Peace & Persecution
Notes
Transcript
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Introduction
It is quite difficult to think about the idea of what it means to be a peacemaker in the world situation we are in today. I don’t want to imply that I have all the answers this morning - I struggle, as I am sure you do with how a Christ follower is to respond in times like these. Our hearts are breaking for the people of Ukraine as they continuously find themselves under attack.
I have been reading posts on Facebook from some of our brothers and sisters in Christ as they try to understand their feelings. I would add that we cannot begin to understand what they are going through - we can imagine, and before this is all over with we may have a better understanding - but Jesus says: Blessed are the peacemakers!
The call to be a peacemaker may be the most difficult of all the Beatitudes to live out. Whereas some of the Beatitudes are more passive, “peacemaker” is a strongly active word. It calls us to make peace in the world around us, an especially difficult task in a world that seems to revel in violence. It would make sense, then, that the call
to be a peacemaker is next to a word of blessing for those who are persecuted. These two may be more connected than we think because, in a world that loves violence, being a peacemaker may well lead to persecution.
In a December, 2020 article in Relevant magazine, Thomas Christianson claims: “Peacemakers are not those who ignore issues or try to smooth things over without actually resolving the issue. Peacemakers are willing to put themselves in the middle of conflict and point towards important, unchanging truths: 1. God cares about justice. God cares about every son and daughter. God’s kingdom is multicultural. 2. A peacemaker is willing to lay down his or her life to advance the Kingdom of God, if necessary.
Body
1. What does it mean to Be a Peacemaker
a. The Greek word for “peacemaker” here is only used here in the scripture. But the base word, peace is used many times throughout the New Testament.
b. It is the Greek word eirene - and it is also used in place of the Hebrew word shalom in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Since it is seen as a synonym for shalom, it carries the ideas that the Hebrew word Shalom carries. Shalom, or peace, isn’t about being passive or a lack of conflict. We use the word peace in this way, but shalom is about wholeness and being mended together. This is something deeper and fuller than just not having conflict. It implies a positive relationship, not just a lack of fighting.
c. That being the case, then, those who are peacemakers aren’t merely committed to the absence of conflict in the world but seek wholeness and restoration. Peacemakers are committed to healing the divides and the hurt in relationships.
Friday, as I was servicing a Choice Books display in a CVS store in the Penn Hills area of Pittsburgh, there was an older African American woman seated by our display waiting for her prescription to be filled. She began to talk with me about the books I was placing there, and she told me she had a bunch of our books at home. I thanked her for supporting Choice Books, and she asked me if this was a ministry of mine. I explained to her that Choice Books does see itself as a ministry, but that my real ministry was that I am a pastor. She looked up at me with a hopeful look and she said: “you don’t get involved in politics, do you?” I assured her that I vote, but I do not get involved in politics. Her remark was clearly in fear that I was part of the church that was more interested in winning “my way” than being a peacemaker.
d. “Peacemaker” is sometimes described as a “peace worker”—someone who works for peace. This is an important clarification because we can mistakenly interpret a peacemaker as one who keeps peace, but working for peace implies more than that. We could also wrongly assume that a peacemaker lives in peace, but working for peace doesn’t necessarily mean living at peace; it is a pursuit of peace. Also, because peace means wholeness and mending together, it could also mean walking through conflict in order to come to a place of peace.
e. Peacemaking is not a determination to be passive regardless of the situation. Peacemaking isn’t merely a passive, nonviolent stance. It is an active move toward restoration.
2. Being a Peacemaker in a Culture That Loves Violence
a. The culture we live in loves violence.
i. That might seem like a bold, maybe even reckless statement, especially as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues and we are heartbroken by the death and destruction that is happening there. You might even push back in your mind about our world loving violence. In spite of our response to the outbreak of war, we can see evidence that we live in a culture that loves violence. We see it in popular movies, tv shows & video games that are loaded with violence, oftentimes gratuitous violence. The news stories that we have been seeing coming out of Ukraine sometimes even sensationalize violence, often for the sake of higher ratings. Oftentimes violent videos spread quickly through social media.
