The Way of Peace

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 5^th 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.