Jesus challenges us to something far better than peacekeeping

By Mark A. Taylor

Vladimir Putin labeled the first troops sent into Eastern Ukraine earlier this week as a peacekeeping force. But the world knew better.

Russian field tank exercise, 2017. Photo from the Russian Federation courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Putin’s action wasn’t about peace. We saw that even before he started launching missiles at Kyiv. It was invasion, not peacekeeping, and the world braced for the possibility of all-out war.

 Keep the peace?

It’s worth noting that Putin’s action was not the first time a decision called keeping the peace was really about something far less noble.

The wife of an abuser keeps the peace by tolerating his actions, and the family sinks into a chaos whose brokenness is felt for generations.

The children of an alcoholic keep the peace by hiding their family’s secret. But instead of peace, they live with fear and insecurity that lasts into adulthood where they may try to mask the hurt with their own overuse of alcohol.

A worker keeps the peace by ignoring a colleague’s laziness or nastiness or incompetence. And later, if not sooner, the company’s output suffers along with the worker’s own self-image and productivity.

 A quick reading of the Beatitudes may lead us to think Jesus was talking about peacekeeping. But that’s not what he said. Neither keeping the peace nor loving the peace was his intent. (Everyone loves peace. Ernest Chamberlain loved peace as he sought ongoing rounds of appeasement with Hitler.) Peace at any price is most often ultimately not peace at all.

Make peace?

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and making peace is something in short supply—not only on the world stage, but also in our personal and professional relationships.

Making peace requires listening, and certainly in our divided day, reconciliation will not happen without stopping to understand each other’s points of view. Too often we think we know what a person with a certain position thinks before we let him finish his sentence. Divisions over President Trump or vaccinations or mask mandates or theories of race seem insurmountable. This will always be true as long as those on either side of such issues speak only to attack or persuade. We’ll never break down barriers if we continue to talk without stopping, if we keep failing to hear the concerns or fears or experiences of those who take a different position.

Ignore division?

I see many Christians and Christian institutions trying to ignore the divisions instead of healing them. They’re keeping the peace at one level, I suppose. But what if the price of such peace is creating calcified separations in a divided church? What if the outcome of such peace is the demise of the enterprise?

Certainly we should move beyond political wrangling, but we dare not ignore issues surrounding life, respect, justice, and mercy. These, more than our institution’s survival, are concerns closest to the heart of God.

Peace is a beautiful concept to put on a bookmark or wall hanging or Christmas card. But making peace is work. Can we step beyond the norms of our society to do that work? Isn’t this the church’s job? Isn’t this the calling of the seventh Beatitude?

 Experience peace?

The church in our day has a wonderful opportunity to set an example for a country in turmoil. Christians are leading congregations of every race. Where are the peacemakers who will call them together for a gentle, one-step-at-a-time dialogue? Let them pray together. Let them praise God for the many ways they agree with each other. Let them hear each other’s experiences and fears.

Likewise, devout believers disagree about relationships with homosexuals, roles of women in the church, or our responsibility and opportunity to address poverty. Perhaps we should not aim for getting those with strongly held opposing views to give them up. But could we work to create peace between them? Can we envision reconciliation that equips them to move forward showing the beauty of the gospel to a wary and weary world? Can we make peace?

Christ promised his followers a peace unlike anything the world offers. He has challenged us not only to experience peace but to help make it happen. Surely we can see now, as never before in our lifetimes, the deep need to let others see what he was talking about.

This is the seventh in a series of reflections on the meaning of the Beatitudes
for everyday life.

Photo by Keira Burton from Pexels

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