There are two powerful statements here. First, Jesus says, “My peace I give to you - peace of mind and heart - not like the peace the world gives. My peace I give to you.”

In one of the Christmas cards Karen and I received, someone shared a poem with us. I wanted to share it with you this morning. The author is unknown. But, its written as if Jesus were writing it to us. Let me read it to you.

I have come to bring you peace.

Not the peace of the season, for it is
too fleeting… Not the peace of the carol,
for it is nostalgic… Not the peace of the greeting
card, for it is too slick… Nor the peace of the crib,
for it is too wistful.

Rather, I have come to bring you peace…
Peace of the ordinary, the daily, the homely…
Peace for the worker, the driver, the student…
Peace in the office, the kitchen, the farm.

I have come to bring you peace… The peace
of accepting yourself as I have fashioned you…
The peace of knowing yourself as I know you…
The peace of loving yourself as I love you…

I have come to bring you peace… The peace that
warms you at the completion of a task… The
peace that invades you at the close of the day…
The peace that sustains you at the beginning of
the day.

The peace that reinforces when you reconcile
with another… The peace that touches you when
your family is in order.

Without peace, my coming is unfulfilled. Without
peace, my birth is forgettable. Without peace,
Christmas is a contradiction.

I have come to bring you peace.

We need this kind of peace in our lives. It touches the deepest part of who we are. It becomes the inner strength and confidence we need to get up each morning and do life.

The basis of Jesus’ peace is in what Jesus says next, “Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” The opposite of peace is when our hearts are troubled - fearful. Jesus says, “Fear Not.”

Paul Mukonyi had been studying tourism in Lyon, France. In November, of this last year, he came to believe that he was being followed and spied on by a group of people - mostly North African Arabs. Paul kept a diary of his fears and on at least 3 occasions reported his fears to the police in Lyon. The French police did nothing since there was no proof that Paul was being followed.

As his fears increased, Paul felt that he needed to escape to Kenya. At the Lyon airport he contacted officials before flying to London - telling them that he was certain he was being followed. He also told security personnel at London’s Gatwick airport that he was being followed. In both cases, the police reassured him that he would be okay and escorted Paul onto his flight.

On the flight from London to Nairobi - somewhere over the Sudan - Paul - suffering from acute paranoia and feeling threatened by the passengers around him - Paul burst into the cockpit of the British Airways 747-400 - attacked the pilots - disengaged the autopilot - causing the plane with 398 passengers to plummet 19,000 feet. Fortunately the pilots were able to regain control and the plane landed safely.

Paul’s doctors said that Paul wasn’t trying to harm anyone - he was simply afraid.

Stand for 5 minutes in a shopping mall - or some other busy place - and just watch people - faces tense with worry - lives burdened with the anxiety - the nervousness of our modern society. We live with anger - rage - ulcers - strokes - heart disease.

Most of us would probably not consider hijacking a 747. But, we do face our own fears - our hearts are troubled. Prices for utilities and gas and housing keep going up. Stocks and the dot coms are uncertain. How will we live and care for our families? We struggle with time and schedules and wonder if we can keep up. Are we adequate for all this? What if some debilitating illness comes? Like a juggler in the circus - we’re afraid of letting something fall.

Growing older - we fear loosing control - loosing our minds - loosing control over our bodies - over our lives. Ultimately - perhaps the greatest fear is death - the unknown of what happens or doesn’t happen next.

For these fears we’ve spent fortunes on tummy tucks and lotions - psychiatrists - seminars. We buy ourselves toys and cars and houses and things to cover our emptiness inside. But ultimately it doesn’t help. Remember the bumper sticker that says, “The one who dies with the most toys wins!” I recently saw a bumper sticker that was much more realistic: “The one who dies with the most toys is dead.”

Jesus said, “Fear not.” A message that has echoed through the Bible and through history. The Angel said it to Mary (Luke 1:30) and to Joseph, (Matthew 1:20) and to the shepherds in the field “Do not be afraid.”  (Luke 2:10) As Jesus traveled along the roads of Palestine, in His every gentle word - His compassion and caring for humanity - those words were there, “Fear not.”

Since September of last year - there’s been a severe outbreak of the Ebola virus in Uganda. Ebola is a terrible way to die - a type of viral hemorrhaging - bleeding. Its very contagious - very lethal. Hardest hit in this recent outbreak has been the town of Gulu. Over 400 people have contracted the disease. Over 170 people have died.

In the town of Gulu, when the Ebola virus struck, one of the first to recognize the disease and to begin treating cases was Dr. Matthew Lokwiya. After weeks of treating patients - often taking the worst cases and risking infection - after weeks of spearheading the fight against the disease and being credited for keeping the death toll remarkably low - on November 30th, Dr. Lokwiya himself became a patient. On December 5th - Dr. Lokwiya died.

When I read about Dr. Lokwiya in the Chronicle - I thought, how much that illustrates what Jesus has done for us.

The Apostle John writes in 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.” As Jesus came and lives with us - the love of God is revealed to us. God is not just all-powerful - but also all-loving.

Jesus was born without the disease of sin. Born into humanity that faces certain death as a result of our sin. And yet Jesus took on our sin - bore it on the cross - died in our place.

In 1 Corinthians 15 - the Apostle Paul writes: “The sting of death is sin - when we sin - we’re stung - the poison is injected - we die - But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 15:56a,57)

When a bee stings the stinger is left in the victim. After a bee has stung someone a child can play with the bee and never be afraid of the stinger.

The Apostle Paul says that death has stung Jesus Christ. The worst of our fears has already stung Jesus on the cross. And yet, Jesus lives! In Him we have the certain victory of the forgiveness of our sins - God’s presence in our lives today - and the hope eternal life with God. Trusting Jesus, we always have hope. We always have confidence in life.

“My peace I give to you. Fear not.” Peace that comes as we place our lives and our fears into the hands of Jesus who has come for each one of us. This morning we’re celebrating Jesus who has come. Do you know His peace? Have you turned your fears - your life - your concerns over to Him? He loves you so much. Trust Him.