In the second chapter of Luke, there is a familiar scene. Perhaps it is so familiar, the shock has worn off. After centuries of waiting, the savior of the world has been born. For generations, everyone longed for his arrival, because he would solve all their problems. Everyone assumed he would be born in the palace; after all, he was a king. Everyone was wrong. (You know what they say about assuming.) He was born in a barn. To the world, his parents, Joseph and Mary, were just another poor couple. The cynical ask, aren’t the poor always having children they can’t afford? According to the Gospel of Matthew, they named him Jesus. The name means “to save.” It was the greatest moment in human history, but the world almost missed it. An announcement had to be made. It was delivered to an unimpressive group of hard-working shepherds, despised by the religious of their world, but obviously valued by God. Once the announcement is given, the messenger is surrounded by a great company of singing angels. Their sheet music is long gone, but their words remain. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. We know those words because they are great words. But what do those words mean? To understand the words, you must answer this question, what kind of peace? How do you interpret that verse? It is not a simple task.

One of my favorite Christmas movies is Home Alone. Last year, at my church, Western Reserve United Methodist, my Advent/Christmas sermon series was called Christmas Goes to the Movies. On Christmas Eve we saw a clip from that movie. You may know the background. Home Alone was released in 1990. It was made for $18 million and has grossed approximately $354,000,000. It was filmed in Winnetka, Illinois and stars Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, and Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister. You remember the story line. Eight-year-old Kevin finds himself home alone, because he is lost in the shuffle as his family leaves for their Christmas vacation. At first, he celebrates his independence, but in time he begins to value his family. Near the end of the movie, Kevin begins to regret how he has treated his family. He walks into a church and confesses his feelings to a stranger, who has his own family problems. The stranger, Kevin’s neighbor, a weird old man, has a great line. He says, “You’re in church now. This is the place to come when you are feeling bad about yourself.” It is a secular movie, but it holds a divine truth.

Some believe the angels are speaking about internal peace. Have you ever come to church to find some rest? The world is exhausting, because the world promotes your failures. I have sat alone my church’s sanctuary countless times, because I needed to find some peace. I have sat alone in the comfort of that sanctuary because I needed to experience Jesus. Augustine once said, “Our hearts are restless until we find our rest in God.”  Internal peace is important! Can I ask you a question? How exhausted are you? Internal peace is important, but peace with others is equally important.

I love this story because I love baseball. I remember the night Hank Aaron (born 1934) broke Babe Ruth’s home run record. He held that record for thirty-three years. When his 23-year baseball career ended, he was inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame and went to work for the Atlanta Braves. In my eyes, Hank Aaron is a somebody. One night, he was checking into a hotel, but to the clerk, he was a nobody. She didn’t recognize him and told him there were no rooms available. The owner of the hotel recognized Hank Aaron and pulled the clerk to the side. He said, “That is Hank Aaron. He is the one who broke Babe Ruth’s home run record. Tell him we will find him a room.” The clerk went back to the counter and said to Hank Aaron, “I am sorry, Mr. Aaron. I didn’t recognize you. Of course, we have a room for you. I didn’t know you were a somebody.” I love Hank Aaron’s response. He said, “Everybody is a somebody.” How would our world change, if we treated everybody like a somebody?

Some believe the angels are speaking about peace with others. There is a certain amount of logic to that interpretation. After all, God sees everybody as a somebody, because God loves everyone. It is God’s desire to have everyone accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, so God can spend eternity with everyone. If you treated everyone as a somebody, how would your relationships change? If you were treated as a somebody, how would your relationships change? This is the truth. Revenge is never sweet. Violence breeds more violence. Hatred poisons the soul. Resentment, jealousy, bigotry, and prejudices are spiritual viruses that will kill your soul. Hank Aaron was right! Everybody is a somebody. Peace with other is important! Internal peace is important! There is only one problem with those interpretations. They simply aren’t big enough. We believe in a great big God. This is the correct interpretation:

The angels are speaking about peace with God. When you have peace with God, you have internal peace. When you have peace with God, you have peace with others. When you have peace with God, you have complete peace. It is the kind of peace that satisfies your entire being. The great hymn writer of the Methodist movement, Charles Wesley (1707-1788) was at peace with God. He wrote approximately 6,500 hymns. In one of his hymns, he talks about his peace with God. Listen to these words:

          I rest beneath the Almighty’s shade

          My griefs expire, my troubles cease;

          Thou, Lord, on whom my soul is stayed,

          Keep me still in perfect peace.

