Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be
called the children of God.” But what
does that mean, really? Being
peacemakers? Henri Nouwen has an
interesting quote about this:
"As
peacemakers, we must resist all the powers of war and destruction and proclaim
that peace is the divine gift offered to all who affirm life. Resistance means
saying 'No' to all the forces of death, wherever they may be."
Something Jesus could have said about being a peacemaker
might have been, “Watch out, peacemakers, for you will be attacked for your
stance!” That’s about the way it goes,
isn’t it?
Did you see the story about the Pope and a couple of
children releasing doves of peace at the Vatican? Pope Francis was appealing for peace in the
Ukraine, and he and the children released the doves of peace. The two white doves were then attacked by a
seagull and a large black crow.
Seriously! You can see pictures
at:
What is it that is so threatening about working for peace? Folks get so defensive and angry. Bring up peace and you might get punched in
the nose. Maybe we get so defensive and
angry about peace because we just flat-out love fighting. We’re good at it. “We like winning. Peace is for wusses.” That sort of thing.
I saw a bumper sticker one time that said, “If you love
Jesus, work for peace. Any idiot can
honk.” Hmmm… There’s a crow pecking at
my window.
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