Last
weekend we visited Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. If you’ve been there, you know the island is
dominated by the memorial column named for Oliver Hazard Perry, the naval
commander who led American forces in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of
1812. This is the bicentennial of the
War of 1812, a war most Americans believe we won, most Canadians believe they
won; and most British have forgotten ever happened. Curiously, this monument is called the Peace
Memorial to recognize the long friendship between the US, Canada, and Great
Britain.
We
don’t have a day honoring the War of 1812, but we are approaching a day
recalling a time when our relationship with Canada and Great Britain wasn’t so
peaceful.
In
our world, war is sometimes inevitable.
But in prizing our military commanders, let’s not forget to remember
those peacemakers who sometimes work behind the scenes, not only to end a war
but to prevent one.
This
is why Jesus commended the peacemakers. Jesus says something remarkable about the
peacemakers of the Kingdom of God
Jesus
says they will be…
Called Sons of God.
This
is one of those rare instances when the 17th century King James
Version would be preferred by many people.
Its translation, “children of God,” sounds more inclusive and modern
than the 20th century New International Version’s “sons of
God”. The truth is: the Greek phrase is
literally “sons of God.”
That’s
important to keep in mind because translating it as “children of God,” no
matter how sincere the reason, causes us to miss something.
“Sons
of …” is an idiom which has no reference to gender. Instead, it refers to the character of those
being described.
Jesus
used the “sons of” phrase when he called his disciples, James and John. Mark tells us that Jesus gave them “…the name
Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder.”
By this, Jesus meant these two brothers were a little like
thunder—noisy. It’s not entirely clear
why Jesus gave them that nickname but it may have reflected their fiery nature.
John
the Baptist used a similar phrase, in a far from complementary way, in a
confrontation with some of the religious leaders of the day.
John,
of course, wasn’t referring to their parentage; he was referring to their
character. As we might say, they were
like “snakes in the grass.”
Another
Americanism which would convey the same meaning Jesus had in mind would say,
“Peacemakers are the spittin’ image of God.” The beatitude rests on the
assumption that God is the Heavenly Peacemaker; those participants in the
Kingdom who engage in peacemaking are doing his work.
When
we engage in the work of peacemaking, we are reflecting God’s character.
With
that in mind, let’s examine some of the implications of this beatitude.
When
we engage in the work of peacemaking, we need to remember
We Live in a World of Alienation
From
the opening chapters of the Bible we learn that sin resulted in broken
relationships and alienation.
We
are alienated from God. The story of the
Fall reveals this. Prior to the
rebellion the man and the woman are depicted as living in harmony with each
other and with God. Then comes the act
of rebellion. Simple as it was it
resulted in a gulf between God and humankind.
The couple who once walked with God now hid from him in dread. Paul would eventually describe sinful humanity
as “alienated from God.”
T. C.
Hammond comments on what Adam and, consequently, all humanity lost in
the Fall.
"The most valuable thing he forfeited was
his right of free communion with God.
Heaven would appear to have been very close to the first man and the
veil between earth and the unseen very thin.
Man's rebellion has dislocated his power of communication with the
Godhead and thrust between his posterity and the divine Being a barrier which
only Christ can remove.”
What
has been the result of such alienation?
We propose all kinds of distorted notions about God’s nature and
character. Some of us even deny his
existence.
At
the same time, sin resulted in alienation from one another. It’s hardly surprising that the Bible follows
up the story of the Fall with the story of the first murder.
Bruce
Milne writes:
“Sin brings conflict and produces the great
division of human kind. It causes racial
prejudice and antagonisms. It builds the
great international power blocks. It
creates social divisions and so leads to group and class conflict; it separates the ‘haves’ from the
‘have-nots’. It causes conflict within
all human groups whether educational, community, social, leisure or
religious. It divides families and
churches.”
If
you don’t believe this is an accurate picture of the human condition, look at
the world headlines. For that matter,
think about what we’ll be hearing in the upcoming election race. I’ll say more about that in a moment.
