“The Blessing of Reconciliation”
Matthew 5:9
Some
time around 600 b.c. the prophet Jeremiah spoke the Word of the Lord to the
inhabitants of
Claims
of peace, when there was no peace. Statements
that all was well, when it was anything but.
The leaders of Judah – political, business, and religious – were leading
the nation down a primrose path to destruction.
The justice and righteousness demanded by God were almost non-existent. The rich got richer on the backs of the poor. Judges ruled in favor of whomever gave them
the highest bribe. Merchants used rigged
scales. People were forced to sell
themselves into what amounted to economic slavery.
The
priests and court prophets were as much engaged in the injustice and unrighteousness
as anybody else was. More than that,
they either turned a blind eye toward or engaged in the worship of false gods
and gross sexual immorality. The nation
was going to hell in a hand basket, but all the while they kept telling its
citizens that everything was hunky-dory.
“God still loves us. We’re still his chosen people. All is right in our world. Peace abounds.”
That was a lie. There is no peace
without justice and righteousness. There
is no peace when God’s law is purposefully broken on a regular basis. There is no peace in the worship of false
gods. There is no peace in lives
consumed by lust. There is no peace when
good is overshadowed by evil.
Peace
– real peace, God’s peace – is a state of being in which every part of our
individual lives and the life of our surrounding culture is healthy and whole. There can be no health and wholeness apart
from God’s will and God’s way. Life may
look good on the surface. We might not
be at war or in open conflict with our neighbor or a neighboring nation. But there is more to peace than an absence of
conflict. There is no peace in a
marriage, a family, or a church when sinful behavior is ignored or condoned. There can be no peace in my life as long as I
refuse to forgive and reconcile with you.
Jesus
tells us that peacemakers – those who promote reconciliation, friendship, and
honest cooperation in the world – will experience the blessing that comes from
knowing that they truly are the children of God. And they are God’s children precisely because
they share in God’s nature and character by seeking to promote God’s will.
Peacemakers
seek God’s will in their own lives and in the life of society. Those who would be God’s children do what
they can to build healthy marriages, families, friendships, and churches. They do not turn a blind eye to sinfulness. They do not ignore injustice. They do not try to paper over conflicts. They are more than willing to rock whatever
boat that needs to be rocked in order to bring themselves, their families,
their friendships, their marriages, their churches, their communities, and
their culture into closer conformity with what God has envisioned since Day One
of creation.
Peacemakers
are neither passive nor pacifists. They
are often troublemakers. People like
Jeremiah who dare speak the truth in a culture of lies are not always responded
to with kindness. They make people
mad. They stir things up. They bring sinfulness to light. They confront problems – and problem people –
head on. They point out injustice where
they find it. They name unrighteousness
for what it is. They do not proclaim
peace when it does not exist. They don’t
put band-aids on festering sores.
Some
examples of peacemaking that you might find strange: One elder confronts
another elder after a Session meeting and says, “I love you. I respect you. But you need to change your ways. You attack people. Your behavior is hateful and nasty. You stomp all over the feelings of everybody
else. I want you to stop it. I want you to stop it right now. Do you hear me?”
One
friend says to another: “I can no longer
stand by and let you kill yourself, destroy your marriage, hurt your children,
and give Christ’s Church a bad name. You’ve
got to stop abusing drugs. I’ll help get
you into rehab. I’ll even help you find
a way to pay for it. If you’re too
scared or ashamed to attend Narcotics Anonymous by yourself, I’ll go with you.”
A
pastor brings two of the hardest working, most faithful women in the church
together and tells them: “Enough is
enough. This feud that’s been going on
between you for the past ten years has to stop.
I don’t care who’s right or who’s wrong.
You’ve divided this church and damaged its ministry long enough. It’s time to forgive one another and move on.”
All
three of these situations have a few things in common. Each of them is risky. Feathers will be ruffled. Toes will be trod upon. Those on the receiving end are apt to be
defensive, if not downright hostile. In
the first two scenes, longstanding friendships are put in jeopardy. In scene number three, the pastor may find
himself unemployed.
None
of that sounds very peaceful, but each and every one of those confrontations is
an act of peacemaking: real peacemaking, God’s peacemaking. Self-destructive behaviors or behaviors
harmful to others are confronted. The
need for repairs to broken relationships is addressed. The damage is being done to the mission and
ministry of a church is clearly identified.
Peacemaking
is a risky business. But to stand by and
let someone destroy himself and his family, verbally abuse fellow Christians,
or turn the church into their own private battleground is wrong. Ignoring such things may be the easiest way of
dealing with them but it’s definitely not the right way. Nor is it in keeping with the will of God.
Peacemakers
are activists. They don’t just think
about, dream about, or talk about peace; they take actions intended to bring peace. They put themselves on the line for the sake
of justice, righteousness, health, wholeness, and reconciliation. They are willing to stand between those who are
bent on destroying one another. They’re
willing to stand against that which is evil no matter how profitable or popular
it might be. They are willing to be
honest when dishonesty would be a whole lot easier.
Years
ago I asked a friend a question. She
responded by saying, “Would you prefer
the truth or a convincing lie.” I
opted for the truth. It hurt to hear it. I didn’t like it. But eventually I realized that it was a truth
I needed to hear.
Jeremiah
was preaching the truth to people who preferred convincing lies. But unless the truth was heard and acted upon
Jesus spoke the truth to that rich young ruler
in the Gospels who would have been content with a convincing lie. But until he heard the hard truth about what
it cost to follow Jesus, he couldn’t give Jesus his whole heart. He had a choice to make. A hard choice required by the truth. That truth would have set him free and given
him peace. He believed that truth, but
he opted not to act on it.
People
will often ignore the truth shared with them by peacemakers. Peacemaking is a good and faithful
enterprise; it’s just not always successful.
That’s not the point. We do what
we can to achieve peace, and then we leave the results up to God.
Blessed
are the peacemakers, even when they fail.
At least they dare to try.
Blessed are they because they neither believe nor promote convincing
lies. As God’s children they speak God’s
truth and seek God’s will. There is no
other way to peace. Amen.