I think most of you know this about me, but if you don’t, I really enjoy traveling. I’m not exactly sure where the travel bug first came from, but at this point, I’ve been to almost all 50 states, and I’m pretty confident I’ll knock out the rest in the next few years. We usually travel around Thanksgiving, but not often at Christmas. A lot of that has to do with careers, age, and family rhythms. None of that is bad — it just shapes and, in some ways, limits what we’re able to do.
But I’ve always imagined what it would be like to experience Christmas somewhere else. For example, I would love to spend an entire Christmas season in New York City. I’ve tried to convince my family to go skiing during Christmas — to get snowed in, drink hot chocolate, and open just a few simple gifts together. Not a rushed, chaotic Christmas, but one that, when my family looks back on it, they would say, “That was peaceful.”
I also love the idea of traveling overseas. I would love to experience Christmas in Germany and walk through villages transformed into tiny Christmas wonderlands. One of the goals on my life list is to see the Northern Lights, and how incredible would it be to spend the Christmas season under God’s own light display, instead of just driving around the neighborhood looking at decorated houses?
Some of those dreams may become reality one day, and some of them may not. I truly don’t know what the future holds. But what I do know is this: even the thought of those moments brings a certain joy to my heart. And tied to that joy is something just as powerful, a sense of peace.
This week, I was reading about different Christmas traditions around the world, and I came across one of the oldest Christmas traditions still practiced today. Christmas is taken very seriously in Finland, and every year, in the city of Turku, there is something called the “Declaration of Christmas Peace.”This tradition has taken place almost every year since the 1300s, for over 700 years.
Each year at noon on Christmas Eve, a city official steps onto a balcony in the Old Great Square and reads this declaration over the people. It is broadcast on television, radio, and now streamed over the internet. The purpose is simple but profound: to remind people that Christmas peace has begun, to urge them to live in harmony, and to call them to quietness and goodwill toward one another.
Part of that declaration reads:
“Tomorrow, God willing, is the gracious celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior; and thus is declared a peaceful Christmas time to all, by advising devotion and quiet and peaceful behavior…”
What a powerful way to usher in Christmas, with a reminder of the birth of Christ and the peace His coming was meant to bring into the world. And yet, if we’re honest, that stands in sharp contrast to the world that we’re living in right now.
Christmas Can Become a Point of Conflict
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Even this week, as I was driving and listening to the radio, I heard complaints about Christmas decorations and arguments over whether or not certain places should even say the words “Merry Christmas.” Events are being banned in some American cities. Christmas displays, nativity scenes, and public celebrations are being challenged or removed.
Think about the irony of that for a moment. The Prince of Peace has become a point of conflict. The One who came to bring peace to the human heart now stirs debate, division, and tension in our culture. Just as we discussed last week, it feels like there is more hopelessness than hope… more unrest than peace. And that is exactly why the season of Advent is so important for us as believers.
Advent is More Than a Countdown to Christmas; It’s a Recalibration of the Heart
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Advent is the invitation to pause. To re-center. To recalibrate our hearts, not according to what society is saying, but according to what Christ is doing in us.
The word “Advent” literally means “coming” or “arrival.” It is a season marked by expectation, waiting, anticipation, and longing. Advent is not just an extension of Christmas—it is a holy space that connects the past, the present, and the future.
It allows us to look back and celebrate the first coming of Jesus…to recognize His presence with us here and now…and to look forward in eager anticipation to the day when He will come again.
During Advent, we practice a hopeful kind of waiting — not a passive, empty waiting, but an active and assured one. Each week in this series, we are focusing on one key attribute revealed through the coming of Christ: hope, peace, joy, and love. And today, together, we are going to rediscover peace.
Not the kind of peace the world promises. Not the kind that depends on quiet schedules or perfect circumstances. But the kind of peace that began in a manger…
and continues to live in the hearts of God’s people.
Luke 2:8-20
This morning, we are going to step into the fields with the shepherds found in Luke’s account of the Christmas story. I find it both humorous and ironic that if you’ve ever watched or been part of a Christmas play, the shepherds are usually the last ones chosen for a speaking role. They are often the ones who forget their lines, wander off stage, or cause confusion and chaos in the background.
And yet, on the holiest night in human history, it was those shepherds, not kings, not priests, not scholars, not rulers, but shepherds, of whom peace was first announced.