To
understand this call we need to see…
The
Challenge of the Peacemaker.
The
Good News Bible defines peacemakers as “those who work for peace among
men.” Almost every commentator on this
verse agreed that the peacemaker’s work is to be carried out both in the world
at large and in the church. D. A. Carson
put it in simple terms, “…the disciple of Jesus Christ must be a peacemaker in
the broadest sense of the term. The Christian’s role as peacemaker extends . .
. to lessening tensions, seeking solutions, ensuring that communication is
understood. [Our peacemaking] must . . .
extend to seeking all kinds of reconciliation.
Instead of delighting in division, bitterness, strife, or some petty
‘divide and conquer’ mentality, disciples of Jesus delight to make peace
wherever possible.”
At
work, at school, in the neighborhood there are ample opportunities for the
peacemaker to find work. In fact, as
long as our world operates as it operates, the peacemaker will never be
superannuated.
But
there’s something important to keep in mind.
The
blessing applies to “peace-makers” not just to peace keepers. We can keep peace, at times, by doing
nothing. A peacemaker is actively
involved in the establishment of peace; the peacemaker does not stay on the
sidelines.
This
means the peacemaker must be willing to do more than simply watch as a conflict
grows to unmanageable proportions. The
peacemaker knows how quickly and easily a substantive conflict (a disagreement
over a specific issue) can escalate into an interpersonal conflict (a battle of
egos). The peacemaker has to be willing
to try to help others find areas of agreement and shared hope. The peacemaker will help those at odds try to
find a way past the conflict. All this
can be a tremendous challenge.
Peacemaking
is challenging work. That’s because the
peacemaker can’t settle for what John Stott calls “cheap peace,” peace which is
only a veneer over unresolved hostilities.
The peacemaker has to be willing to do the hard work of helping people
look for just and fair resolutions to conflict.
Peacemaking
is challenging work because it demands such self-discipline. Even though the peacemaker may have strong
feelings about an issue, those feelings will be laid aside in the pursuit of
peace. No, not if that involves ignoring
error or heresy, but yes, the peacemaker may have to lay aside personal tastes
and preferences to help find peace.
Peacemaking
is challenging work because there are those who don’t welcome peacemakers. You see, within the beatitude there is an
implicit recognition that there are “peacebreakers” as well as
peacemakers.
We
meet such peacebreakers in almost every sphere of life. We are going to see a lot of them in the next
few months—until the election and probably well after. I’ll say more about that in a moment.
Paul
knew there were peacebreakers in the church.
God's Spirit lives in you? [17] If anyone
destroys God's temple, God will
destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and
you are that temple.
That
is a powerful warning. A. T. Robertson
comments on Paul’s words: “God makes his
home in the hearts of his people or the church in any given place like Corinth. It is a terrible thing to tear down
ruthlessly a church or temple of God like an earthquake that shatters a
building in ruins…. It is a gross sin to
be a church-wrecker…. The church-wrecker
God will wreck.” (Word Pictures in the
New Testament, 4:99.) The organism
which is the church deserves respect.
Yet, peacebreakers will work as hard as any peacemaker to try to destroy
it.
All
this only adds to the peacemaker’s challenge.
With
that challenge in mind, let’s consider…
The
Way of the Peacemaker
As
we talk about being peacemakers the question inevitably arises: How do I be a peacemaker?
Well,
the Bible nowhere gives a list of rules for peacemakers to follow. To some degree, the Bible expects us to use
sanctified common sense and we’re expected to be thoughtful enough to discover
ways to apply general principles about relationships to specific cases.
Here’s
one of those specific cases.
Independence
Day recalls the beginning of our freedoms as Americans. One of those freedoms is the right to choose
our national leaders. Watching nations
were amazed when the national power was transferred from George Washington to
John Adams without a war.
