The second week of the Advent Season focuses on peace.
In the Beatitudes, Jesus lays out a series of blessings for those who follow him.
These blessings are not for those who use only lip service to follow Jesus; these blessings are for those who practice the tenets and ordinances that Jesus laid out. Following the teachings of Jesus may not always be comfortable, because Jesus embraced some radical ideas about seeking the kingdom of heaven and loving one’s enemies.
The time in which Jesus lived was filled with political unrest throughout the Roman Empire.
There were cultural divides. There was division among the religious sects. There were the Pharisees on one side and the Sadducees on the other side. The Jews did not like the Samaritans, and the Samaritans did not like the Jews. But Jesus gave instructions on how to deal with “enemies,” enemies that were many times close at hand. He did not begin with the citizens of a country invading another country. Jesus started with kinfolks. He started with people who professed to worship God.
Jews and Samaritans were of the same bloodline, but they had been taught to despise each other. They had been taught to segregate themselves from each other.
Jesus, in his story of the “Good Samaritan,” challenged this notion of hating your enemy. He taught against such foolishness. Jesus taught that we often give up our own peace because of tradition. (The fat ones, who hate the skinny ones, who hate the black ones, who hate the white ones, and where does it end?) Hatred and racism will take your peace! Worry will take your peace!
In Matthew 5:9, Jesus promises a marvelous gift to the “peacemaker.” This promise is more precious than gold and indicates a divine heirship to those who pursue peace instead of chaos. But let us be clear, peace is more than the absence of conflict. (There may be no physical battles, but peace may not be present.)
The Hebrew word for peace is “shalom” and refers to a state of wholeness and harmony. It means that your whole self — physical, mental and spiritual — must be aligned to experience peace.
As a “peacemaker,” you seek to reconcile, restore what is lost, and heal broken relationships. (Sometimes you must start with yourself!) It’s not easy work, but it is God's work! The rewards of the hard work are so much greater than standing on the sidelines.
Matthew 5:9 (NIV) says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
