The words of Jesus, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9), gain heightened relevance in the face of the terrible violence that we have been witnessing, from the Middle East to Dallas. But how can you be a peacemaker when it seems that people never stop fighting? The Bible gives clear direction:
- We must begin by finding peace within ourselves, and such peace is found through Jesus Christ. “Christ is our peace,” says Ephesians 2:14. Through Christ we are brought into harmony with God, and as we are filled with the Spirit of Christ, we gain the spiritual strength and perspective to begin to create peace around us. We are no longer concerned about fighting for our own honor or position, but we can be focused on the values of God, and so become instruments of God’s peace.
- The peace for which we strive is not simply an absence of fighting, but the condition of The Hebrew word for peace—“shalom”—indicates a condition of wholeness, harmony, and well-being; and such peace is God’s aim both for our individual lives and for society as a whole. This means that lasting peace in the world is found only when all people are treated with dignity and equality, and no one is left in abject need. This is why our work for peace as a church is very broad-based, including efforts to fight hunger, poverty, and disease, as well as efforts to overcome discrimination and division and to create understanding among peoples.
- We are called not just to be at peace in Christ, but to make peace by the power of His Spirit. This leads us to take actions for peace, seeking to overcome evil with good, and to be witnesses for God’s peace in our world. Our church has taking several concrete actions in response to last week’s violence, including participation in a community vigil, the launching of a “prayers for peace” series through our social media, and the baking of cookies as a gift of appreciation to our local police. We are planning further actions for the near future.
We may find ourselves struggling to be peacemakers in a variety of circumstances—in our family, our workplace, or our school, or amongst our friends and acquaintances, to say nothing of the world at large! It may seem at times that peacemaking is a lost cause. But we have hope through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. We can make a difference in the world around us when we open ourselves to the Spirit of Christ, and answer his call as he says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
Sunday’s Scripture Readings:
Micah 4:1–4
I Samuel 25:2–35
Matthew 5:9