ii. While we might be horrified by the consequences of violence, overall our culture relies on violence as a problem solver: capital punishment, war, weapons that we keep in our homes to defend against potential intruders, etc. Again, I am not claiming that I have al of the answers, and I am not a pacifist, especially in the face of innocent people being killed - but there is this difficult balancing act because sometimes loving people means you are in conflict with other people.
iii. These can be very controversial things, but the reality stands that in this type of culture, it is hard to be a peacemaker. We struggle with how do we make peace - is it achieved by force, or is it achieved by working hard to restore and heal relationships. I am not naive enough to believe that every relationship can be restored. Sometimes no matter how hard we work to make peace, there are those that refuse to allow that to happen.
b. The culture into which the Beatitudes were written was also a culture of violence.
i. The Roman Empire is famous for its use of military might and intimidation. It also embraced cruel forms of capital punishment (which should be obvious to us since it is how Jesus himself was killed). Crucifixion was specifically designed to bring the greatest amount of pain while killing a convicted criminal.
ii. Some of the remaining ruins of the Roman Empire are examples of the violence the Romans loved, with the Colosseum representing perhaps the largest and most obvious example, as a place where violence was treated as a game, a sport, and entertainment.
c. Peacemaking—true, hard restoration and healing that brings about the peace of Christ—in these types of worlds stands out as a stark contrast. Someone who does that type of work looks peculiar to the world.
3. Peculiarity Can Lead to Ridicule and Persecution
a. Among those who prefer conflict, someone who seeks a way of peace will provoke anger and frustration. We all know people who prefer conflict—those who constantly find themselves in the middle of interpersonal drama, and who seek out situations where they can manipulate and create conflict.
b. We have a culture that isn’t just saturated in violence but loves all forms of conflict. Reality TV has made millions from creating (and then exploding) powder-keg situations—and we always watch, captivated. Reality TV producers do not tend to hire or cast peacemakers because peacemakers do not increase ratings.
c. Interestingly enough, as I was searching for illustrations about being a peacemaker, I discovered that there is a tv show, that I would not recommend, called “peacemaker.” Sadly, from what I could figure out, it is about a “superhero” that has the job of being a peacemaker - which in his world meant that he was hired to kill people. That illustrates for us how violent our culture is today.
d. Our world often calls real peacemakers weaklings. Men, in particular are told to “man-up” which means that we stand up for ourselves - warrior men are glorified, not peacemaking men. In a culture that glorifies cutthroat and ruthless tactics, those who live toward and create peace are often outsiders.
4. Peacemaking as Part of Righteousness
a. As we discussed last week, this scripture does not exist in a vacuum. Peacemaking in verse 9 and righteousness in verse 10 are next to each other for a reason.
Righteousness is doing the right things for the right reasons. Peacemaking is one way that righteousness is lived out in the world.
b. The other Beatitudes in previous verses also show ways that righteousness is lived out.
c. Living the Beatitudes sets one apart as peculiar because the priorities for a person living out this type of righteousness are so different from the world.
5. The Kingdom of Heaven Belongs to the Righteous
a. Last week we talked about the ways that these verses illustrate a different kingdom as a stark contrast to the kingdoms of this world. This idea is once again emphasized here.
b. Those who are persecuted, beaten down, or bullied are often viewed as weak until they overcome—and then they are survivors, conquerors, victors.
c. But the kingdom of heaven is for the overlooked, the bullied, the knocked down—even before they have survived or overcome or conquered. But it isn’t just anyone who is knocked down; it’s those who are persecuted because of righteousness—because they are doing the right things in a world that pursues the wrong things. It’s for those who seek peace in a world saturated in the celebration of violence.
Conclusion
We are called to be peacemakers in this world. In a world that revels in conflict, we are to call for another way—not a way that avoids conflict but one that walks into it in order that relationships may be restored and people might see a new way being forged. We are called to that work, but it is not work that is often celebrated or applauded. Instead, this righteousness lived out in the form of peacemaking will very likely be ridiculed. It will not gain for us kingdoms in this world, but it will illustrate our citizenship in the kingdom of heaven. So we must ask ourselves, In what kingdom do I want to live? May we choose the hard path of peculiar righteousness that leads us to the heart of the kingdom of heaven.