Blessed Are the Peacemakers
“So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”
– Acts 9:31
One of the more helpful things that comes into view as we read through the NT is that the Church has walked through unbelievably turbulent times. We even see this in the book of Acts. Luke is the author of Acts and the Gospel of Luke. He is writes both to a friend (Theophilus) in order that he might have confidence in all that he’s been taught about Jesus. Acts picks up where the Gospel of Luke left off, and it records the early days of the Church. When we read it we can gloss over the tough stuff and focus on the amazing moments of faithfulness and radical growth that the church experiences. And yes, things are exciting, and the church is growing. But they are also being persecuted, abused, and having to flee for their lives. In the midst of all that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, they experienced peace. This reality of having peace in the midst of turmoil is important for us. Why? Because just like the early church, our peace does not come from political figures or possessions. Our peace comes from the one who saved us, Jesus. Years before we entered the chaos and the subsequent turmoil of our current cultural moment, theologian Henri Nouwen wrote on the importance of being a peacemaker in this age. And he looks to Jesus’s words in the Sermon on the Mount for direction, writing,
“Every one of the eight beatitudes that Jesus proclaimed in the Sermon on the Mount are for all people and for all times. But there are times in which one word speaks louder than another. In the 13th century Saint Francis brought to the foreground the blessing on the poor. In the 19th century many saints and visionaries called new attention to the blessing on the pure of heart. Clearly our century is the century of the peacemakers. Qoheleth[1] says: “there is a season for everything, a time… for keeping silent, a time for speaking… a time for war, a time for peace” (Ecc.3:7-8). If this century will be remembered, it will be remembered for those who gave themselves for the cause of peace.”[2]
Here is the secret that the church in Acts experienced and we should pay attention to today; if we actually want to be peacemakers in our current context, we must declare the gospel. Why? Because only the gospel, through the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of the Father, has the power to bring peace. Even in the most turbulent times.
Indeed, blessed are the peacemakers. And peacemakers declare the gospel.
[1] Qoheleth is the Hebrew word for teacher. Here, Nouwen uses it to refer to the author of Ecclesiastes.
[2] Henri Nouwen, Seeds of Hope: Peacework (unpublished). (1997, p.228)