Charles Wesley was at peace with God. This is the question you must answer today: Are you at peace with God?

Nicholas Ridley (1550-1555) was an English Bishop in London. However, he is remembered for being one of the greatest martyrs in the history of the church. His witness for Christ was unfailing. He died burned at a stake. On the night before his execution, his brother came to visit him in prison. He wanted to add some comfort. Ridley refused the offer. He told his brother to go home, because he wanted to get a good night’s rest, because he was going to meet God the next day. Those who guarded over him said he slept soundly that night. Can I ask you a personal question? How did you sleep last night? I will be honest with you. I am not a great sleeper, because I don’t want to waste time. I have things to do. However, the one thing I do not worry about is my salvation. This is my story.

In December of 1974, I was a senior in high school. The school levy in my hometown failed that year, so I had most of the month free with no school. During that long month, I sold Christmas trees with the rest of the church youth group. I liked selling Christmas trees, because I like selling anything. The best part about selling Christmas trees was my friends in our youth group. I still have an emotional tie with many of them. The most intriguing member of my high school youth group was a girl named Susan. She was also the prettiest girl in my youth group. She was the first one in my high school youth group to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She was eager to share her new faith. On December 16, 1974, she sat next to me and asked me a question which changed my entire life. Susan asked me, “Russ, would you like to go to heaven?” I am not sure that I heard the question at first. I was just so excited that she was talking to me! When I heard the question again, would you like to go to heaven, I answered, “Yes.” This is the the truth: I would have said YES to anything she asked me. Would you like to go to the dump and shoot rats? YES! Would you like to hold up the corner gas station? YES! However, those were not her questions. She asked me if I wanted to go to heaven. I said, “Yes”, and she told me about how Jesus died for me. My life has never been the same since. I wouldn’t trade my life with anyone. My life is not perfect, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, I am going to heaven. I know, I am not a perfect person, but I do worship a perfect savior. Since that day, I have not missed a minute of sleep worrying about my eternity. I live a spiritually peaceful life. So, let me ask this personal question. How did you sleep last night? This is the correct interpretation. The angels are speaking of peace with God.

The angels sang those words to the shepherds years ago, but their words are still true today, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. Are you at peace with God? How did you sleep last night?

Names are important in the Bible. The name Jesus is related to the Hebrew name Joshua, which means “to save.” To underscore the significance of Jesus’s name, Matthew quotes the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. To be more exact, he quotes Isaiah 7:14, The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel. Matthew gives us the meaning of Immanuel. It means “God with us.” If you combine those two names, Jesus and Immanuel, then you discover Jesus’s mission. The Savior is with us. That is a great part of the Good News. Life may not always be easy, but the Savior is always with us. That piece of the Good News should comfort you. There has never been a moment in your life when you were orphaned. The Savior has always been with you. Biblical joy does not mean happy laughter, biblical joy means comfort and contentment.

When I was in the Cleveland area, I had an inactive parishioner. I do not remember her name, but I do remember the day she called me. She wanted to talk to me about some problem she had in her life. I told her I wasn’t a counselor, but I would be glad to be her friend. On the day of her appointment, she came. With emotional words, she told me about her problem. When the emotions had passed, she thanked me for listening and told me how much that church meant to her. Those words surprised me, because she was inactive. So, I asked her why. “If this church means so much to you, why don’t you attend worship?” Her response almost made me laugh out loud. She said, and I quote, “I don’t come to church because I don’t want to be the only one with problems.” I almost said, but I didn’t, “Are you serious?” One of the things I have learned in my position is, everyone has problems, including me. There is no shortage of problems in this world. If you think you are the only one with problems, then you are simply a fool. No one escapes the storms of life. One of the reasons we come to church is to remind ourselves that God is with us. That reminder helps us survive one more day. Let me ask you this question:

Have you ever had a health problem? I’ll bet the answer is yes. Sometimes, it is our self. Sometimes, it is a family member or a loved one. Sometimes, it is a neighbor or a co-worker. Every Sunday morning, I stand up and ask for prayer concerns. The one issue we feel we have the license to articulate is our health issues. Every week, it is something new. We hear about hip and knee surgery. We hear about bypass surgery. We hear about cancer, and we learn about conditions and diseases that are completely new. We pray for those people, and we are afraid we are going to be next. Have you ever wondered, what is going to get you? Have you ever had a health problem? I cannot eliminate your health problems, but I can remind you, you are not alone. God is with you and God is bigger than your health problem. And, all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Let me ask you another question.

