Pastor's Column 10/29/2023

PASTOR’S COLUMN

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.”

Matthew 5:9, NIV

“Our Never-Ending Mission!”

One of the greatest unfulfilled tasks we have as Christians is to be reconciled to God; and to be reconciled to each other. The late Bishop Desmond Tuto said, “There will never be true peace nor progress without reconciliation.” Before Tuto, Dr., Martin Luther King, Jr. in surveying the strife and division heaped upon humankind said (paraphrasing), “Either we will learn to live together as [one people] or we will perish together as fools.” Jesus gave us the moral principle for how we should live, when he said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” The current war between Israel and Hamas; and the Palestinian people, is a horrendous “no-win” reprehensible battle, between descendants of Abraham. This terrible atrocity should be applauded by none, and detested by all. The terrible price paid by civilians; and, God forbid, innocent children on both sides, could never be fully avenged. As Christians, our mission is to work relentlessly for the reconciliation of all people created by God. The preemptive strikes; bombing; kidnapping; and engagement of surrogate nations to assist in escalating the war, must stop! While peace is not the complete absence of tension; it is the path that leads to healing, restoration, and reconciliation. Each of us in our own way, can be a light shining to disperse the darkness that clouds these troubled times. It is the prophets who said our weapons of destruction must be converted to domestic tools that will cultivate a much better world; and, open fields, where all people will have a homeland; living safe, free, and protected. History has proven that the war hawks will never win. Christ calls each of us to become a peacemaker; wherein is our blessing. Peace is neither weakness nor failure; it is God’s way forward. It is our opportunity to be like the Prince of Peace. King said, “The problem with ‘an eye for an eye,’ is everybody will eventually end up blind.” If we could only replace our ideologies with shared ideas; our prejudices with acceptance; our fears with hope; just maybe we could become peacemakers, and change this weak and toxic world.