Isaiah
2:1-4 (CEB)
This
is what Isaiah, Amoz’s son, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In
the days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be the highest of the mountains.
It will be lifted above the hills;
peoples will stream to it.
Many
nations will go and say,
“Come,
let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the house of Jacob’s God
so that he may teach us his ways
and we may walk in God’s paths.”
Instruction
will come from Zion;
the Lord’s word from Jerusalem.
God
will judge between the nations,
and settle disputes of mighty nations.
Then
they will beat their swords into iron plows
and their spears into pruning tools.
Nation
will not take up sword against nation;
they will no longer learn how to make war.
Shalom
Salam
Two
words we would hear frequently while in the Holy Lands.
Arabic
and Hebrew --- both are a greeting --- but also much more than that.
they are words inviting us into a
state of peace
Blessed
are the Peacemakers, Jesus said --- they will be called children of God
Peace
is a funny word
Jesus was executed as a part of the
Pax Romana --- The peace of Rome
A peace that killed its
perceived enemies, in order to, create peace
Most tyrants when they crackdown on dissidents
in their midst do so in the name of protecting the peace
Joe
Kapolyo, in his commentary on Matthew says that the peacemaker is someone who
is reconciled to God, knows God is for peace, and seeks reconciliation instead
of strife and war.
I
have told you that I believe the order of the beatitudes is very intentional.
They build on each other
RT
Kendell is his book, The Sermon on the Mount
Peacemaking follows purity in heart, giving
you a wider perspective. You will be
concerned for others --- wanting to make peace.
You will be concerned for God's people --- the Church. You will be concerned for God's greater
glory. . . .The reason, that this beatitude about peacemaking is put exactly on
the ladder here is that the pure in heart delight in the peace and fellowship
among God's people. The pure in heart
rise above selfish concerns, staying above the "party line." They want peace, unfeigned unity and the
genuine happiness of others.
Much
like today, the early Christians struggled with the rise of
vigilante-like-zealotry, which was a growing part of the Jewish resistance
movements.
Jesus
seems to once again turn the world on its head when he calls us not to seek
justice through violence --- but rather to turn from retaliation to
reconciliation.
Rabbi
Hillel, a contemporary of Jesus, said:
Be disciples of Aaron, loving peace and
pursuing peace, loving people and drawing them near to the Torah.
Dietrich
Bonhoeffer in, The Cost of Discipleship
wrote:
The followers of Jesus have been called to
peace. When he called them they found their peace, for he is their peace. But
now they are told that they must not only have peace but make it. And to that
end they renounce all violence and tumult.
He
went on
Their peace will never be greater than when
they encounter evil people in peace and are willing to suffer from them.
Bonhoeffer,
you remember was executed by the Nazis
Sometimes
it is easier to define what peacemaking is NOT rather than just try and define
it.
Peacemaking
quite simply is neither
being nice
nor being tolerant
As
I said earlier --- Peacemaking is actively entering into the middle of warring
parties with the purpose of creating reconciliation and peace
But
that is tough --- and a place most of us don't want to go
What
Jesus says about the peacemaker is insightful and fascinating
The
New Revised Standard Version says:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be
called children of God."
Once
again, Eugene Peterson in his translation The Message nails it:
You’re blessed
when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s
when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
The phrase --- children of God --- was used by Judaism
to denote someone who is on God's side --- reminding us that God is a God of
peace
John R. W. Stott in his book, The Message of the
Sermon on the Mount, writes
Now peacemaking
is a divine work. For peace means reconciliation, and God is the author of
peace and of reconciliation. … It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the
particular blessing which attaches to peacemakers is that "they shall be
called sons of God." For they are seeking to do what their Father has
done, loving people with his love.
This concept of seeking peace --- of seeking reconciliation
rather than retribution --- is found throughout both the New Testament and the
Hebrew Bible
Isaiah 9:7 (CEB)
There will be
vast authority and endless peace
for David’s throne and for his kingdom,
establishing and sustaining it
with justice and righteousness
now and forever.
The zeal of the
Lord of heavenly forces will do this.
Isaiah 32:17 (CEB)
The fruit of
righteousness will be peace,
and the outcome of righteousness,
calm and security forever.
And
of course, our text for today
But
maybe most clearly is just a little later in this 5th chapter of
Matthew, I love the way The Message puts this: (Matthew 5:38-48 The Message)
“Here’s another old saying that deserves a
second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere?
Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand
there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off
your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone
takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life.
No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.
THIS
IS HARD STUFF!
“You’re familiar with the old written law,
‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m
challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the
best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with
the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your
God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm
and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and
nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do
that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal?
Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
DOES
JESUS REALLY MEAN THIS?
“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up.
You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity.
Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”
But
most of us get stuck with this beatitude and wrestle with two basic questions
First,
we ask: does this beatitude teach pacifism or at least non-violent resistance?
We
see this philosophy most clearly in the Anabaptist traditions such as the Mennonites
or the Amish --- but also in the Quakers
Many
of us see this as a pie-in-the-sky approach that is utopian and unrealistic.
Scot
McKnight writes:
this is precisely the point: pacifism was the
way of the earliest Christians --- and participation in war was clearly frowned
on by nearly all early Christians --- because it was the way of Jesus, and the
way of Jesus is the kingdom, realistic or not.
The question for the pacifist is not, "Does it work in the
world?" but "what does it mean to follow Jesus in the concrete
situation?"
A
second way that people often read these words is that this is about
interpersonal relationships and not national relationships.
What
this seems to mean is that Christians shouldn't use violence in their personal
lives but they can participate in what Augustine called a just war. Calvin, Luther and John Wesley all affirmed
this position.
Scot
McKnight goes on:
Regardless of our posture toward the state,
the military, or other countries, the goal
of the follower of Jesus is peace.
But we are to admit that the means
is not as clear. That is, while we
should all desire peace, how we get there
may differ. Some Christians think the
best way to get there is through military strength sufficient enough to
intimidate other countries into dropping their military plans, with others (I
join them) think the way of Jesus requires us to drop our military intimidation
and negotiate in love for justice and peace.
The
goal of the follower of Jesus is peace --- is that really our goal?
Or do we create our own unique Pax Romana
--- our peace at any cost?
I
love how Kendall concludes this section of his book:
When you decide to be a peacemaker, you
forfeit earthly glory in exchange for the glory that comes from God alone. You make a choice: Which is more important,
to be prestigious in the eyes of people here . . . or be regarded as a son or daughter
of God by your Father in heaven.
I
will end with these words from Henri Nouwen which are from his daily devotion:
Whenever, contrary to the world’s
vindictiveness, we love our enemy, we exhibit something of the perfect love of
God, whose will is to bring all human beings together as children of one
Father. Whenever we forgive instead of getting angry at one another, bless
instead of cursing one another, tend one another’s wounds instead of rubbing
salt into them, hearten instead of discouraging one another, give hope instead
of driving one another to despair, hug instead of harassing one another,
welcome instead of cold-shouldering one another, thank instead of criticizing
one another, praise instead of maligning one another . . . in short, whenever
we opt for and not against one another, we make God’s unconditional love
visible; we are diminishing violence and giving birth to a new community.
