” of angels to announce peace to a bunch of humble shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night? Yet when a multitude of God’s messengers emerge from heaven’s glory into the darkness of night, we pay notice. They don’t speak often, but when they do, we listen. Very carefully. And now we sing their hymn in our own worship: “Glory to God on high: and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men.” We sing with joy and hope because moments before we heard our Lord declare us forgiven. We cried out for mercy and found God’s care and concern. He was with us. He heard our cries for help. We have hope. Now we sing a song only angels could sing. A song of peace. A song of hope. A song that sounds into the eternal courts of heaven itself. “Glory to God on high.” For a moment again, we are on the borderline of heaven. We stand on the edge between heaven and earth, between our temporal struggles and eternity. We sense its closeness. Soon, soon we, too, will be there. Hope looks into eternity and finds joy of what will be. And in that, we hope again. Peace has come in Christ. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.
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