WEBVTT 00:00:00.760 --> 00:00:02.700 It is such a joy to be here. 00:00:02.800 --> 00:00:08.140 We look forward to this service every year, a chance to gather together to sing, to tell 00:00:08.140 --> 00:00:10.580 the great story of Christian hope together. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:16.920 We, every year during this service, we want to take one of the lessons that we read and 00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:22.240 think a little more about it and think about what it means for the world and for us today. 00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:29.480 This lesson that we just heard comes from Luke chapter 2, and it has this amazing, 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:30.480 amazing announcement. 00:00:31.160 --> 00:00:38.679 In Luke chapter 2, verse 14, upon the birth of Jesus into the world, this great angelic 00:00:38.679 --> 00:00:45.740 army, that's what host means, this army appears, and they begin to sing and to shout and to 00:00:45.740 --> 00:00:48.439 praise God by saying this. 00:00:48.539 --> 00:00:56.840 They say, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. 00:00:56.840 --> 00:01:00.660 And that word peace is the emphasis. 00:01:01.800 --> 00:01:06.200 In other words, what this is saying is, is that Christmas and the coming of Jesus into 00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:09.180 the world makes peace possible. 00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:15.859 And it's a kind of peace that uniquely becomes possible because of the coming of Jesus. 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:19.520 Peace with God and peace with other people. 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:24.140 And it's important to say that when we talk about peace in this way, we're not just talking 00:01:24.140 --> 00:01:25.340 about a ceasefire. 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:31.120 We're not just talking about coexistence like you might see on a bumper sticker. 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:33.819 We're talking about something much deeper. 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:40.560 The word peace is rooted in the Old Testament word shalom, which perhaps you're familiar with. 00:01:40.700 --> 00:01:43.540 But the word shalom means wholeness. 00:01:44.099 --> 00:01:52.140 It means psychological wholeness, physical wholeness, emotional wholeness, spiritual wholeness. 00:01:52.140 --> 00:02:02.480 And so shalom in a society looks like social wholeness, which means having all different kinds 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:08.539 of people from all different walks of life, all different backgrounds, all different cultures 00:02:08.539 --> 00:02:15.379 and races and ethnicities and political persuasions, all different kinds of people living together 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:16.740 in unity. 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:20.340 That's what social wholeness means. 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:28.780 Shalom, to put it shortly, is simply the way life is supposed to be. 00:02:29.500 --> 00:02:30.740 That's what shalom is. 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:35.700 So the question that we're going to ask for just a little while before we go on with our service is, 00:02:36.020 --> 00:02:38.760 how does Jesus make this kind of peace possible? 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:44.780 And the best place to understand that in Scripture comes from Paul's letter to the Ephesians in 00:02:44.780 --> 00:02:48.079 chapter 2, just verses 14, 15, and 16. 00:02:48.239 --> 00:02:51.060 I'll read those right now. 00:02:51.979 --> 00:02:55.759 For he himself, meaning Jesus, is our peace. 00:02:56.620 --> 00:02:57.780 He is our peace. 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:03.439 Who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:09.579 By abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself 00:03:09.579 --> 00:03:15.560 one new man or one new humanity in place of the two. 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:17.280 So making peace. 00:03:17.780 --> 00:03:24.180 And might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:28.539 So three things we'll see about peace this morning. 00:03:28.819 --> 00:03:29.719 Why do we need it? 00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:33.139 Why are there problems to begin with? 00:03:33.300 --> 00:03:34.460 Why do we need peace? 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:39.139 How does it become possible? 00:03:39.539 --> 00:03:40.460 What makes it possible? 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:42.439 And then lastly, how do we get it? 00:03:43.340 --> 00:03:44.400 So why do we need it? 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:45.300 What makes it possible? 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:46.520 How do we get it? 00:03:46.659 --> 00:03:47.039 Let's pray. 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:49.840 Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:52.819 And we thank you that as we gather together this morning, 00:03:52.819 --> 00:04:02.719 that as much preparation and time has been put in by volunteers and as much excitement as we feel 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:11.599 about simply being together, and as much as there is this wonderful spirit of joy and togetherness, 00:04:11.740 --> 00:04:15.819 Lord, we know that our greatest hope comes from your word. 00:04:15.819 --> 00:04:22.300 And your word is able to reveal to us your living word, Jesus Christ. 00:04:22.439 --> 00:04:29.819 And we pray that whatever else happens this morning, Lord, that we would have the opportunity to see him face to face through your word. 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:31.699 And we pray this in your son's holy name. 00:04:31.980 --> 00:04:32.180 Amen. 00:04:32.180 --> 00:04:38.819 So the first question we'll ask briefly is when we look at the world, why do we need peace? 