With all the warring going on in the world -- Iraq, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, in our neighborhoods, I cannot help but wonder when enough is enough - when will we stop killing and hurting each other.
Jesus in John's Gospel says, "Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives." But what kind of peace is this? This is what we talked about last night when we met at Panera Bread in Round Lake Beach at sacred space.
As our conversation unfolded we quickly realized that Jesus' peace is contrary to the world's concept of peace -- in fact many war against Jesus concept of peace. Much of what we think about politically as peace has more to do with truce keeping or truce making. But Jesus did not call us to be truce makers but peacemakers. We concluded that there is a difference.
The peace of Christ often stands in opposition to the "ways of peace" in our world today. We seek peace or truce in the context of power - truce usually involves one power submitting to another in order for "peace" to exist. The UN peacekeeping forces are meant to keep the balance of power in a region so that war does not erupt out of the fragile peace.
However, Jesus' peace stands in such contrast with the ways of the world, that often we war against the peace of Christ when it comes into our midst, rather than embracing it - because embracing Christ's peace most often requires of us "to turn the other cheek," "to go a second mile with one who exerts power over us," "to love our enemies." We are called to embrace this way of peace, and usually such embracing seems to result in suffering rather than victory. It seemed that Christ was defeated when he embraced peace by being crucified on the cross for the sake of humanity, but it was only through his death and in our identifying with his death, that we share in the victory of life that is whole, life that is peace.
When the peace of Christ confronts us and asks the impossible of us in our relationships with those who war against us, too often we war against the way of Christ and so contribute to the never-ending struggle of our warring against another. But if we surrender to Christ and the way of Christ, not reluctantly, but embracing such a surrender, we become peacemakers of a new way of being in the world that unmasks the powers, triumphs over the oppressors not necessarily by bringing them into submission, but by giving witness to what it means to be a people of peace in the world. We may die in living this peace, but it is a peace that will overcome the warring of the world.
In this way Christ's peace is in conflict with the ways of the world -- and the longer we refuse to embrace it, the more we will war against it. Yet God is calling together a community of people in the world who will witness to by living out the way of Christ's peace in the world. What of ourselves are we willing to sacrifice, to surrender to be bringers of such a peace - reputation, our esteem, our positions, what others think of us?
As we enter the New Year, may we embrace the peace of Christ in the way of Christ Jesus.
Roland
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2 comments:
It was good conversation. I was struck with the paradox confronting us. Clearly the gospel brings conflict. However, Jesus said, "My peace I leave with you." So is it really a paradox? He left His peace with His followers in an integrative, direct sense. He did not leave His peace with the world in a direct sense but indirectly through His followers. The peace He left is fruit of the Spirit and is derived from the community of the Trinity. None the less, He left a redemptive, loving and truthful peace.
Yes, I forgot to include the point that we made about peace being a characteristic of the Trinity and that it is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. Indeed Christ's peace brings wholeness, shalom to humanity, but it requires a self surrender, a dying to our own rights and privileges in order to give witness to the peace that is only realized in relationship with Jesus throught the Spirit of God.
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