What is a peacemaker? – It is not just an absence of war – It’s linked to justice – peacemakers have to be rooted in justice -what is owed to another person, and to God. Jesus is the perfect peacemaker, because he came to offer his life and death as a sacrifice to make right what was wronged against God, and to heal our relationship with one another. The prince of peace.
Peace is a fruit of the spirit, and true peace won’t come about without the movements of the holy spirit. Our identity is that of a child of God. The more closed off we are to God, and to the movements of the spirit, the less we act like who we are, because the more we become controlled by our passions, the less human we become.
Peace and cowardice do not go together. Peacemakers aren’t those of us who back down from an argument for fear of embarrassment, or feeling uncomfortable. That doesn’t mean every time we find ourselves in an argument we must see it through, we may not be equipped, and its ok to say ‘I don’t have the answer, I don’t know’ but to agree for fear of losing face or to put an end to the discomfort is not the act of a peacemaker.
Peace makers also live out spiritual peace – these are the people who don’t invite drama into their lives, because you can’t gift something to someone that you, yourself don’t first possess. It’s empty. Peace has to come from the heart, and as with the previous beatitude, our hearts were made for this, it’s part of our design.
Children – rely on their parents to guide them, so too with peacemakers who focus more on the voice of God, on his guidance for an outcome instead of following their own passions and immediate thoughts and desires. Children also model their parents, so too with peacemakers who look to do what God has done, to love one another as God loves.
We can ask ourselves – Am I a true peacemaker or simply conflict averse? and why?
Being conflict driven, isn’t good, neither is being conflict averse… Virtue lies in the middle. If either of these are our tendencies, ask why? and that will likely bring up wounds, and thats ok, take them to God for healing, but also take them to someone who can counsel you and help you relearn those. Because conflict preference is actively pursuing destruction and will always destroy relationships, and conflict averse is actively avoiding the discomfort which also ends up destroying relationships because they don’t address the issue and don’t grow.
This beatitude can be linked to the 8th commandment – thou shall not bear false witness – Bringing silence to discord, not participating in gossip, speaking words of truth to bring about reconciliation
Silence the internal – not lying to ourselves and suppressing our conscience, especially when the spirit moves us to recognize an error. Often the way we speak to others is a reflection of the way we also speak to ourselves, and to change that we need to change both, not just one or the other. Acting like one person and being someone else at heart is not authentic, and is fake and in a sense lying to the people around us. It doesn’t build up relationships and invites drama into our relationships that doesn’t need to be there.
E.g. when we are practicing closet Christians in the work space – It’s one thing if the opportunity hasn’t come about to indicate that you’re Christian, it’s another to not give the full picture when asked a question eg. ‘What did you get up to on Sunday?’ AND again to deny all together eg. ‘You would probably disagree with that because aren’t you Christian?’ Again… peacekeeper don’t lack courage
TBG –
Padre – Fr Thompson moving from his room
Stina – Modesty and lack of intoxication at the wedding reception
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