Blessed: The Peacemakers - Matthew 5:1-2, 9
How many of you like ventriloquists? I really like the comedy, but also admire
the ventriloquist’s ability to say something without really looking like they
are saying something. In some ways they
mimic what we often accuse politicians of doing, “talking out both sides of
their mouth.” You’ve seen a
ventriloquist get in an argument with his puppet—and you’ve seen a politician
who will say one thing in this location, and turn around in another location,
or maybe after the election, say the complete opposite. Why bring this up? Because if we take our reading from the
Beatitudes today and place it alongside another selection from the Gospel of
Matthew, some might accuse Jesus of speaking out both sides of his mouth—either
that or a ventriloquist has hold of him making him say one thing in one
location and something else in a different location…either that, or Jesus means
something far more than what we might initially think at face value.
In these nine verses of the
beatitudes, Jesus has been turning the world upside down.
In contrast to the world’s
understanding that we are what we do and what we produce, Jesus has said that
those who are blessed are those who realize that their identity lies with God
and are part of the family of God.
In contrast to the world’s
understanding that those who look into the world and are happy are the ones who
are to be admired, Jesus has said that the ones who are blessed are those who
look into the world and weep because they see so much need because they are
going to be comforted.
In contrast to the world’s
understanding of “might makes right” Jesus says that the meek will inherit the
earth.
In contrast to the world’s
tendency to sit back and let someone else take care of it, Jesus said that those
who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and go after it, are the ones who will
be filled.
In contrast to our world’s love
for revenge, Jesus said that it is only those who are merciful that are
blessed, because they are the ones who are going to receive mercy.
And, in contrast to the idea that
we are to put ourselves first, please ourselves first, focus on our families
more than anything else, or put all our energy into climbing the ladder at
work, Jesus says only the pure in heart, only those whose primary focus is upon
God, are the ones who can ever hope to see Him.
Today we hear Jesus say, “Blessed…well-off…fortunate…privileged
are the peacemakers…for they shall be called children of God.”
What do you think of when you hear
“peacemaker”?
Is it a “tall ship” currently
anchored in Georgia, a 1989 replica of an 1813 sailing vessel? (By the way, if
you have an extra $3.5 million, you can actually purchase it.)
Is it a World War II B-36
aircraft?
Is it an 1873 Colt .45 caliber
handgun?
Is it someone seeking to mediate a
compromise between two opposing parties?
Which of these, if any, do you
think Jesus was referring to when He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers…”?
Most of us, I think, would say
that Jesus was talking about individuals that were trying to negotiate a
compromise. To be honest with you, that
is exactly what I used to think.
However, as we have noted with several of these Beatitudes, what Jesus usually
means a little more than simply the “face-value” read we might get.
If we take that into consideration
that the Gospel of Matthew only uses the word “peace” in two other locations,
we probably should pay attention to those verses. The first occurrence is a dual occurrence
found in verse 12-14 of chapter 10. Here Jesus is in the midst of His sending
out of the twelve into the mission field. He has already told them not to take
any provisions, but to rely on God supplying their needs through the generosity
of the people in the community. Jesus gives them instruction on finding a home
that would welcome them. Then He says, "As you enter the house, greet
it. If it is worthy, let your peace come
upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace 'return to you..." shake
the dust off your sandals and head out of there.
That one's not too bad. It doesn't
leave us wondering just where Jesus is coming down on the issue of violence. If
they accept you, offer your peace; if they reject, just leave.
It's the next passage that gets
us. When set beside this morning’s reading, it kind of rattles us and makes us
wonder if Jesus is a ventriloquist, or a politician speaking out both sides of
His mouth (differing His words depending on His audience). It is only a few verses after He sends out
the disciples, in chapter ten, verse thirty-four: "Do not think that I
have come to bring peace to earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her
mother, and a daughter in law against her mother in law; and one’s foes will be
members of one's own household."
We're supposed to strive to be
like Jesus. Then we get two passages. First He says, "Blessed are the
peacemakers for they will be called children of God" and, then Jesus, not
just a child of God, but the very Son of God, says, "Do not think that I
have come to bring peace to earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a
sword." So which is it, are we to be peacemaker or sword-bearer? Is Jesus practicing that parental tradition
of "do as I say, not as I do" or was He looking into the future and
really intending the peacemakers to be followers with a Colt .45, or the rifle
bearing members of the UN peacekeeping troops?
Or, and you have probably already
guessed this, are we supposed to look closer and realize that Jesus is saying more
than what His words come across as at face value? Is possible that those two passages are not
contradictory, but complimentary?
First, we have to understand the
kind of peacemaking that the Prince of Peace was/is/always will be here to
bring. For that we move out of Matthew and to Paul's letter to the Ephesians:
So then, remember that at one time
you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called
“the circumcision”—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human
hands—remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no
hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were
far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in
his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing
wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its
commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity
in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God
in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through
it. So he came and proclaimed peace to
you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of
us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers
and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the
household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with
Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is
joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are
built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.[i]
The peace that Jesus came to bring
us the peace not between nations in conflict but between people in conflict
with their Creator and the members of His family. Christ came, and calls us,
not to be those, as peacemakers, who compromise all things until they stand for
nothing. He is not saying, “as long as
it doesn't appear to be hurting anyone else it is okay, let it slide.” Jesus is calling us to be peacemakers who lead
others from being enemies of God trapped in their sin to surrendering into a
relationship with Christ and turning their lives over to God.
Remember how previous Beatitudes
interrelated? The same applies here. Couple this Beatitude with the pure in
heart, remembering that call to have our hearts with a singular focus in upon
God. As we realize that those who are at peace with God are those who have overcome
that temptation to put anything ahead of God and instead made Him the sole
focus of our lives, we come to understand how this peace is sword like. It will cause division. As we live out our
Christlikeness making Him first in our lives and helping others come to a
relationship focused on Christ first, we will experience earthly conflict. We
will see, maybe in our own lives, maybe in the lives of those we are walking
alongside, father and son, mother and daughter, brother and sister, husband and
wife, friend, neighbor, stranger, conflicts arising as some choose God, while
others refuse to look beyond this world.
The truth is, whenever our focus
is other than God, their lives will never find true peace. Those who choose to make God the center of their
lives will find the Peace of Christ, a peace that is unlike any peace the world
knows or can offer, it is peace that can be found in the midst of a storm, in
the midst of trials, so that regardless of the conflicts that we may face,
regardless of the cross we must take up and bear and maybe even be hung upon, we
will know peace. Knowing that peace, let
us be peacemakers, let us be those that uncompromisingly lead others to a
closer walk with Christ, so that with the Son of God, we may be called children
of God.
In the Name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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