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:41.819 Why is there not more peace in the world? 00:04:42.400 --> 00:04:50.819 The specific issue that Paul is dealing with here in his letter to the Ephesians is a division that exists between the Jews and the Gentiles. 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:53.899 And when we think about Jews and Gentiles, that's how they divided the world. 00:04:54.680 --> 00:05:00.720 The entire world was divided into two categories, Jews and Gentiles, Jews and everyone else. 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:07.780 And the Jews essentially looked down on the Gentiles and mockingly called them the uncircumcision. 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:14.740 And what this means is that the division that existed between these two groups was because of a physical difference. 00:05:15.180 --> 00:05:17.720 Jews were circumcised and Gentiles were not. 00:05:17.860 --> 00:05:24.920 And so Jews mocked Gentiles for this, and Gentiles were pretty unkind to the Jews because of this as well. 00:05:25.020 --> 00:05:26.960 And so there was a division. 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:30.759 And then it talks about the dividing wall of hostility. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:39.279 And in this case, the dividing wall was literally a wall that was in the temple in Jerusalem that separated Jews from Gentiles. 00:05:39.419 --> 00:05:43.000 Jews were allowed to stand and worship closer to the presence of God. 00:05:43.139 --> 00:05:45.439 Gentiles had to stand further back. 00:05:46.459 --> 00:05:52.519 Now this is deeply tragic if you understand the whole purpose of circumcision to begin with. 00:05:52.519 --> 00:06:00.459 God had originally called the Jews to become circumcised as a symbol of their unique relationship with him. 00:06:00.979 --> 00:06:06.479 So that when people saw the circumcision, they would think of God and that special relationship. 00:06:07.039 --> 00:06:13.339 And the idea was this, that the Jews were meant to go out into all of the world and to become a blessing to all of the nations. 00:06:13.339 --> 00:06:17.759 And then those nations would experience the blessing. 00:06:18.299 --> 00:06:22.399 They would recognize this unique mark on these Jewish people. 00:06:22.539 --> 00:06:27.679 They would then recognize the special relationship with God that that represented. 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:32.719 They would then realize that God is actually the source of all blessing in the world. 00:06:32.979 --> 00:06:36.759 And the hope was that they would then come to worship and know God themselves. 00:06:37.179 --> 00:06:38.559 So this was the original purpose. 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:48.019 It was meant to be a way for the Jews to become a blessing to the nations by introducing them to the source of blessing, which is God himself. 00:06:49.139 --> 00:06:52.579 But that purpose became twisted. 00:06:53.100 --> 00:07:03.720 Instead of being a symbol of God's grace and blessing, circumcision, this physical difference, became a symbol of moral and spiritual superiority. 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:07.180 It became a dividing wall of hatred. 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:12.639 And this shows us something very important about the human heart. 00:07:14.019 --> 00:07:23.060 Human beings tend to take things that make us different from one another and to assign moral significance to those things. 00:07:23.720 --> 00:07:32.740 We tend to take the distinctives that differentiate us from one another and to elevate certain distinctives 00:07:32.740 --> 00:07:37.500 and allow them to take an ultimate place in our hierarchy. 00:07:38.220 --> 00:07:45.960 And then we look down with contempt and disrespect on all those who do not share that distinctive. 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:51.180 And we see this in all kinds of ways, great and small. 00:07:51.180 --> 00:07:58.579 You know, this can show up in the most subtle of ways, walking down the street with your Whole Foods bag and seeing other people. 00:07:59.100 --> 00:08:04.780 And the tendency that we may have to assume that if somebody doesn't eat organic and shop at Whole Foods, 00:08:04.900 --> 00:08:08.980 they must be lazy or not care about their health or the world. 00:08:08.980 --> 00:08:17.640 Assuming that people who are homeless are there because of their moral failings, that they're there by choice. 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:26.560 Assuming that some people are inherently superior to other people simply because of something like skin color. 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:35.200 Assuming that people on the other side of the political aisle are not simply people with different ideas about how to solve the problems of the world, 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:36.779 but they're actually evil. 00:08:37.779 --> 00:08:40.279 You know, when you talk to people on both sides of the aisle, 00:08:40.820 --> 00:08:47.059 you get the sense that they see their opponents as being not only unintelligent, but wicked. 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:49.419 Morally corrupt. 00:08:49.419 --> 00:08:50.419 Morally corrupt. 00:08:50.419 --> 00:08:57.419 And no matter how much we resist this temptation, we tend to divide the world into two groups. 00:08:58.039 --> 00:08:59.899 In group and out group. 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:01.819 Us and them. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:04.860 And you even see this in our neurochemistry. 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:09.979 There's a chemical in the brain called oxytocin that you're probably familiar with. 00:09:10.339 --> 00:09:18.519 It is the neurohormone that is responsible for creating that intense feeling of love and affection and empathy. 00:09:18.519 --> 00:09:25.639 It's called the bonding hormone because it leads us to feel bonded and connected with other people. 00:09:25.939 --> 00:09:29.960 But there was research done on oxytocin a few years ago that made a remarkable discovery. 