Photo: Pigoff Photography – Pexels

Peace can seem very distant at the moment. Consider the world situation at present – wars and rumours of wars, so many we can’t even name them all; security service heads saying that even in England we face a greater security threat than we have for many years. We would love there to be peace among nations, but it seems so far away.

Or consider your network of relationships – family, friends, work colleagues. With some there will be peace and harmony; but sadly not with all. Perhaps in some cases you find yourself wondering if peace is even possible.

What about as you look inside yourself – what do you find? Perhaps you find anxiety about all sorts of things; or a lack of peace about who you are or your place in the world. Perhaps you find regret about life choices or sadness about loss or something that’s been done to you.

We long for peace in the world, in relationships, in ourselves; but it seems so far away – is it even possible?

Where does the longing come from?

The Bible tells us that our longings aren’t just accidents of evolution, but have an origin. So it is with our longing for peace: it’s like a nearly forgotten memory in the back of our minds of some distant past experience. It comes from a shared human memory of a time when there was perfect peace and harmony, wholeness and community; being at one with self, people, nature and God.

In the early chapters of the book of Genesis, we read that God created a good world, and people to live and work in a beautiful garden. They could talk with God; and they related perfectly to God, each other and the world. We get a glimpse of it in the middle of the account of the Fall:

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day.

Genesis 3:15

It was a place of peace, wholeness and unity. The Old Testament uses the word ‘shalom’. What is shalom? My google search came up with this:

The word shalom, expresses “peace” in a fuller and more holistic sense than we may be used to today. This peace is not simply the ceasing of war, but total well-being, full flourishing.

Google search

And the foundation of that ‘shalom’ was a world and people who lived under the loving, good rule of a loving, good God.

But the peace was shattered by the first sin. The first man and woman believed a lie about God – that he wasn’t good, and that they could be like God. So they disobeyed him, rejecting his loving rule over their lives. (Genesis 3:1-6). And the peace – the shalom – was shattered. In the following verses the writer tells us about the damage that sin caused to the world – relationships ruined, the world cursed, the man and woman banished from the presence of God (Genesis 3:9-18).

Is there any way back?

So our longings for peace – for shalom – are longings to go back to the Garden of Eden. We long for the faint rustle of the wind in the perfect unpolluted trees; to walk with the good and loving God in the garden in the cool of the evening; to relate to him perfectly, with no barriers, no shame, no hiding, only basking in the fulness of his perfect love; to enjoy perfect relationships with others, uninterrupted by selfishness, lies, pride and anger.

And wonderfully the loving and good God promised this would happen, one day in the future. For example in Isaiah 11 we are given a vision of a peace-filled new world order, with predators at peace with former prey and children at peace with poisonous snakes. (Isaiah 11:6-9). And in a famous Christmas passage God promises a child will be born who among other things will be:

…Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end…

Isaiah 9:6-7

These wonderful promises kept God’s people hoping for generations. And yet the wars and rumours of wars continued year upon year. God’s people waited and waited for the promises to be fulfilled.

A way back to peace

…Begins

And then, one night 2000 years ago, the way back to peace began. Luke the doctor and historian draws our attention to some shepherds, in a field near Bethlehem, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appears to them proclaiming good news. Luke knows this is extraordinary – that is why he tells us. The angel speaks of a child being born, a Saviour, Jesus Christ. And then a company of angels appears, singing:

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.

Luke 2:14

Here is the peace that we all long for, that was lost in the Garden. Here is the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. But how would he bring peace? And how is that peace passed on to us today?

In the gospel accounts we see that Jesus lived a life of peace. He lived at perfect peace with his heavenly Father, praying to him, depending on him and loving him. He sought to live at peace with others, famously saying “Blessed – Happy – are the Peacemakers.” He loved, forgave, healed, served. When he engaged in conflict it was against the agents of conflict – the devil and those who would put up barriers to destroy peace. At the end of 3 years of peacemaking he died on a cross; and for those 6 hours his peace with his heavenly Father was shattered as revealed by his cry “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Years later, the apostle Paul explained to the Christians in Ephesus the full significance of these words. He writes that through his gruesome death Jesus brought about peace between people and God, and between different peoples:

(Jesus Christ) himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

Ephesians 2:14-16

At the cross, Jesus brought together two of the most hostile groups in history – Jews and non-Jewish Gentiles. He made them one body, and then he united that body to God, creating the possibility of peace with one another and peace with God.

…Continues

Of course we don’t see that peace today. Wars still continue – including wars between Jews and non-Jews as we see in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon today. And yet peace in individual hearts is now possible. Take the example of the apostle Paul. He had been a persecutor of Christians, an enemy of God and with a guilty conscience. But Jesus met him, his Holy Spirit came upon him, and Paul’s life was transformed – so much so that at the end of his life he was able to write to fellow Christians in the city of Philippi:

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Paul had found peace through coming to know Jesus Christ. He had learned not to be anxious but rather to pray, casting his concerns and worries onto God. He had experienced the peace of God, which goes beyond any human understanding.

…will be completed

And the Bible tells us that there will be a day in the future when the way back to peace will be completed for those who are followers of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Jesus will come to earth a second time as judge, to destroy all that divides – all the works of the devil which were started in the Garden of Eden. He will restore his creation to the shalom that existed before the Fall; but even more so, for the book of Revelation pictures not just a perfect garden but a perfect garden city, the New Jerusalem – a place of beauty, peace, love, wholeness and flourishing with no sin, war, anxiety, inner or outer conflict in sight.

How will you respond?

How can we experience this peace today? It’s not automatic – each of us needs to respond personally. Again, the apostle Paul can be our teacher here. He had an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus; he realised his life had been on the wrong path, that he needed to change direction. He needed to get to know the Prince of Peace and to follow him from now on; to say sorry for going the wrong way, to ask for forgiveness and a new start; and to ask for the presence of God’s Holy Spirit who brings peace and joy and life and love. What about you? Here’s a prayer you could pray:

Dear Jesus –
Thank you that you are the Prince of Peace.
Thank you that as you died on the cross you brought peace – peace with other people, and peace with God, for those who turn to you and follow you.
I’m sorry for when I’ve gone my own way, and all the bad consequences that have resulted – included conflict and division. Please forgive me.
Please help me this Christmas to turn to you, to trust you, and to know the peace which only you can bring.
Amen.

December 2024

This post is adapted from the Carols by Candlelight talk given at the Anlaby Churches, December 2024.