Peacemakers

 

[Jesus said] “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9 ESV).

 

We live in a culture that finds great difficulty in the practice of peacemaking. Jesus is very clear in the Sermon on the Mount. Our reading shows us that the joy of life is found in being a peacemaker. In fact, this is a part of being a “son of God” (v. 9). The concept of peace here is based on the meaning of the Hebrew word shalom. Shalom refers to a way of life in which justice, peace, goodness, rightness, and flourishing abound for all people. This is life as God intends it to be, in which everyone lives in harmony with God and with their neighbors.

 

Jesus came to bring and restore us to peace with God (cf. John 16:33; Romans 5:1). And now we are invited to be peacemakers together with Jesus. Just as he is the Son of God, so we become children of God as we join in his mission of peacemaking. Shalom-making involves everything we do, in our work and play, in the way we handle our finances, in all our relationships with family, friends, and strangers. Shalom guides us to build unity across racial differences, break down barriers that keep people in poverty, call for legislation that helps life to flourish, and point to God’s way of living that brings full life for all, including care for God’s creation, which was always our assigned responsibility. Our environment did not start to die until Adam and Eve sinned. We bear that responsibility in our continued sin.

 

Christian worship often closes with a blessing of peace on the people who are gathered, so that they may go out to share God’s peace with others (Numbers 6:24-26): “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” I see many people today who use the name of the Lord to destroy peace. Join me in making every effort at being a peacemaker to all men regardless of our differences.