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:30.840 And that is this. 00:09:31.179 --> 00:09:37.279 That oxytocin is only produced in the brain when you are perceiving a person as being in your in group. 00:09:38.659 --> 00:09:44.500 If you perceive that person as being on your out group, the oxytocin is not produced. 00:09:44.500 --> 00:09:52.759 So even in our brains, our physiological neurochemistry, we see this tendency to divide. 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:54.340 That is pre-conscious. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:56.879 It's not even something that we're aware of happening. 00:09:57.259 --> 00:09:58.259 And yet it does. 00:09:59.419 --> 00:10:06.480 And so this tendency that we see in ourselves to divide the world into us and them, 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:13.460 this is the reason that so much of our history involves horrible war and bloodshed. 00:10:14.220 --> 00:10:19.980 This is the reason when you look at the ancient world that slavery was ubiquitous. 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:22.539 It was ubiquitous. 00:10:22.539 --> 00:10:30.300 And the reason is because we can always find reasons to justify devaluing other people. 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:33.320 It is simply hardwired into us. 00:10:33.320 --> 00:10:39.379 And so if this is the state of the world, then what do we need to make peace possible? 00:10:39.540 --> 00:10:44.740 What's the answer to an issue that runs this deep in the human heart? 00:10:45.500 --> 00:10:49.780 And the answer that comes from the gospel is pretty shocking. 00:10:50.840 --> 00:10:55.660 It says in verse 15 of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 15, 00:10:55.659 --> 00:11:04.740 Jesus makes peace by creating in himself one new man, or that would be better translated, one new humanity. 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:14.480 That Jesus actually creates in himself one new humanity, a new way of being human that didn't exist before. 00:11:15.620 --> 00:11:21.299 So what we see is that Jesus makes peace by creating in himself a new kind of human being 00:11:21.299 --> 00:11:24.279 and then inviting people into that way of being human. 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:28.319 It's an entirely new identity from the ground up. 00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:37.179 And what we see here is that this identity, this Christian identity, is holistic. 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:39.339 It involves every part of us. 00:11:39.939 --> 00:11:44.639 So becoming a Christian doesn't just mean adopting a new set of beliefs. 00:11:44.819 --> 00:11:47.120 And I think that our default is to think of it that way. 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:51.379 Well, there's this set of beliefs and this set of beliefs and this set of beliefs, and I'll adopt this one. 00:11:51.379 --> 00:11:58.080 And so a way of thinking about it is like the difference between an operating system and an app. 00:11:59.159 --> 00:11:59.480 Right? 00:11:59.539 --> 00:12:03.080 So most people tend to think of religion as an app. 00:12:03.460 --> 00:12:03.779 Right? 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:06.639 You have your sort of core identity, your core operating system, 00:12:06.759 --> 00:12:08.899 and then you look around at the different aspects of your life. 00:12:08.980 --> 00:12:10.439 You have your job or your career. 00:12:10.939 --> 00:12:12.860 You have your schooling and your education. 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:15.320 You have your socioeconomic status. 00:12:15.320 --> 00:12:16.840 You have your family. 00:12:17.220 --> 00:12:19.240 You have your hobbies and interests. 00:12:19.420 --> 00:12:21.760 You have the volunteer work that you do on the weekends. 00:12:22.040 --> 00:12:27.780 And then one of those apps, one of those aspects of you is your set of religious beliefs. 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:31.440 So most people think of it like an app. 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:35.480 But what this shows us is that the gospel isn't just an app. 00:12:35.560 --> 00:12:39.620 It's not just something to add on to your existing identity. 00:12:39.620 --> 00:12:48.440 The gospel comes into your life and it begins to completely supplant whatever identity was there before from the ground up. 00:12:48.560 --> 00:12:54.480 It's an entirely new operating system that is governed by a completely different set of rules, 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:56.840 a completely different set of values. 00:12:57.879 --> 00:13:01.759 And you know when you install a new operating system on any of your devices, 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:05.720 that operating system not only changes the core system, 00:13:05.940 --> 00:13:09.320 but it requires everything else to change as a result. 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:15.140 So some of your apps have to be updated so that they'll work on the new operating system. 00:13:15.860 --> 00:13:19.220 And every now and then you have an app that becomes obsolete. 00:13:19.560 --> 00:13:22.260 It will no longer run on the new operating system. 00:13:22.379 --> 00:13:25.840 It's incompatible and it needs to be deleted altogether. 00:13:27.500 --> 00:13:32.520 And so we see this same thing play out when people come to genuine gospel-centered faith. 00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:36.320 When you become a Christian, all of the other aspects of your life 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.560 then have to be re-evaluated through the lens of the gospel. 00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:41.960 You begin to think about your family differently. 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:45.340 You begin to think about your values and priorities differently. 00:13:45.420 --> 00:13:48.300 You begin to think about how you spend your money and your time differently. 