Reflection on Matthew 5:9-12 (Lent)

 

Matthew 5:9-12

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. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Reflection

Jesus continues the beatitudes with this notion: “The good life belongs to the peacemakers, for they will be called God’s children.”

Peace.  When I think of peace, I think of solitude in a cabin, far away in the woods.  I think of deer grazing nearby as I sip some warm coffee.  I think of gentle breezes against my face while watching flowers rustle slightly, dancing in the morning sun.  In other words, when I think of peace, I think of separating myself from others in order to find solitude.

What I usually do not think of is jumping in the middle of two angry parents, fighting in the parking lot, over the custody of their children.  But, that is exactly what my wife, Randele did a few years ago when we walked to the car, only to find a man and a woman screaming obscenities at one another while one child sat fearful with tears, and the infant cried as a result of this moment of temporary neglect. 

Randele stepped into the middle of the angry words and reminded both parents that their children were right there.  She stepped into the middle of the battle and told them to take a breath.  She stepped into the middle of the battle and helped them to talk about, not what would happen to the children over the next 10 years, but what should happen between them and their children for the next 10 minutes, and then the weekend.  Randele was moved by the Spirit of Jesus to be a peacemaker in that moment.

Our English translation of “peacemaker” is exactly the same as Jesus’ words in the Greek.  A “peacemaker” is literally someone who actively “makes peace.”  They step into situations of tension, conflict, and war, and intentionally strive to bring people into right relationship once again; to make peace.  “The good life,” Jesus says, “belongs to the peacemakers.”

As you can see, Jesus’ notion of peacemaking has nothing to do with trying to get away from it all.  There were religious folks in Jesus’ time who tried to do just that.  They would go live in the wilderness, away from others, and find a life of peace.  Maybe, they found some quiet, but they did not “make peace” come about in anyone’s lives but their own.  They were peace seekers, but they certainly were not “peacemakers.”  Jesus lifts up those who actively seek ways of peace between people or groups of people in conflict as being “children of God.”  Seekers of solitude are not “peacemakers.”

Nor are those who seek to create long-term peace through short term battle considered peacemakers.  There were those in Jesus’ time, the Zealots, who sought to destroy their Roman occupiers through violence in the hopes of creating a lasting peace after the Roman’s defeat.  Peace through power.  That is exactly what the Romans did.  They created peace through power.  Neither the Zealots nor the Romans, nor anyone who seeks peace through power are who Jesus is talking about when lifting up the “peacemakers.”  The world has given Nobel Peace Prizes to people who have created peace through power in the past, but Jesus would not.

There are also those who actively ignore the injustices of this world and simply try to work with the broken systems of this world.  They seek peace by simply making the best of things.  They too are not who Jesus envisions as makers of peace. 

Peacemakers inherently put themselves in the middle of conflict in order to bring people, or groups of people, or nations into a good relationship once again.  They are peacemakers.  They are the children of the one who actively created a peaceful garden in the beginning of time.  They are children of the one who actively seeks to live with all of creation in that peaceful garden way once again.  Those who actively stick their necks out for the sake of peace are children of God.

Being one of God’s peacemakers does not mean that you will find peace within your own life though. 

Notice that Jesus immediately continues with these words: “The good life belongs to those who are persecuted for trying to create right relationships, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  The good life belongs to you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).

To this day, you can hear peacemakers being denigrated as “pansies,” “wimps,” and “snowflakes.”  They are told to keep their noses out of other people’s business.  They are called “weak” and “cowards,” because they refuse to give in to violence.  Peacemakers upset those who want to clutch and maintain power over a situation or a people.  Peacemakers upset those who seek to use violence in order to get peace.  Peacemakers are accused falsely of many things in order to discredit their words and circumvent their peace-seeking ways. 

Randele was able to deescalate the hatred in that parking lot and was able to bring those two parents to an agreement about the children and the weekend.  She was able to create something that resembled “right relationships” again between the estranged parents.  But, it might not have gone that way.  They could have both turned their violence on her.  They could have directed their hatred in her direction. 

Those who seek to live in Jesus’ kingdom of peace, and who seek to bring others into those kingdom ways, will undoubtedly find hardship, persecution, and evil directed against them. 

After-all, people who thrive in the dark do not want to come into the light.  Those who hold onto the power do not want to release their grip. 

Peacemakers, builders of right relationships, forgivers, and generous givers can all find themselves with targets on their heads as they seek to live Jesus’ vision of the good life which includes upholding the powerless, the grieving, and the afflicted. 

So, how do the peacemakers and builders of right relationships not lose heart as stones of hate are thrown their way?  They listen to Jesus and “rejoice.”  They are members of an exclusive group of people who have all been persecuted for striving towards God’s vision of the good life.  They join with the prophets and with Jesus himself as people who believed in God’s vision for the good life and were spit upon for it, or worse. 

Jesus says they should, “Rejoice and be glad!”  They should sing their praises to God and celebrate.  They should join in the chorus of those who sought right relationships in the 1960s, whose voices sang out above the heads of those who would persecute them, based on their skin color:

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. 

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. 

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,

let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. 

 

Jesus gave it to me, I’m gonna let it shine.

Jesus gave it to me, I’m gonna let it shine.

Jesus gave it to me, I’m gonna let it shine.

let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”

And, that reminds me of the conclusion to the beatitudes.  It goes, “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.  “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.  No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16).

But, we will talk about that more next time.  In the meantime, know that the children of God are you who actively seek peace.  The good life belongs to you.