I keep reading words about peace and get all these different images of what we mean when we talk about peace and it’s always a bit unsettling considering some perceptions.
For example two conflicting parties minimise their differences to accommodate each other and claim to have peace in their time. Without resolving their differences – critical as they are – they fester under the surface and irritate from time to time. Soon the issues cannot be hidden any more and hostilities resume even worse than before.
Peace then is not about keeping quiet about issues of difference.
We then consider the calls for peace on the global scale, things like the sentiment of John Lennon with his song Give Peace A Chance. Noble well-meaning thought it maybe, closer analysis of what is meant by giving peace a chance doesn’t seem to stand up to much. The irony is only too rich that the sentiment comes from an earnest artist troubled with his own issues and has two major anniversaries this year – 40 years since the group that he was part of was officially split up acrimoniously and then 30 years since he was slain by an assassin’s bullet.
Still, it’s not a surprise that we find peace such a baffling thing to get hold of – it’s a part of the human condition to be constantly in some form of struggle and battle, with some sense of being incomplete and unsatisfied with the fractured imperfections that typify life.
It is no surprise, also that when someone came in and exemplified what peace looks like, that He ended up getting crucified. What remains amazing is that this was a crucial part of the plan to actually bring about peace. Peace came at the price of the Son’s sacrifice.
I don’t look to legislation, governments, organisations, human constructs and endeavours and campaigns to bring about real and lasting peace. Making peace as Jesus instructs us is as much about pointing people to the reality of the Kingdom Come and to Come as serving people in whatever area of need they face. I know these two are not separate issues, but both sides of the coin are not always considered.
Being assured of that, the challenging next question is what price am I willing to pay to follow in the footsteps of the Master in making peace.
Just blogging.
That is all.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd
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