00:13:48.400 --> 00:13:50.680 You begin to think about other people differently. 00:13:50.780 --> 00:13:52.360 It all begins to get re-evaluated. 00:13:52.700 --> 00:13:57.280 And some things get updated, right, so that they align with the gospel. 00:13:57.279 --> 00:14:01.039 And every now and then, something just needs to be deleted altogether. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:05.159 It's no longer compatible with the identity that you have in Christ. 00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:10.620 So if you just to take one example of this for the sake of time, think about politics. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:13.399 I know you think about politics. 00:14:13.699 --> 00:14:14.500 Think about politics. 00:14:15.259 --> 00:14:18.100 You know, research a few years ago found that for most people, 00:14:18.139 --> 00:14:19.279 I don't know if you'll identify this, 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:21.639 but for most people in our society, 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:27.199 their political identity is deeper and more defining 00:14:27.199 --> 00:14:30.839 than their racial identity, ethnic identity, or religious identity. 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:34.939 So when it comes to politics and faith, 00:14:36.299 --> 00:14:39.819 research has shown that for most people in our society, 00:14:40.360 --> 00:14:43.759 their political identity will remain stable over time, 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:47.620 and their religious beliefs and their religious affiliation 00:14:47.620 --> 00:14:50.659 will shift around that political identity. 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:55.659 So the core operating system, this survey has shown, 00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:59.460 for many people, the core operating system that defines people 00:14:59.460 --> 00:15:01.419 is their political persuasion. 00:15:02.700 --> 00:15:09.179 And so this reason, I think, sits under the fact that many churches 00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:11.600 that you go to are politically homogenous. 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:16.019 They may advertise themselves as being very welcoming, 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:17.560 but if you actually come in the doors, 00:15:17.620 --> 00:15:21.279 and you share different, and you have different political beliefs, 00:15:22.060 --> 00:15:25.220 you will not fit in, and you will not be welcome. 00:15:26.419 --> 00:15:26.519 Right? 00:15:26.560 --> 00:15:29.340 And so most of the time, you see churches that are politically homogenous. 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:31.860 The thing that we need to understand is, 00:15:31.980 --> 00:15:34.799 when the gospel becomes the new operating system, 00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:37.060 when that supplants your identity, 00:15:37.179 --> 00:15:39.100 begins to rebuild you from the ground up, 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:43.800 and politics becomes simply one of the many aspects of your identity 00:15:43.800 --> 00:15:46.320 that needs to be reevaluated through the lens of the gospel, 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:51.500 that creates the space and the freedom for you to reexamine your political beliefs. 00:15:52.540 --> 00:15:58.000 And it means that gospel-centered churches can and should be politically diverse. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:03.320 They should be places where people feel the freedom to disagree politically, 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:07.919 and to debate tough issues on a political and on a policy level, 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:11.080 because they're not defined by those things, 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:15.039 because they share a unity that runs much deeper. 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:17.539 In a gospel-centered community, 00:16:17.539 --> 00:16:22.339 we have the freedom to recognize and to celebrate and to validate 00:16:22.339 --> 00:16:27.339 the beauty of racial and ethnic and cultural differences 00:16:27.339 --> 00:16:29.860 without being threatened by them. 00:16:29.959 --> 00:16:33.839 We have the freedom to look at our own cultural heritage 00:16:33.839 --> 00:16:36.719 through a critical lens. 00:16:38.019 --> 00:16:38.199 Right? 00:16:38.200 --> 00:16:42.540 And we also have the freedom to disagree and debate our political differences. 00:16:42.540 --> 00:16:45.960 We can do all of this and still be perfectly unified, 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:48.879 because the unity is not ultimately political. 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:50.200 It's not intellectual. 00:16:50.560 --> 00:16:51.800 It's not cultural. 00:16:52.100 --> 00:16:53.180 It is spiritual. 00:16:54.440 --> 00:17:00.160 That is the power of a new humanity that we find in Jesus Christ, 00:17:00.680 --> 00:17:01.920 a common humanity, 00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:04.960 which, by the way, is what the Bible says from the very beginning, 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:09.700 that God's original intention was to create all human beings to bear his image, 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:14.819 to be one in their identity with one another and with him. 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:20.380 And so this is simply restoring God's original intention for human beings. 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:23.360 So if that's the reason that we need peace, 00:17:23.380 --> 00:17:25.779 because our hearts tend to build walls, 00:17:27.799 --> 00:17:31.000 and if the way that peace comes 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:35.059 is through Jesus' establishing of a new humanity 00:17:35.059 --> 00:17:36.579 and inviting us in, 00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:38.799 then how do we get it? 00:17:39.059 --> 00:17:40.420 How does that actually happen? 