There is so much packed into these few verses. What we are witnessing here is nothing less than God’s birth announcement to the world. And what makes it so powerful is not just what happened, but how it happened.
This was not a royal announcement made in a palace. This was not declared in the temple. This was not delivered to the religious elite. It happened on a dark, ordinary night in the countryside outside of Bethlehem. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appears, light piercing the darkness, and then, just as suddenly, the sky is filled with what the New Living Translation calls “the armies of heaven.” Try to picture that for a moment: an entire heavenly host filling the night sky. Magnificent. Bright. Terrifying. Glorious. And then there is the sound.
Heaven is praising God. Declaring His glory. Announcing peace. What language were they speaking? What melody were they singing? Was it thunderous or gentle? Could anyone else besides the shepherds hear it?
The message itself is stunning: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” You would think that a message like that, the announcement of the long-awaited Messiah, would be delivered to the most important people on earth. The rich. The famous. The powerful. The influential. But not in God’s kingdom.
Instead, the message of peace is entrusted to ordinary men, working the night shift, watching over sheep. Average. Unknown. Overlooked. And here is one of the great truths of Christmas: God’s peace does not follow human rankings. It flows through humble hearts.
Peace Is the Presence of God Within the Chaos of Life
Peace Shows Up in the Chaos, Not After it Passes
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Christ Was Born into Chaos so that We Could Find Calm in Him
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Peace in the Middle of the Mess
God Meets Us Where Life is Hardest, Not Where Life is Easiest
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Let me encourage you that there is a deeper peace, there is a peace that defies our circumstances. No, in the face of all you are feeling and all you have gone through, God’s peace just doesn’t make sense, but it is real. And it is healing. And it can guard your heart from continuing wounds. And it can protect your mind from the onslaught of anxiety.
The apostle Paul describes the process like this:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 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 4:4-7, NIV
Prayers of Peace are Not Meant to Change God’s Mind, But Instead to Change Our Perspective
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Peace In Christ
Biblical Peace is not the Absence of Pain; It is the Presence of God’s Restoring Power
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Peace is not Based on Who We Are. It is Based on Who Christ Is
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This angelic announcement to the shepherds becomes a living reminder to us that God’s peace is not for the perfect… it is for the broken. It is not for the powerful… it is for the surrendered. It is not for the self-sufficient… it is for those who know they need a Savior. Peace is not found in a location. Peace is not found in a season. Peace is found in a Person. And His name is Jesus.
So, as we have heard the shepherds’ story, we begin to see more than a beautiful nativity scene. We begin to see a pattern. A message. A pathway. The shepherds don’t just receive peace. They respond to peace. They run toward peace. They carry peace. The shepherd found peace that night in the presence of Christ, just as we too, can find shalom, peace, ease, a yoke that is lighter than the burdens we carry in the Prince of Peace, whose name is Jesus.
As we reflect on the shepherds and the peace they discovered that night, it’s easy to admire their story from a distance. But the truth is, this story isn’t just history. It’s a mirror for us today. The chaos we face, the messes we navigate, the uncertainty we wrestle with—they are not obstacles to peace. They are the very context in which peace comes alive. And the amazing part? That peace is not something abstract or distant. It is personal. It is present. It is Christ Himself.
Today I Commit To…
Invite Jesus into Your Chaos
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Acknowledge His Presence in Your Mess
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Anchor Your Life to Jesus & ReDiscover Peace
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So, what does that look like for us, here and now? How do we take the truths we’ve seen in the fields outside Bethlehem and bring them into our homes, our hearts, and our lives this Christmas
You and I have a choice this Christmas. We can let the stress, the conflict, the expectations, and the pressure dominate our hearts—or we can step into the reality of God’s peace that breaks through all of that. Peace is not found by rearranging schedules or decorating perfectly or forcing calm. Peace is found by turning to the One who has already entered the chaos.
So this Christmas, let us make a conscious choice. Let us pause. Let us invite God’s presence into the chaos. Let us acknowledge His power in the mess. Let us anchor ourselves in Christ. Let us rediscover the peace that was born in a manger, announced to ordinary people, and given to all who will receive it.
Take a moment right now—wherever you are—to simply say: “Lord, I need Your peace. I cannot find it on my own. I receive it from You. Come into my chaos. Come into my mess. Come into my heart. Let me know Your peace this Christmas.”
And as we do, we will remember this profound truth: Christmas is not about the absence of struggle. Christmas is about the presence of God. And in that presence, we find peace.
