Church of the Holy City

Peace Amid Chaos

Peace Amid Chaos
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
Christmas Eve, 2011

The Christmas story is one of peace in the midst of chaos. Sometimes we can get caught up in the frenzy of buying and shopping. We fight our way through crowds, traffic, and parking lots. In all this hubbub we can lose sight of why we are doing all this. We can lose touch with the peace that is at the heart of the Christmas message.
Not too long ago, I was driving on 97th Street. I had two malls to get to in one hour. So there I was panicking, wanting traffic to move faster, hoping that I could find what I was looking for in time to get to the malls before closing. As I was driving, I had my iPod on and was listening to Earl Klugh–a great jazz guitar player. A beautiful, serene song came on. It was such a peaceful and pretty song that I wondered about Mr. Klugh, himself. I wondered what kind of spirituality he was in touch with that such a blessed piece of music could flow through his soul into his practiced fingers. As I listened, my tension dissipated. And for a few minutes, amid my frantic shopping spree, I had a moment of peace as I listened to that serene song, driving down 97th Street on my mission to get to two malls in an hour.
This experience led me to ponder further the Christmas story. I thought about how the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem was a moment of peace amid utter chaos. I imagine that the pushing and shoving of Christmas shopping is nothing compared to what was happening around Jerusalem back in the time of Jesus’ birth. The Bible gives us some interesting historical details about that time. Luke tells us that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus for the whole known world to be enrolled. This was what we would call a census. Our history books tell us that Augustus was the first emperor of Rome. Luke provides another historical fact. He adds that this was when Quirinius was governor over Syria. Caesar wanted this census for one very common reason: he wanted a role of all his subjects so that he could tax them. This whole affair was for tax purposes.
Everyone had to go to the city of his family’s origins. Joseph went to Bethlehem because he was a descendant of King David, and David had been born in Bethlehem. Imagine the crowd scene that must have occurred in Judah at this time. We are told that the Holy Family had to sleep in a barn because all the inns were occupied. Can you imagine what was going on in the hotels in Judah? Can you imagine the pushing and shoving that must have gone on as people crowded the hotels in search of the last rooms to be had for the night? How many hotels did Mary and Joseph go to before they resigned themselves to the fact that all the inns were full? Perhaps they counted themselves lucky that they found that barn to sleep in. And they did all this while Mary was pregnant and ready to deliver.
In the midst of this mob scene, Jesus was born. The Prince of Peace entered the world in the midst of all this chaos. And I can imagine that the presence of that little baby brought calm and serenity to the Holy Family as they gazed upon His tender, tiny features. I can imagine the holy awe that God’s infant form evoked, and the sphere of innocence and love radiating from this One Sacred Baby. With the birth of Jesus, Luke’s narrative immediately takes us to the quiet of the Judean night, where shepherds are watching their flocks under a starlit sky. An angel appears to them, announcing the joyful news of the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ. A choir of angels praises God and sings about peace and good will among humanity. In all the crowding and worldly interest concerning taxes and the census, a sacred moment transpired in which peace and good will among humans broke forth from heaven.
This same story plays out in our lives today. We can become overwhelmed with life in this material world. We can become overcome with despondency over the bills we have to pay with an income that barely stretches from paycheck to paycheck. We can become fixated on the material toys we want to acquire: nice cars, a big screen TV, designer clothes, computers with massive memory and light speed, and other worldly goods. We can become lost in the things of this world, which is only a temporary home for us. We can lose sight of what is truly lasting. We can lose sight of the eternal blessings that are always available to us when we turn to them.
The Christmas season reminds us of some of those eternal blessings. We gather around those we love, and celebrate the joy of family and friends. We are filled with the spirit of giving. The interchange of receiving and giving gifts is a symbol of the way love works–the way love flows out from us to others and back to us to complete the circle. These are some of the eternal blessings that make life really matter. These are the blessings we need to pause to remember, however we find ourselves materially.
The Christmas story also plays out in our lives in a still more profound way. There are times when sorrow and turmoil dominate our lives. We may lose a job. We may experience the heartbreak of the loss of a loved one. There are times when a life we have constructed for ourselves and settled into becomes disrupted and everything we thought we could depend on comes crashing down all around us. With a single sentence, the poet Robert Frost captures how vulnerable we are to forces of chaos. In the poem called Home Burial, Frost writes, “Three foggy mornings and one rainy day/ Will rot the best birch fence a man can build.” The life we construct for ourselves is subject to so many forces beyond our control, it is as a fence that can be rotted by three foggy mornings and one rainy day. The good things in our lives can be so tenuous that Martha Nussbaum wrote a book about this whose title is, “The Fragility of Goodness.”
But there is one Source of stability that will hold us up in the midst of any chaos the world can threaten us with. That one Source of peace and comfort is that baby born in the midst of the Judean crowds. No matter what we experience in life, Jesus is with us. When we celebrate joy, Jesus redoubles our joy. When we are troubled, Jesus comforts us. When we feel abandoned, Jesus is our friend. Having come into this world, Jesus walks with us in this world. In whatever way we are walking, we never walk alone. In whatever we face, we face Jesus. Jesus tells us that life in this material world may not be quiet and comfortable all the time. In John 16:33 He says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
In Jesus we have peace. In Jesus we have love. In Jesus we have life. In all the rushing around of the season, let us be mindful of why we are celebrating. As we sit down for Christmas dinner, let us be mindful of the love of our families and friends that gather together for the season. As we exchange gifts, let us remember the circle of love that we are surrounded with even after Christmas–the giving and the receiving. In our celebrating and in our trials, let us remember that one night in the Judean countryside when peace came to this troubled world. And let us ask that peace into our lives. Tonight, throughout the season, and in our lives forever.