Blessed Peacemakers

Hope, promise and peace are the themes of the season, but it seems the only theme we hear is "worry." Worry about weapons of mass destruction, worry about war with ancient civilizations, worry about the economy, worry about nuclear weapons, worry about security in our neighborhoods and worry about the future of our children. Perhaps each generation has had equivalent worries, but these times seem different. Governments lead with threats of missiles, warheads, troops and guns.

We wonder what Christ would do during these times. Surely He would seek to make us "sons of God." I look for help in the scriptures and find words like . . . "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21)." I often wonder if we can really live up to those words. We are so intent on invading and punishing others rather than negotiating with them. Sometimes it seems we don't want to hear our enemies and know who they are and why they do what they do.

"Saber rattling" carries us back to a primitive time when man solved problems through fighting as I did when I was a boy. When I was growing up, I found that fighting another kid seldom really solved anything. Only when I could talk to the bully could I find a "win-win" situation. Now this doesn't mean that every circumstance can be resolved by talking (like Afghanistan), but I prefer to give it a really good effort first. It seems to me to be so clear that we must always be willing to talk to another and listen with an open mind.

Recently I returned from East Timor. Most people don't know where it is in the world, but in the recent past, it has been the scene of a brutal war where hundreds of thousands of people were killed and the capital city of Dili was completely burned. One man did speak out and reached out to find peaceful solutions. Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, a Catholic bishop, is credited with bringing an end to the hostilities. Ever heard of him? Again, probably not, because we, as Americans, were never threatened. But the Nobel Committee awarded him the Peace Prize in 1996. He was truly a peacemaker. The Nobel officials believe that East Timor would not be the youngest country in the world if it were not for his efforts. I also wonder why we remember the names of generals but not peacemakers. Try it yourself. Make your own list. Where do you put your efforts?

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.

— John Weis

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist