The Peace of Christmas. (396)

Peace

Isaiah 11:1-10

1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.

6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them.
7 Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.

10 Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.

The coming of the Branch of Jesse:

• Accompanied by gifts of the Spirit
• Accompanied by the fear of the Lord.

The fear of God:

• Dread for those who expect the Lord’s judgment,
• Awe and reverence for those who anticipate his rule of shalom.

Matthew 3:1-12

1 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, `MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!´”
4 Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan;
6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;
9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, `We have Abraham for our father´; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.
10 “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
12 “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Isaiah and John the Baptist have always been prominent figures in Advent celebrations.

John stresses that

• Christ’s coming is far from a celebration;
• he requires discipline and sacrifice.

the promise of the Spirit is woven into the advent.

Romans 15:4-13

4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
5 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,
6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7 Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.
8 For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers,
9 and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, “THEREFORE I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO YOU AMONG THE GENTILES, AND I WILL SING TO YOUR NAME.”
10 Again he says, “REJOICE, O GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE.”
11 And again, “PRAISE THE LORD ALL YOU GENTILES, AND LET ALL THE PEOPLES PRAISE HIM.”
12 Again Isaiah says, “THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE.”
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The arrival of Christ’s rule brings hope, joy, and peace.

• Peace expressed in the life of God’s people.
• Mutual, servant-like acceptance
• Harmony in the congregation that give praise to God.

Psalms 72:1-8

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Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 May he judge Your people with righteousness And Your afflicted with justice.
3 Let the mountains bring peace to the people, And the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he vindicate the afflicted of the people, Save the children of the needy And crush the oppressor.

5 Let them fear You while the sun endures, And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he come down like rain upon the mown grass, Like showers that water the earth.
7 In his days may the righteous flourish, And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.

8 May he also rule from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth.

A “royal psalms,” sung at the coronation of a new king.

• The expectation that the king will be just and compassionate
• The expectation that he will protect the needy.

A messianic psalm

• The ideal compassionate ruler
• Expressed in Christ.

Hymns:

Links to hymns provided by various channels on YouTube.

Comfort, Comfort Ye My People (Isa. 40)

God Is Working His Purpose Out

Isaiah the Prophet Has Written of Old

Surely It Is God Who Saves Me (Isa. 12)

Tell Out, My Soul (Song of Mary)

Hail to the Lord’s Anointed