Peacemaking Demands Justice, Not Domination

 Peace in the World

 Ron Stone

 Luke 14:31–2; 19:41–2

“Or what King, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able … to oppose the one who comes against him … ? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace….

As he came near and saw the city [Jerusalem], he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace!” (NRSV)

Reflection: As the Peacemaking Program celebrates its 40th anniversary, it is good to remember that it grew out of concerns about American foreign policy. The Peacemaking Program’s Founding Document was prepared in the optimism for peacemaking of Advent, 1979. However, the General Assembly’s adoption of “Peacemaking: the Believer’s Calling” in 1980 was followed by an election that led to a massive armament program. Since that time, American policy has repeatedly utilized superior armaments and the threat of nuclear weapons to dominate others. It is time to come to terms with the fact that U.S. foreign policy has long emphasized domination over peacemaking.

Over the years, diplomacy of the sort that Luke calls for has saved us from many wars and even reduced our nuclear arsenals. But developments in the Middle East and our own shortsightedness have drawn us into unending struggles in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Iran, even though we know wars in Asia, with its multitudes of unknown religions and folkways, are not good projects for the U.S. We need to sit down and negotiate with our present and our potential enemies.

Peace for Jerusalem is as far away as it was for Jesus, and as it has been for the United States.  Christian faith has done little for peace in Jerusalem. Neither Jerusalem nor the United States has known much peace during the last 100 years. The preceding 400 years for the Americas was full of wars against indigenous peoples, and the 20th century was a cataclysm of war. The future of peace for Jerusalem requires, as Jesus said, negotiations for the terms of peace. Following Jesus means real terms of peace, however, not domination by a U.S.-supported government. Terrorism arises from any context of occupation, domination and enforced poverty — not simply from fanaticism. To truly be peacemakers in Israel-Palestine, leaders must work toward justice for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

Practice for Peacemakers: Peacemaking by the Church takes work from the ground up. If your church does not yet have a peacemaking committee, create one to discuss issues of witness and foreign policy. This committee can report to session for education and a call to action in the form of public witness, protest or other calls for peace.

Prayer: Jesus, may our church become a supporter of peacemaking in a violent world, learning from you and binding us together in real community actions. Amen.

After 40 years of college, university and seminary teaching, Ron Stone (right) as The John Witherspoon Professor of Christian Ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 2005. In the 1970s, he was one of the writers for “Peacemaking: the Believer’s Calling,” and he wrote or edited another two dozen books on social ethics, foreign policy, peacemaking and particularly on the work and thought of Paul Tillich and Reinhold Niebuhr

Building Peace, Not “Peacekeepers”

 Peace in the World

 Rev. Dr. Ruby Wilson

 Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 Reflection: The peace of God is nothing like the peace that the world understands and gives. Jesus told his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (John 14:27). The peace that comes from the world, to pull from a Tracy Chapman song, calls “missiles — peacekeepers.” In crises, to some, police and military presence may provide a sense of comfort far more than the presence of a priest.

The world is dangerous. Our conflicting and competing loyalties keep us mired in combat, fighting to the death over our little pools, puddles and ponds. We guard them ferociously, lest anyone deign to believe they are entitled to any piece of them. Yeah, Tracy Chapman’s question is right: “Why are missiles called peacekeepers when they are aimed to kill?” That is “peace” as the world gives it; like the era of Pax Romana, “Roman peace,” where order was maintained by the vigilant efforts of a heavy military and police presence. It is in contrast with all this military might that Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9a).

Practicing peace in the world has absolutely nothing to do with having the strongest army, the most aggressive police force, or the bully brand name of superpower. God’s peace has nothing to do with ammunition or the manipulation and fabrication used to control creation. We are too finite to even attempt to comprehend God’s peace.

But we can learn to practice peace in a number of ways. One such practice comes from my mother, the late Mother Dovetta Wilson, who taught her nine children to “lend a hand whenever and wherever you can.” Another comes from my father, the late Deacon David Wilson, Sr., who taught us to “always give something back, to build health and strong people and communities.” A third practice for peace in the world is to remember that love is a verb. I believe the King James translators got it right when they translated the Greek word ἀγάπη (agape)  as “charity” (1 Corinthians 13).

Love is not only something to feel. Practicing peace in the world through acts of charity, mercy and grace are all expressions of the love called for by our God. In a world full of domination and violence, these acts of love are radical. But oh, how sweet the loving communion when we are made right with God and have made peace with others! There is nothing that can compare.

 Practice for Peacemakers: Listen to Tracy Chapman’s “Why?” and consider the radical changes in perspective that are needed to build peace. This week, be conscious of the times in which your language plays into the assumptions of military dominance and violent, so-called justice.

Prayer: Dear God, we know that our practicing of peace means a willingness to be made vulnerable by loving and being compassionate toward one another. We know that your peace surpasses our understanding of how the world works. Instead of violence and the supremacy of power, you offer love. Help us to cast away the worship of power, to keep ourselves from being polluted by the violence of the world, and instead to accept the religion to which you call us: to look after orphans and widows in their distress, to extend mercy and love to our “enemies,” and to acknowledge the grace that you extend to all. Amen

The Rev. Dr. Ruby Wilson is senior pastor of Safe Haven UCC, and was recently elected president of the UCC N.Y. Conference’s Metro Association. She serves on the New York Conference UCC Commission on Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, and is also the founder and executive director of JasD’Jor: Emerging Philanthropists, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families of special needs children and training children to use their gifts and talents for service to the world.