00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:42.960 This is our final question for this morning. 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:46.059 And this brings us to the heart of the Christian hope, 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:47.200 which is the gospel. 00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:50.980 Jesus came, as it says in verse 16, 00:17:51.319 --> 00:17:53.579 to reconcile all of us 00:17:53.579 --> 00:17:58.700 to God in one body through the cross, 00:17:58.700 --> 00:18:01.160 thereby killing the hostility 00:18:01.160 --> 00:18:02.840 and killing the hatred. 00:18:04.120 --> 00:18:05.299 In our society, 00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:07.559 there are many things that divide us. 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:09.240 I don't have to list them for you. 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:11.160 You can probably think of them yourself. 00:18:11.500 --> 00:18:13.340 There are many things that divide us, 00:18:13.500 --> 00:18:14.819 and some of these things, 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:16.039 like race or politics, 00:18:16.160 --> 00:18:17.720 seem utterly insurmountable. 00:18:18.819 --> 00:18:21.059 They can lead to feelings of despair 00:18:21.059 --> 00:18:22.600 and hopelessness. 00:18:22.660 --> 00:18:23.180 Believe me, 00:18:23.220 --> 00:18:25.200 I've wrestled with that myself. 00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:29.980 But the answer comes 00:18:29.980 --> 00:18:32.740 from recognizing that true peace, 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:35.380 which is the shalom that we're talking about, 00:18:35.819 --> 00:18:37.740 is only going to be possible 00:18:37.740 --> 00:18:41.480 if we recognize that there is one dividing wall 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:44.000 that matters more than all of the others. 00:18:45.019 --> 00:18:46.779 It's not to say that the others don't matter, 00:18:46.860 --> 00:18:50.220 but there is one that has to take priority for us, 00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:51.980 and that is the wall that stands 00:18:51.980 --> 00:18:54.640 between all human beings and God. 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:56.779 One of the most shocking things 00:18:56.779 --> 00:18:58.220 that Paul says to the Jews 00:18:58.220 --> 00:19:01.440 is at the end of the day, 00:19:01.620 --> 00:19:03.340 they're no better than the Gentiles. 00:19:04.120 --> 00:19:06.279 They have no greater standing before God 00:19:06.279 --> 00:19:07.380 than the Gentiles, 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:10.000 that their illusion of spiritual superiority 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:11.380 is just that. 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:12.680 It's an illusion. 00:19:12.920 --> 00:19:13.900 At the end of the day, 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:15.680 all human beings, 00:19:15.900 --> 00:19:17.600 Jews and Gentiles alike, 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:19.000 which would encompass everyone, 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:22.359 we have all actively participated 00:19:22.359 --> 00:19:24.140 in the building of a wall 00:19:24.140 --> 00:19:26.680 that separates us from God. 00:19:27.019 --> 00:19:28.180 Because in our hearts, 00:19:28.339 --> 00:19:29.819 we want to ignore God 00:19:29.819 --> 00:19:31.019 in the world that he made. 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:33.279 We want to live apart from him 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:36.500 and to set ourselves up as gods. 00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:39.460 And so the Bible says 00:19:39.460 --> 00:19:41.400 that we have all built this wall, 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:44.119 we all hold it up in our lives. 00:19:44.119 --> 00:19:47.279 And the gospel says this amazing fact 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:47.879 that Jesus, 00:19:48.159 --> 00:19:49.399 because of his love for us, 00:19:49.779 --> 00:19:51.219 because of his love for all nations, 00:19:51.339 --> 00:19:53.059 not just one particular people group, 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:54.139 but everyone, 00:19:55.419 --> 00:19:57.000 took all of the hostility, 00:19:57.419 --> 00:19:58.779 took all of the hatred, 00:19:59.079 --> 00:20:00.759 took all of the animosity 00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:03.379 into himself, 00:20:03.380 --> 00:20:06.340 and then he went to the cross. 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:09.320 And it says this amazing thing 00:20:09.320 --> 00:20:10.740 that when he died, 00:20:11.500 --> 00:20:12.200 when he said, 00:20:12.380 --> 00:20:13.320 it is finished, 00:20:13.860 --> 00:20:15.080 he was talking about 00:20:15.080 --> 00:20:16.700 the end of that hostility 00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:18.500 and the end of that hatred. 00:20:18.800 --> 00:20:20.400 He was talking about the walls 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:23.200 crashing down in the world. 00:20:23.320 --> 00:20:25.220 The wall between humanity and God 00:20:25.220 --> 00:20:26.440 came crashing down. 00:20:26.520 --> 00:20:27.200 It is finished. 00:20:27.760 --> 00:20:29.100 The wall between human beings 00:20:29.100 --> 00:20:29.620 and one another 00:20:29.620 --> 00:20:30.900 came crashing down. 00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:31.920 It is finished. 00:20:33.380 --> 00:20:34.840 So now the good news 00:20:34.840 --> 00:20:35.920 of the gospel is 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:39.120 all we need to cross that divide 00:20:39.120 --> 00:20:41.000 is faith. 00:20:41.740 --> 00:20:43.440 That's all it requires 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:45.480 to put our faith in Jesus, 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:47.060 to be reconciled to God, 00:20:47.180 --> 00:20:48.840 which then makes it possible 00:20:48.840 --> 00:20:50.600 to begin to be reconciled 00:20:50.600 --> 00:20:53.080 with everyone else in the world. 