After a very long and boring sermon, the parishioners filed out of the church saying nothing to the preacher. Toward the end of the line was a thoughtful person who always commented on the sermons. "Pastor, today your sermon reminded me of the peace and love of God!" The pastor was thrilled. "No one has ever said anything like that about my preaching before. Tell me why." "Well," said the parishioner, "It reminded me of the Peace of God because it ‘passed all understanding’ and the Love of God because ‘it endured forever!’"
Psalm 85 contains the verb "to restore." This suggests a theme that speaks to the spiritual hunger within us—that of having once known a very precious truth or felt a very special experience that has somehow slipped from our grasp.
The human dilemma is that we spend a lot of time groping
on our hands and knees in the dark,
hoping to find a light that will reveal the meaning of life, or a lantern that will light our path.
What we need is the Light of the World, to come to us and reveal the truth, and perhaps to remind us that the treasure we've been seeking isn't the true treasure after all.
Last Sunday I talked about the Restoration of Hope. Today we look at the Restoration of Peace.
On Friday night Linda and I took our granddaughters, Emma and Kira, to the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Devendorf Park. It was a festive time with Santa, music, food, hot cider—an all American evening.
I couldn’t wait to see the expressions on my granddaughter’s faces when the tree would be turned into brilliant red and green lights.
As I waited I thought, “I wish that we could just wait for a time and then magically the world would be transformed into a world of peace.”
After counting down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 the tree magically changed from darkness to brilliance and I was not disappointed by Emma and Kira’s reactions. Emma said several times. “This is the best day of my life!” and “This is like the magic at Disneyland.” And grandpa’s eyes got tears!
That is the magic that the Psalmist expresses as he visions the restoration of peace in our world. I have come across a chain of stores called Restoration Hardware. This high-end store is where people go when they want to step back in time and buy an item that reminds them of some golden age from the past like:
Paris in the 1880s.
Hollywood in the 1940s.
The space race of the 1960s. People who buy things at Restoration Hardware look back with longing, feeling that something precious has been lost. They want a missing treasure to be restored. And so do we. Our world’s darkness is not going to be eliminated by a Hollywood lamp designed to illuminate the famous faces of classic films.
We long for a lantern that will light our path,
a beacon to guide us and lead us home.
And so we light a candle—an Advent candle.
Each Sunday we light another candle and say, "Restore us, O God." Restore our hope.
Restore our peace.
Restore our joy.
Restore your love. We know we need restoration but not something we can buy at Restoration Hardware.
True peace will escape us until our restless hearts begin to rest in God.
Serenity cannot be granted by
a diploma,
a promotion,
a McMansion
or a luxury sedan.
It comes to us as a gift from God, and it includes the restoration of our relationship with God. I recently learned about an artist named Franck Mercedes who is taking the idea of peace packages literally. He mails small boxes with abstract designs on the outside to anyone, anywhere in the world—for free. Pasted under the address is a label that reads:
Fragile.
Handle with Care.
Contains Peace.
When I read about that I thought, “That’s fun. I’ll order one.” When I did so I discovered that it would be back ordered for eight months unless I paid extra and got VIP shipping! That’s the way it is with peace. We wait patiently. There is not enough of it available so it is back ordered and if we want it now we must pay a price! Franck says that we expect something of value to come in a box. But his boxes are empty of everything except a message that has no price, such as "Peace," "Love" or "Hope." Since 2006, the artist and his wife have mailed more than 9,000 boxes to people around the world. Franck's hope is that people who receive his boxes will devote some thought and conversation to intangibles such as peace, love and hope. The idea has now spread to schools and churches that are making their own boxes. God offers a peace package, too. When God sends a peace package, the box is never empty and it is not back ordered. You don’t pay extra for express shipping. God offers peace but God requires a response. The only way we will benefit from this gift is to accept it. Each of us must accept this package, instead of choosing to "return to sender," unopened. When we open it, a precious collection of treasures spills out. "Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet," says the psalm, "righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps". God's peace package contains more than meets the eye. Packed into this box is the entire character of God:
Steadfast love,
faithfulness,
righteousness,
peace and goodness.
All of these qualities are intertwined and mutually supportive, since love is connected closely to faithfulness, and true peace is always dependent on the presence of justice and righteousness.
It is impossible for peace to exist in a community or a country that is marked by injustice and unrighteousness. As one American leader said in the mid-20th century, "Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin." The speaker was not a peace activist or a radical. He was Dwight David Eisenhower, five-star general and president of the United States.
Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin, in the world as we know it and in the peace package that comes to us from God. As the Hebrew prophet Micah says, “Do justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly with your God.” When we tear open this package, we find the gift of God's own self.
We need this gift now more than ever because we are not going to find peace by shopping at Restoration Hardware—even if we could afford it.
The economic recovery is moving slowly, and our material fortunes have not yet been restored. But even in tough economic times, God gives us the gift of non-material wealth:
Steadfast love,
faithfulness,
righteousness,
peace,
and goodness. Nonmaterial wealth.
Not the kind of riches we normally pursue. We don't really need Hollywood lamps or space pens, aviator-wing desks or models of the Eiffel Tower—all things you can buy at Restoration Hardware. The treasure that needs restoration today is the gift of Christ at Christmas.
It is through the birth of Jesus that God speaks "peace to his people."
Our homework is to send a peace package? In this season of Advent, why not respond to God’s gift by sending out some peace packages of your own? So what could it mean to send a peace package?
Extend steadfast love to a teenager who is rebelling.
Practice faithfulness in your marriage.
Show kindness in your school or workplace, by being honest and fair in all of your activities.
Work for peace in your relationships,
looking for ways to reduce tensions and increase harmony
.
If you invest as much in these packages as in your holiday gifts this year will turn out to be your best Christmas ever.
Restore us, O God. Give us the gift of your peace, so that we can share it with others.
Prayer
Most gracious God, we are bound for Bethlehem and we come with gratitude that you are ever with us as we journey.
Help us as we travel to stay on the path and keep us focused on the purpose of our mission.
We confess that in the busyness of this season, we stray from the holy day and concentrate instead on the holiday.
So we would ask that you guide us. As we put up our Christmas lights, might we be reminded of your light.
As we trim our trees, let us take time to share the treasured memories of family gatherings so that it is your love that decorates our homes.
As we shop for gifts, keep us mindful of whose birthday we celebrate.
When we bake cookies and make candy, let us stir in forgiveness ... serenity ... peace ... joy ... and love so that they reflect the gift of your presence. We are bound for Bethlehem, O God.
We each must answer as to whether there is room inside the inn of our hearts for you.
Grant that it might be so.
We pray in the name of the one whom the wisest seek, the baby Jesus the Christ, the Messiah who taught us to say…