Have you ever had an economic problem? Let me state the obvious. Life is expensive! Did you know, according to the Federal Reserve, the average American household is $137,063 in debt and has a household income of only $59,039? Can I ask you a question? How far in debt are you? I have said it a million times. Money makes a wonderful slave, but a horrible master. I can’t eliminate your economic problems, but I can remind you, you are not alone. God is with you, and God is bigger than your economic problem. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Let me ask you another question.

Have you ever had an addiction problem? According to the Washington Post, alcoholism is on the rise. Did you know one in eight Americans is an alcoholic? They also tell us that 25 million Americans use drugs illegally. Has your family been affected by an addiction? Have you been affected by an addiction? I can’t help you with your addiction issue. There are some things you must do for yourself. However, I can remind you, you are not alone. God is with you, and God is bigger than your addiction issue. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Have you ever had a relationship problem? Albert Einstein (1874-1955) once said it best: Physics is easy, relationships are complex!  How many complex relationships do you have in your life? How many family members won’t you talk to this Christmas? How many children will have two Christmas dinners, one with dad and the other with mom? It is not supposed to be this way. I can’t eliminate your relationship problems, but I can remind you, you are not alone. God is with you, and God is bigger than your relationship problems. And, all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Let me ask you another question.

Have you ever had a problem with religion? There are five major world religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism. Buddhism, and Hinduism. 1.1 billion people in our world have no religion. They are agnostic or atheists. How many people do you know who are not Christian? If you believe Jesus is your only hope of salvation, then how do you view those individuals’ salvation? Aren’t you glad you aren’t the judge? I can’t eliminate your religion problems, but I can remind you, you are not alone. God is with you, and God is bigger than your religion problem. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Let me ask you another question.

Have you ever had a problem with anxiety or depression? Did you know over 18% of Americans deal with anxiety? Another 6.7% of Americans suffer from depression. It is important to take your pills, because 44,000 Americans commit suicide annually. Do you know of anyone who is crippled by anxiety or depression? Are you crippled by anxiety or depression? I can’t eliminate your anxiety and depression problem, but I can remind you, you are not alone. God is with you, and God is bigger than your anxiety and depression. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Let me ask you one more question.

Have you ever had a problem with death? Did you know approximately 275,000 people die every day? You must know someone who has died recently. Have you ever stayed up at night worrying about your own death? I can’t eliminate your death problem, but I can remind you, you are not alone. God is with you, and God is bigger than death. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” As disciples of Jesus Christ, we embrace the name Jesus, our Emmanuel. Every time we utter his name, we are reminded our Savior is always with us! The problems of our lives are temporary, but our Savior is eternal!

They tell me, in Columbus, Ohio, there was a teacher by the name of Phyllis Martin. She has many stories from her years of teaching, but one story stands out. It was the day a storm came to her school. The clouds were black, and the wind was violent. Everyone, both teachers and students, were glued to the windows, until the signal was given that a tornado was near. Frightened, the teachers and students filed into the school basement. They lined the walls and listened to the storm outside their building. The tension was thick and some of the children began to cry. The principal tried a sing-along to distract the children, but it failed. The storm kept raging. It was then, Phyllis Martin did something you aren’t supposed to do in a public school. She grabbed the little girl’s hand next to her and said, “Cathy, God is bigger than this storm. Let’s pray that God protects us!” She prayed with Cathy and the sound of her voiced resonated throughout the entire basement. Soon everyone was praying, and the crying stopped. A couple of minutes later, the storm passed, and everyone was at peace. They knew everything was going to be fine.

It is not just a story about a teacher in Columbus, Ohio. It is our story. Our lives are full of storms, but God is bigger than the storm. In the face of the storms, we stay calm, because we are disciples of Jesus Christ. We know we are not alone. God is with us, and God is bigger than any storm. Jesus’s name was his mission statement. The Savior is with us! That is the heart of Christian joy.