00:20:54.460 --> 00:20:55.120 Now you say, 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:56.420 well that's amazing news, 00:20:56.540 --> 00:20:57.200 but I look around 00:20:57.200 --> 00:20:58.120 and there are lots of Christians 00:20:58.120 --> 00:20:58.580 in the world 00:20:58.580 --> 00:21:01.040 and the world is still 00:21:01.040 --> 00:21:02.120 a very broken place. 00:21:02.119 --> 00:21:03.579 It's still a very divided place. 00:21:03.779 --> 00:21:05.099 So where's the disconnect? 00:21:07.099 --> 00:21:09.119 When the Iron Curtain was built, 00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:10.579 a part of it 00:21:10.579 --> 00:21:11.699 that was more like a fence 00:21:11.699 --> 00:21:12.319 than a curtain 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:15.439 separated the border of Germany 00:21:15.439 --> 00:21:16.179 from the border 00:21:16.179 --> 00:21:16.959 of what is now 00:21:16.959 --> 00:21:17.759 the Czech Republic. 00:21:18.479 --> 00:21:19.859 And when that fence 00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:20.699 was put in, 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:21.659 it separated 00:21:21.659 --> 00:21:23.519 a herd of red deer. 00:21:24.479 --> 00:21:25.439 And so from the time 00:21:25.439 --> 00:21:26.259 that fence went in, 00:21:26.299 --> 00:21:27.439 you had this herd divided 00:21:27.439 --> 00:21:28.659 and you had one living 00:21:28.659 --> 00:21:29.579 in the German side 00:21:29.579 --> 00:21:30.619 and you had one living 00:21:30.619 --> 00:21:32.299 in the Czech Republic side. 00:21:32.859 --> 00:21:33.480 And then the wall 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:34.539 finally came down 00:21:34.539 --> 00:21:35.279 in 1989. 00:21:35.579 --> 00:21:36.939 Some of you may remember that. 00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:37.919 And afterward, 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:39.259 wildlife biologists 00:21:39.259 --> 00:21:39.699 went in 00:21:39.699 --> 00:21:40.519 and they began to study 00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:41.339 these populations 00:21:41.339 --> 00:21:42.419 of deer. 00:21:42.740 --> 00:21:43.539 And what they noticed 00:21:43.539 --> 00:21:44.519 is that the deer 00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:46.139 continued to live 00:21:46.139 --> 00:21:47.859 as though the fence 00:21:47.859 --> 00:21:48.480 was there. 00:21:49.639 --> 00:21:51.159 The fence was gone, 00:21:51.859 --> 00:21:53.839 but the deer still behaved 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:54.759 as though it was there. 00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:55.480 They refused 00:21:55.480 --> 00:21:56.480 to integrate. 00:21:56.659 --> 00:21:57.539 They tracked some deer 00:21:57.539 --> 00:21:58.519 with GPS devices. 00:21:58.680 --> 00:21:59.139 They would range 00:21:59.139 --> 00:22:00.180 thousands of miles, 00:22:00.460 --> 00:22:01.720 but they would never cross 00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:03.119 that invisible border. 00:22:03.220 --> 00:22:04.379 They would go right up 00:22:04.379 --> 00:22:04.980 to the edge 00:22:04.980 --> 00:22:05.859 of where it had been 00:22:05.859 --> 00:22:06.799 and stand there. 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:07.940 And then they would turn around 00:22:07.940 --> 00:22:09.420 and go in a different direction. 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:10.440 And in fact, 00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:11.879 the most interesting thing 00:22:11.879 --> 00:22:12.359 of all, 00:22:13.319 --> 00:22:15.119 deer born decades 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:16.220 after the fence 00:22:16.220 --> 00:22:17.059 was removed, 00:22:18.259 --> 00:22:19.159 born decades 00:22:19.159 --> 00:22:19.859 after the fence 00:22:19.859 --> 00:22:20.619 was removed, 00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:21.759 who never saw the fence, 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:24.079 still behaved 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:25.460 as though the fence 00:22:25.460 --> 00:22:26.019 was there. 00:22:27.539 --> 00:22:28.759 In other words, 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:30.599 the actual wall 00:22:30.599 --> 00:22:31.480 was gone, 00:22:32.599 --> 00:22:33.899 but a wall 00:22:33.899 --> 00:22:34.980 still stood 00:22:34.980 --> 00:22:36.039 in the minds 00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:37.420 and in the hearts 00:22:37.420 --> 00:22:38.119 of the deer. 00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:40.339 And what the gospel 00:22:40.339 --> 00:22:40.980 would say 00:22:40.980 --> 00:22:41.859 is that the same 00:22:41.859 --> 00:22:42.680 is true of us. 00:22:43.079 --> 00:22:44.240 Through Jesus Christ's 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:44.799 finished work 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:45.319 on the cross, 00:22:45.579 --> 00:22:46.799 the walls are gone. 00:22:48.579 --> 00:22:50.000 They've been eradicated. 00:22:50.859 --> 00:22:51.680 There's no wall 00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:52.539 standing between us 00:22:52.539 --> 00:22:53.379 and God anymore. 00:22:54.379 --> 00:22:55.460 There need be no wall 00:22:55.460 --> 00:22:56.220 standing between us 00:22:56.220 --> 00:22:57.440 and one another anymore. 00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:58.860 But the walls 00:22:58.860 --> 00:23:00.299 still stand 00:23:00.299 --> 00:23:01.420 in our minds 00:23:01.420 --> 00:23:03.160 and in our hearts. 