Lately,
the animosity seems to run so deep that some folks wonder how we’ll get through
another election without bloodshed. Both
the left and the right demonize the candidates of the opposing party. Wild accusations are made about the aims of
each side. Issues that ought to be
neutral are invested with political meaning.
And sometimes the issues are imbued with spiritual meaning.
I
heard a local host on a Christian radio station comment of a group of
evangelical leaders who had endorsed a recommendation that encouraged the
government to work to curtail global warming.
The host suggested these leaders had abandoned the faith. Yet, I think you’d have a hard time finding
“global warming” mentioned in the Bible.
It’s an issue that good people ought to be able to disagree about.
The
list that sparks conflict seems to be growing.
Besides the climate, many things can inspire conflict, harsh words, and
accusations—Israel, health care, immigration, energy, education, and so
on. We have trouble distinguishing
between honest intellectual differences and moral values.
As
we deal with these hot-button issues we should begin by asking for a God-given
wisdom. James not only encourages us to
pray for wisdom, he links wisdom to the task of peacemaking.
We
need wisdom whenever we deal with conflicts between real people. When you try to help fellow-Christians
inflamed by the political culture assure them of your mutual respect and
intention to be impartial.
This
is important. Men and women, especially
Christians, who are caught up in a feud may feel as if others look down on
them. They need to know that you don’t,
that you know that interpersonal relationships are tough and that anyone can
quickly find himself or herself at odds with another.
At the same time, they need to know that if there’s no clear Biblical or moral principle involved in the conflict, you’re not going to be taking sides. If you have a reputation for being trustworthy and fair, they’ll be more inclined to listen to you.
At the same time, they need to know that if there’s no clear Biblical or moral principle involved in the conflict, you’re not going to be taking sides. If you have a reputation for being trustworthy and fair, they’ll be more inclined to listen to you.
When red and blue Christians face off, help
them discover areas of agreement.
Chances
are that when the dust of battle is settled, when the final ballot is cast they
will find they still agree on more things than they disagree on. When they see this, they may see that their
conflict has been over a minor issue, that their conflict has been unnecessary
and foolish.
The
truth is, one day the election will be over and unless we are careful to
maintain peace within the Christian community, we will lose
The
Peacemaker’s Greatest Opportunity.
From
the time of his birth, Jesus was expected to bring peace. Remember he was called “the Prince of peace,”
the ruler whose rule would be characterized by peace. And Jesus did bring peace: Peace born out of a new relationship with God
made possible by his death and resurrection.
In
time Paul would write to the great benefits accomplished by Christ’s work on
our behalf. He summarizes that work in Romans 5 as he says, “Therefore, since we have
been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ…..”
“Peace
with God” is the goal of the human spiritual quest ever since the Fall. Now that peace—lost by our own rebellion—is
available to us through faith in Jesus Christ.
Not only do we have the privilege of knowing that peace, we have the
privilege of sharing that peace.
As
we share the gospel we are helping men and women discover the way to the
greatest peace they will ever know, peace of heart and soul, peace with
God. When we have that peace every other
kind of peace is possible.
Sadly,
if we fail to live as peacemakers we may forfeit the opportunity to bring
others to that peace.
CONCLUSION
The most famous
battle of the War of 1812 was the Battle of New Orleans. It was significant for a couple reasons. First, because communications were so limited
at the time, the battle actually took place after the war had ended. Second, the battle made a hero of Andrew
Jackson. Within a couple decades he
would be President.
Of all our
presidents, I find Jackson the least likable.
After they helped him toward several victories, he betrayed the Cherokee
by insisting they move from their homeland to Oklahoma. Many would die along “The Trail of Tears,” as
their march to the west would be called.
His actions helped drive a wedge between the American settlers and the Native
Americans that continue to today.
How much better it
would have been if he had used his influence to build bridges between the two
peoples instead of thinking that simply separating them would fix any problems.
As we Christians
approach the coming election, we’d do well to support our causes and our
candidates without surrendering our effectiveness as peacemakers.
