The way to peace, do we know the way to peace?

 

I meditated on this question as I read this passage of scripture from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 19, verses 41-42:  ⁴¹ As Jesus drew near and came in sight of the city he shed tears over it  ⁴² and said, 'If you too had only recognized on this day the way to peace!

 

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Buddhist monk who has dedicated his life to the pursuit of peace. Martin Luther King Jr. nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. He teaches that every day we all do things that have to do with peace.

 

Practicing peace is possible with every step, with every breath. It is possible to practice together and bring hope and compassion into our daily lives and into the lives of our families, our community, our nation, and our world. Let us offer the world the best fruits and flowers of our practice: lucidity, solidity, brotherhood, understanding, and compassion. [1]

 

Peace begins in our hearts and shows in the ways we choose to live our daily lives. To be peacemakers, we must consider the ways in which how we live affects others and all of creation. With the Holy SpiritÕs help, we can end violence in all our relationships - at home, in the workplace, in our schools and churches, and in our communities. The seeds of violence and war include religious intolerance, racism and ethnic hatred, sexism, homophobia, poverty, hunger and injustice, and exploitation of God's creation.

 

Hear what the Scriptures tell us about peace:

 

Matthew 5:9 says, ⁹ "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."  Peacemakers are the children of God because in answering God's call to ministries of reconciliation, they emulate the One called the God of peace (Romans 15:33; 16:20; 1 Cor 14:33; 2 Cor 13:11; Philip 4:9; 1 Thess 5:23; Hebrews 13:10). Ephesians 6:15 challenges Christians in this century to put on whatever shoes "will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace". The twelfth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans entreats:

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.  ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.  ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.  ¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  ¹⁸ If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

 

Isaiah tells us about God's will in Chapter 2, verse 4:  ⁴ He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

 

It is in community that we struggle between our call to be peacemakers and the difficult reality of human relationships. We human beings are not always easy to deal with. Spiritual disciplines are not for the faint of heart. So, knowing what makes for peace, and doing what makes for peace are two very different things. Our call to be a peacemaker has everything to do with the fruits of the spirit.  It is only the presence of Christ within that enables us to live into the promise of the God's kingdom on earth.

 

Maybe, just maybe, if we ask for Divine help in living out the fruits of the Spirit - love, compassion, forgiveness, and hope, we can catch a glimpse of Isaiah's vision. We can sow the seeds of peace rather than sow the seeds of violence in our hearts.  The prophets and the apostles remind us that all of creation longs for peace. A simple glance at the news informs us that our communities are not at peace. Too many of our churches are not at peace. Perhaps if we sow the seeds of peace in our hearts, we can embody peace in our lives, and in our relationships. Our children are counting on us, and most importantly, our Savior is counting on us to lead the way into the paths of peace. We need to preach it, to teach it, and to model it in our churches and our homes.  Once we grow into our calling as peacemakers, we can then bring our gifts to the communities in which we live. We have no time to waste. Families are at risk, our churches are at risk, and our communities are at risk.

 

In Isaiah's beautiful vision of a peaceable kingdom, we get a clear picture of the will and desire of God for all life, for all of creation, and all of humanity.  The wolf and the lamb shall lie down together: the leopard with the baby goat, the calf with the lion, and a child shall lead them. Immanuel, God with us, makes Isaiah's vision of the peaceable kingdom a possibility. Jesus teaches us that the kingdom belongs to the children. In truth, the children can lead us to the kingdom if we dare to become like children again and follow them.

 

I was reminded of this holy teaching in October 2004 when I attended the World Council of Churches retreat on the spirituality of nonviolence and reconciliation. In our first task as a group, we positioned ourselves in two concentric circles. I was on the outside circle facing inward and the folks in the inside circle were looking out toward us in the outside circle. The facilitators said our goal was to introduce ourselves to one another and to explore the topic of peace.

 

As if we were playing a game, the facilitators had us circle around in time to music and to stop at their signal. At my first stop, I met a woman from South Africa. We were instructed to share our image of peace with one another. To my pleasant surprise, our images were strikingly similar. For me, two images came immediately to my mind, a sleeping infant and children laughing and playing. 

 

Is there anything more beautiful or peaceful than sleeping infants or laughing, playing children? Is it not the unspoken hope and prayer of every parent, every grandparent, aunt or uncle, of any adult who loves a child - peace and joy, health, and safety for the child?

 

Lullabies are one way in which adults convey those hopes and prayers for children. Lullabies are universal - adults all over God's beautiful creation sing them in every time and every place. Scholars have found some version of lullabies in very culture and they have concluded that parents everywhere want their children to be safe, to be healthy and happy and live in a peaceable world. While I was at the retreat, I purchased a CD of lullabies from Iraq, Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan. The CD was created in response to the 2003 State of the Union Address in which whole countries, (not just the terrorists within those countries), were labeled "the axis of evil" by President Bush.

 

 

Hear these words to an ancient lullaby from Iraq:

Peace to the world

Peace to my country, my love

Peace to your dreams

Peace to your children

Underneath the whispering trees

Where our sons and daughters are free

In the beauty we will see

Through the eyes of peace

Peace to our heart

Peace to our homeland

Peace to my heart

Peace to my homeland

            Peace to the heart

Peace to my countryÉ.my love[2]

 

That is what gives me hope for peace. The hopes and dreams of adults everywhere for the children they love. It is the hope of our salvation, the Prince of Peace, Immanuel, God with us, a sleeping infant in a manger that makes me bold enough to pray for peace,

This same Savior empowers each of us to live out our call to be peacemakers, one interaction, one relationship, at a time, for the sake of our homes, our churches, our communities, and our world.

 

Let us pray and work for peace. Pray now and every day for the sake of children everywhere and for their parents who long to see their little ones sleep safely to laugh and play another day.

 

Yours in the peace of Christ,

 

Rev. Carolynn Martin Miller, Disciples Peace Fellowship Executive Committee Member