Before I begin to unpack this Beatitude found in Matthew 5.9, notice three things:
Firstly, Jesus does not call us to be peace-loving, but to be peace-making. He did not say, ‘Blessed are those who desire peace’; nor did he call us to be peaceable. Rather, he said: ‘Happy are those who work for peace’ (GNB). Or as the hippies of the 1960s used to say, ”Make love, not war”.
Secondly, peace-making is not necessarily something we do to others. Yes, there are times when we are called to mediate between estranged parties. But at other times we may be more directly involved, for we are one of the parties who are at logger heads. Whatever the situation, we are called to work for peace. As Eugene Peterson put it in The Message, “Show people how to co-operate instead of compete or fight’.
Thirdly, peace-making is not limited to the world stage. We can be peacemakers at home, at work, and even at church. So within that three-fold context, we hear the words of Jesus, “Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them to be children” (GNB).
On the basis of this Beatitude, we can say three things.
In the first place, peace-making leads to harmony. If you look up the word ‘peace’ in a dictionary, you will find it defined as ‘freedom from war; cessation of war’. In our language peace is a negative word: it means no war. But for Jews – and remember that Jesus was a Jew – peace is a positive term. Peace denotes not the absence of war, but rather all that is good and worthwhile in life. Peace is about well-being. To pray for peace is to pray for blessing. When Jews greet one another with the word Shalom , they are not wishing one another a day free from trouble, but instead they are wishing one another a good day, where everything goes well.
In the second place, peace-making involves justice. True peace is not just dependent upon right relationships; it is also dependent on just relationships. It was Oliver Cromwell who said, “If we will have peace without a worm in it, we must lay the foundations of justice and righteousness”. In saying this, Cromwell was reflecting upon the biblical truth that there is a close connection between peace and righteousness. For instance, in Psalm 85.10 in the context of a prayer for his nation’s welfare, the Psalmist spoke of “righteousness and peace” embracing one another. Significantly in Isaiah 32.17, we read “the effect of righteousness will be peace”. James also spoke of “righteousness” as being “the harvest that is produced from the seeds that peacemakers plant in peace” (James 3.18). In other words, we should not seek peace at any price. Peace is not the same as appeasement. Peace-making involves getting at the roots of disagreement. Peace-making does not involve shoving the past under a carpet, but rather enabling the parties to face up to the past and deal with it. Relationship are not restored when people resolve to forget the past, but when people repent for the past.
In the third place, peace-making can be painful. Peace is often achieved only through pain. It is a painful and sometimes distasteful business listening to people fighting with one another. It is painful seeking to broker peace between individuals who are at loggerheads.
Jesus teaching here was so different to the norm of his day, John summed up the difference, when he wrote: The law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Another instance of this principle, was Jesus teaching that it is wise to make friends with your adversary on the way to court. The true Christian way is the way of reconciliation, which we should always endeavour to achieve. Sadly we often see the world resorting to the old blame game, which started in Eden. As followers of Jesus we should advocate and live by his way. Thanks Paul.