Blessed are the Peacemakers
Matthew 5:9
June 26, 2005
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Eugene Peterson’s “Message” renders that verse, “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.”
In the Hebrew Bible, the word for peace is “shalom” and suggests serenity, prosperity, happiness, and peaceful relationships between people. The Bible is clear, I think, that the person who works for peace is engaged in the very work which the God of peace is doing.”
The Bible speaks time and time again of peace. Before his arrest, Jesus said to the disciples, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you” (John 14:27). After his resurrection, he greets his followers with the words, “Peace be with you” (Luke 24:36). Paul begins his first letter to the church at Corinth with these words, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 1:3). To the Christians at Rome, he says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace” (Romans 10:15). Ephesians says “For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of enmity” (Ephesians 2:14). Colossians teaches that Jesus “has reconciled all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of the cross” (Colossians 1:20).
You have no doubt noticed that I generally end the benediction with “Go in peace” because we have all been afforded the privilege of worshiping our Lord together. Following worship we are returned to the world from where we came as ambassadors of Christ’s peace among many who don’t know him.
This is an interesting time to be preaching on the beatitude, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” It is an interesting time because we are at war in the Middle East. Some will say that we are at war in order to restore the peace which has been shattered by terrorists. Others will say that war is never a way to bring peace, that it’s an oxymoron.
Serving the church in Shipshewana was an interesting experience during the run up to the Iraqi invasion a couple of years ago. Almost two thirds of the churched people in LaGrange County are members of either the Mennonite Church or of the Old Order Amish. These historic peace churches have made their stands through the generations by opposing war and violence of any sort. We had a number of interesting and passionate discussions in our weekly Bible study. I remember that we had one fellow in our church who had served in the army during the late fifties. When his tour of duty was completed, his local Mennonite Church told him that he was no longer welcome.
I also got to know a local Old Order Amish bishop by the name of Casper Hochstetler. Amish youth don’t join the church until they are in their late teens. Casper went against his parent’s wishes when he was younger, refused to join the church and joined the army instead. He served as a Military Policeman.
I remember a conversation he and I had one day. He told me that after he got out of the army, he came to a decision that God had placed him in an Amish home for a reason, and he had no right to question that reason. So he came home, asked for forgiveness from his parents and community, was baptized and joined the church, and now serves as a bishop. So even historic peace churches differ in how they treat their own who go against church tradition and teaching.
Our own United Methodist tradition is confusing to some. Our Social Principles affirm:
We deplore war and urge the peaceful settlement of all disputes among nations…Some of us believe that war, and other acts of violence, are never acceptable to Christians. We also acknowledge that many Christians believe that, when peaceful alternatives have failed, the force of arms may regretfully be preferable to unchecked aggression, tyranny and genocide. We honor the witness of pacifists who will not allow us to become complacent about war and violence. We also respect those who support the use of force, but only in extreme situations and only when the need is clear beyond reasonable doubt…We support and extend the ministry of the Church to those persons who conscientiously oppose all war, or any particular war, and who therefore refuse to serve in the armed forces or to cooperate with systems of military conscription. We also support and extend the Church’s ministry to those persons who conscientiously choose to serve in the armed forces or to accept alternative service” (excerpts taken from The Social Principles of the United Methodist Church. Section V. “The Political Community” sub-section I. “Military Service.”).
You can find just about anything you want to find in that statement. And today we come on that beatitude, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God.” I quite frankly would prefer not to have to preach on this topic. I wish it were not here. I wish I could skip it. As I was writing this sermon, I was wishing that I hadn’t embarked on this sermon series. Sometimes a series that looks so promising is so hard to preach. I wish that I could just forget about Matthew 5:9 and not have you notice that it is absent from the series of sermons on the beatitudes.
I say that because it is hard and I think it is a natural inclination to want to stay away from those Scripture texts that are hard, that cause us problems, which force us to ponder things we would rather leave unconsidered, which push us to rethink and reevaluate long held assumptions. With all of the rhetoric being thrown around in our political discussions nowadays, it’s nice to avoid that in church.
I still have a picture on the shelf behind my desk of Dustin Balyeat in his Marine Dress Blues when he took my daughter to her Senior Prom. Toni and I thought about him daily as he served in Iraq and praised God that he came home safely. As we come up on our Fourth of July celebrations, we will give thanks for his service and the commitment and courage of all others who served with distinction. At the same time, I think we have to take seriously the gospel witness to peace and the peaceable kingdom.
While I served in the heart of Old Order Amish country, I made it a point to read as much as I could about their peace witness so that I could understand their positions. I also tried to read other voices with dissenting opinions. It became clear to me that honest and faithful Christians disagree. I am not willing to deny anyone’s faithfulness or question their commitment to Christ on the basis of their stand of this issue of war and peace. Christians now days are divided by so many tings. I won’t use this issue as a wedge to further divide members of the family.
But still we have to ponder. Dr. John Roth is a professor of History at Goshen College, and has written a book titled, “Choosing Against War” (2002. Intercourse, PA.: Good Books).He asserts that the goal of pacifism is not effectiveness in terms of calculated outcome, but faithfulness to the witness of Christ (page 149). He makes a good point.
I also read Dr. Reinhold Neibuhr, late professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Neibuhr knew first-hand the terror of tyranny from having lived under German Nazism of the 1930’s. In his book, “Christianity and Power Politics” (1940. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons), he says that there are inherent contradictions between the law of love and peace, and the sin of humanity. The sinful hearts, he argues, will never be able to fulfill the law of love and peace. International conflicts are always, he says, conflicts between sinners. He goes on to say, however, that the victory of tyranny is always morally intolerable. When some people violate the gospel law of love, violent response is sometimes the result. He dismisses the tenants of pacifism, but admits that we must always take them seriously because we must have their witness to keep us from blindly dashing into war.
One of my heroes of the faith is St. Francis. After rejecting his wealth and deciding to live a life of poverty, he and a dozen other men formed a group calling themselves “The Lesser Brothers.”
In 1219, during the Fifth Crusade, Francis, who opposed killing in all forms, decided to go to preach the gospel to the sultan whose Muslim forces were opposing Europe’s Christians. Francis was captured, held prisoner, and beaten. He was brought before the sultan and asked if he was ready to become Muslim. To do so would mean that he would live. Francis instead said that he had come to seek the sultan’s conversion to Christianity.
For a month, the two men visited every day and while neither converted the other, they developed a strong friendship. Francis was given a passport that allowed him to visit Christian holy places under Muslim control, and the two men parted as brothers.
The story is told of two old men who, in the early years of the Christian church, had gone out into the desert to live together, and to pursue Christ with all of their hearts. They lived together for many years, but never quarreled.
One day, one of the men said to the other, “Let’s quarrel with each other like other men do.” The other said, “I do not know how quarrels begin.” So the other said to him, “Look, I will put a brick down here between us and I will say, ‘This is mine.’ Then you can say ‘No it is not, it is mine.’ Then we will be able to have a quarrel.” So they placed the brick between them and the first one said, “This is mine.” His companion replied, “This is not so, for it is mine.” To this, the first one said, “If it is so and the brick is yours, then take it and go your way.” And so they were not able to have a quarrel. (“The Ladder of the Beatitudes” Jim Forest. 1999. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books. page 135).
Blessed are those who make peace in all their endeavors, be it individual or corporate. These are the ones who are doing God’s work.
Let’s be honest. Peace, in all our endeavors is illusive. But we are people who worship the Prince of Peace. I pray that we may all look for ways to be like him. That is the goal of our living and the goal of faithful Christians everywhere. Those who search for peace are blessed. Those who seek to find and make peace discover their true place in God’s family.