00:23:04.339 --> 00:23:04.940 And this is why 00:23:04.940 --> 00:23:05.819 the gospel needs 00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:06.559 to be preached 00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:08.279 again and again 00:23:08.279 --> 00:23:08.819 and again 00:23:08.819 --> 00:23:09.680 because every time 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:10.279 it is announced, 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:11.880 walls come crashing down. 00:23:13.420 --> 00:23:14.220 James Boster 00:23:14.220 --> 00:23:15.360 was an anthropologist 00:23:15.360 --> 00:23:16.200 from the University 00:23:16.200 --> 00:23:16.839 of Connecticut. 00:23:17.120 --> 00:23:18.200 He was not a Christian, 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:19.819 but he spent time 00:23:19.819 --> 00:23:21.299 studying the various tribes 00:23:21.299 --> 00:23:22.720 of indigenous people 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:23.420 in Ecuador. 00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:25.700 and these tribes 00:23:25.700 --> 00:23:27.240 warred constantly 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:28.060 with one another 00:23:28.060 --> 00:23:30.240 in a kind of endless cycle 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:31.820 of revenge killings. 00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:32.600 So this tribe 00:23:32.600 --> 00:23:34.380 would attack this tribe 00:23:34.380 --> 00:23:34.940 and then this tribe 00:23:34.940 --> 00:23:35.980 would respond in kind 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:36.740 and they would respond 00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:37.300 in kind 00:23:37.300 --> 00:23:38.660 and so war 00:23:38.660 --> 00:23:40.120 was a constant reality 00:23:40.120 --> 00:23:41.480 among these people groups. 00:23:41.980 --> 00:23:42.820 And their language 00:23:42.820 --> 00:23:44.420 actually had no word 00:23:44.420 --> 00:23:46.279 for something like peace. 00:23:47.160 --> 00:23:47.820 There was no word 00:23:47.820 --> 00:23:48.620 in their language 00:23:48.620 --> 00:23:49.360 for peace. 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:50.880 And as a result 00:23:50.880 --> 00:23:51.640 of all of this, 00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:52.840 they were on the verge 00:23:52.840 --> 00:23:53.860 of self-extinction 00:23:53.860 --> 00:23:54.700 and that's why people 00:23:54.700 --> 00:23:56.120 had began to take notice 00:23:56.120 --> 00:23:56.480 in them 00:23:56.480 --> 00:23:57.020 is because they were 00:23:57.020 --> 00:23:57.500 on the verge 00:23:57.500 --> 00:23:58.380 of being wiped out 00:23:58.380 --> 00:23:58.960 entirely 00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:01.060 from all of the killing. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:03.580 So some Christian missionaries 00:24:03.580 --> 00:24:04.900 decades ago, 00:24:05.320 --> 00:24:06.120 including a man 00:24:06.120 --> 00:24:06.960 named Jim Elliott, 00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:07.620 went there 00:24:07.620 --> 00:24:08.800 to try to share 00:24:08.800 --> 00:24:09.320 the gospel 00:24:09.320 --> 00:24:10.060 with these people 00:24:10.060 --> 00:24:10.480 in the hopes 00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:11.220 that it would help. 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:13.440 But through a very 00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:14.380 unfortunate series 00:24:14.380 --> 00:24:15.480 of misunderstandings, 00:24:15.560 --> 00:24:16.700 they were actually killed. 00:24:17.940 --> 00:24:18.980 But then something 00:24:18.980 --> 00:24:20.420 really extraordinary happened. 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:22.180 The wives 00:24:22.180 --> 00:24:23.940 of these missionaries 00:24:23.940 --> 00:24:24.840 who had been murdered, 00:24:25.259 --> 00:24:26.680 the wives returned 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:27.420 to Ecuador. 00:24:27.980 --> 00:24:29.360 But they didn't return 00:24:29.360 --> 00:24:31.200 to seek revenge. 00:24:31.880 --> 00:24:32.840 They returned 00:24:32.840 --> 00:24:34.060 to love 00:24:34.060 --> 00:24:36.100 and to serve 00:24:36.100 --> 00:24:37.360 these people. 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:39.080 And in doing that, 00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:39.560 they began 00:24:39.560 --> 00:24:40.480 to show them 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:42.200 a new way 00:24:42.200 --> 00:24:43.039 of being human. 00:24:44.259 --> 00:24:45.640 A new humanity. 00:24:45.640 --> 00:24:48.580 not an endless cycle 00:24:48.580 --> 00:24:49.440 of retribution 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:50.700 and revenge, 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:51.940 but the way 00:24:51.940 --> 00:24:52.759 of forgiveness 00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:54.020 and reconciliation. 00:24:54.520 --> 00:24:54.960 In other words, 00:24:55.040 --> 00:24:56.120 they began to live 00:24:56.120 --> 00:24:56.960 as though the wall 00:24:56.960 --> 00:24:57.540 was gone. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:24:58.820 They lived like 00:24:58.820 --> 00:24:59.200 the gospel 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:00.220 is actually true. 00:25:01.400 --> 00:25:02.500 And this actually 00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:03.800 opened these people 00:25:03.800 --> 00:25:04.880 up to the truth 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:05.420 of the gospel 00:25:05.420 --> 00:25:06.180 because they saw 00:25:06.180 --> 00:25:06.900 the power 00:25:06.900 --> 00:25:08.020 that it had. 00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:09.380 And when they 00:25:09.380 --> 00:25:10.180 were opened 00:25:10.180 --> 00:25:10.980 to the message 00:25:10.980 --> 00:25:11.620 of the gospel, 00:25:11.780 --> 00:25:12.440 that actually 00:25:12.440 --> 00:25:13.340 finally brought 00:25:13.339 --> 00:25:13.839 an end 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:14.779 to generations 00:25:14.779 --> 00:25:15.919 of revenge killings. 00:25:15.959 --> 00:25:16.419 And if you look 00:25:16.419 --> 00:25:16.959 at those people 00:25:16.959 --> 00:25:17.599 groups today, 00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:18.799 they are steadily 00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:21.059 recovering in number. 00:25:22.579 --> 00:25:23.839 The dividing walls 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:24.559 of hostility 00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:25.740 came crashing down. 00:25:27.899 --> 00:25:28.659 But there are 00:25:28.659 --> 00:25:29.699 still many walls. 00:25:30.859 --> 00:25:31.299 There are still 00:25:31.299 --> 00:25:32.079 many people out there, 00:25:32.139 --> 00:25:33.319 including many of us, 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:35.740 who have walls 00:25:35.740 --> 00:25:36.500 that still stand 00:25:36.500 --> 00:25:36.980 in our hearts 00:25:36.980 --> 00:25:37.539 and minds. 00:25:38.659 --> 00:25:39.240 And so the gospel 00:25:39.240 --> 00:25:40.099 needs to be preached. 00:25:40.959 --> 00:25:41.679 And this is why 00:25:41.679 --> 00:25:42.619 we celebrate Christmas 00:25:42.619 --> 00:25:43.459 like we do. 00:25:43.779 --> 00:25:44.919 Because every time 00:25:44.919 --> 00:25:45.799 we celebrate Christmas, 00:25:45.959 --> 00:25:46.679 we're reminded 00:25:46.679 --> 00:25:48.199 that the walls 00:25:48.199 --> 00:25:49.159 don't need to be there. 00:25:50.539 --> 00:25:51.179 And this is what 00:25:51.179 --> 00:25:51.859 makes Christmas 00:25:51.859 --> 00:25:53.819 such good news 00:25:53.819 --> 00:25:55.099 for people like me 00:25:55.099 --> 00:25:55.599 and you 00:25:55.599 --> 00:25:56.779 who long for peace. 00:25:57.779 --> 00:25:58.599 In a moment, 00:25:58.699 --> 00:25:59.459 we're going to stand 00:25:59.459 --> 00:26:00.299 and we're going to sing 00:26:00.299 --> 00:26:01.259 another song, 00:26:01.479 --> 00:26:01.979 a carol. 00:26:02.459 --> 00:26:03.559 And this is a carol 00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:04.619 that started out 00:26:04.619 --> 00:26:05.819 as a poem, actually, 00:26:05.939 --> 00:26:06.699 written by Henry 00:26:06.699 --> 00:26:07.859 Wadsworth Longfellow. 00:26:08.739 --> 00:26:09.500 And Longfellow 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:11.559 was a tragic story. 00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:12.500 He had already 00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:13.980 lost his wife. 00:26:14.099 --> 00:26:14.639 She died 00:26:14.639 --> 00:26:15.759 and he had loved her 00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:16.639 passionately. 00:26:16.740 --> 00:26:18.079 He had taken years 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:18.779 to win her. 00:26:19.500 --> 00:26:21.019 And then they were married 00:26:21.019 --> 00:26:22.259 and shared a number 00:26:22.259 --> 00:26:23.000 of years together 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:24.379 and then she died. 00:26:24.879 --> 00:26:25.940 And the Civil War 00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:26.639 was raging 00:26:26.639 --> 00:26:27.960 and his son 00:26:27.960 --> 00:26:28.619 had gone off 00:26:28.619 --> 00:26:29.079 to fight 00:26:29.079 --> 00:26:29.859 in the Civil War 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:30.599 and his son 00:26:30.599 --> 00:26:31.500 got shot 00:26:31.500 --> 00:26:32.500 in battle 00:26:32.500 --> 00:26:33.379 and the bullet 00:26:33.379 --> 00:26:34.759 nicked his spine. 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:36.179 And so Longfellow 00:26:36.179 --> 00:26:37.220 had to bring him home 00:26:37.220 --> 00:26:37.919 and to try to 00:26:37.919 --> 00:26:39.119 tend to his wounds 00:26:39.119 --> 00:26:40.759 and nurse him 00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:41.500 back to health. 00:26:41.659 --> 00:26:43.459 And so in late December, 00:26:43.619 --> 00:26:44.919 Longfellow finds himself 00:26:44.919 --> 00:26:46.000 deeply tortured 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:46.539 with grief 00:26:46.539 --> 00:26:47.439 over his wife. 00:26:48.819 --> 00:26:50.179 Deeply resenting 00:26:50.179 --> 00:26:53.399 and lamenting 00:26:53.399 --> 00:26:54.799 the wounds 00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:55.959 that his son 00:26:55.959 --> 00:26:56.839 had sustained. 00:26:57.559 --> 00:26:58.899 And then looking around 00:26:58.899 --> 00:26:59.659 at this country 00:26:59.659 --> 00:27:00.559 that he loved 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:01.519 and feeling as though 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:02.459 the very fabric 00:27:02.459 --> 00:27:03.279 of the nation 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:04.319 had been torn 00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:05.079 to pieces. 00:27:05.079 --> 00:27:06.639 because people 00:27:06.639 --> 00:27:07.240 were literally 00:27:07.240 --> 00:27:08.359 killing one another 00:27:08.359 --> 00:27:10.000 in their own homeland. 00:27:11.059 --> 00:27:12.079 And he felt 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:13.659 hopeless despair. 00:27:14.980 --> 00:27:16.379 And then he heard 00:27:16.379 --> 00:27:17.919 bells ringing outside 00:27:17.919 --> 00:27:19.879 on Christmas morning. 00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:21.559 And something about 00:27:21.559 --> 00:27:22.240 those bells 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:23.720 sparked hope in him. 00:27:24.279 --> 00:27:25.399 And so he sat down 00:27:25.399 --> 00:27:26.599 and wrote a poem 00:27:26.599 --> 00:27:28.099 titled 00:27:28.099 --> 00:27:29.619 Christmas Bells. 00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:31.000 And that poem 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:32.119 then became the song 00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:33.099 that we're 00:27:33.099 --> 00:27:34.399 about to sing. 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:36.320 So let's stand together, 00:27:36.680 --> 00:27:37.500 let's remember 00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:38.420 the Christmas hope, 00:27:38.700 --> 00:27:39.740 and let's celebrate 00:27:39.740 --> 00:27:40.320 the gospel 00:27:40.320 --> 00:27:41.540 of Jesus Christ.