Those Who Make Peace

James 3:13-18 I remember reading an article by a Mennonite author in which he posed this question:  What if we as a nation, with the same money and resources and determination and skill as we wage war—what if instead, we waged peace?

To wage peace—I had never thought about foreign affairs and our life as a nation from that perspective before.  I’m not really convinced that it would work-- or that it is even biblical.  After all, St. Paul tells us in Romans that those who wield the sword in our government are God’s ministers for our good and I don’t really think that ISIS is going to be changed by a peace sign and a daisy. 

Waging peace may not work in our life as a nation but as individual Christians we are definitely called to wage peace—that is, to be peacemakers in our relationships with one another, actively working to live in peace with one another. 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that:  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.  St. Paul says:  if it is possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all.  And in our lesson today James tells us that: a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

God expects that Christians will live out their faith by actively sharing the peace of Christ in all their relationships for the One we confess as Lord and Savior is the Prince of Peace.  And so then…

Because the Prince of Peace has made things right between us and God—because we have peace with God through the blood of Jesus--how we live with one another will reflect that new reality and status and relationship by our living in peace with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

But peacemaking gets very difficult indeed when the concept of living in peace takes on a concrete shape with the people around us.   For example:

What does it mean for me as a husband or a wife in a conflicted marriage that God is calling me to be a peacemaker?  What is my role as a disciple of the Prince of Peace in a family where there are hard-feelings that have lasted years?  How can I show my fellow church members that the peace with God that I have through faith in Christ is more than just words?  James writes:

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

            Have you ever heard of a Gordian knot?  It comes from Greek mythology and it’s named after the ancient king Gordias who tied a knot so intricate that he promised that whoever could untie it would rule Asia.  Alexander the Great arrived on the scene—was able to come up with a solution—and did indeed rule Asia.

I tell you this little story because often times it seems that the conflicted relationships where we are called to live as peacemakers are like Gordian knots.  They are so tangled up and twisted up that we don’t even know where to start. 

Unkind things have been spoken—unkind things have been said in return—time passes--hard feelings become ingrained—and where do we start to make things right? 

Hateful things have been done to us—things that erect what seems like an impenetrable barrier between us and others-- and we don’t even know where to begin to bridge that wall.  How do we make peace with others in those kinds of situations?

The bible says that the solution to these kinds of conflicts requires wisdom and understanding—and the bible IS NOT talking about a merely intellectual grasp of who right and who is wrong or who needs to apologize first.  (All of us are great at that-- even if we are oftentimes wrong about who is at fault.)

But what the Bible is talking about is wisdom and understanding that show up in how we live and how we act toward others:  what the Bible calls the “meekness of wisdom”.

“The meekness of wisdom”—that is an interesting phrase.  The word that is translated as “meekness” is also translated as “gentleness”-- but it does not mean passiveness or resignation.  The root word was used to describe a stallion under the control of a bit and bridle. 

To put it in modern vernacular we might say that, to be a peacemaker in our relationships—to be truly wise and understanding—we need to be the “bigger man”.

You’ve heard that expression, right?  You’ve told it to your children when they have a conflict at school—that you need to be the bigger person and not continue the conflict.  That’s what James means when he talks about living in peace with others and…

An even better way to describe what James is talking about is to picture our Lord.  Jesus came into this conflicted world full of sinners as the King of kings and Lord of lords.  He had every right to judge us and punish us and compel us to do his will.  And yet he came in gentleness and meekness and wisdom—full of forgiveness and peace. 

As his people, in the midst of conflicted and difficult relationships, we are called to the same kind of life—we are called to be the bigger person—we are called to be the peacemaker.  And yet much too often, what we see in ourselves and how we act towards those who have wounded us is just the opposite.  James says:

If you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

            We all know what a “pity party” is, right?  “Oh, poor me!”  “Can you believe she said that to me!”  “Can you believe he did that to me?!”  And our anger and bitterness and resentment and hurt feelings stand at the very center of our lives as the guests of honor at our pity party. 

It’s bad enough when it’s just us a party of one—but we never do want it to be just us, do we?  And so we assemble a little group of friends and fellow sufferers so we don’t have to say “oh poor me” to an empty room--but can hear from others “oh poor you!”  “How could they have done that to you’’!  “How wrong they are!”  “You don’t deserve that”!

But I will tell you the truth dear friends in Christ, when there is bitterness and jealousy and self-centeredness in our hearts—when we love to tell ourselves and others how bad people are to us and how innocent and put upon we are—it is simply a lie. 

In fact, the Bible says that attitude is “earthly, unspiritual, and even demonic”.  Now this is pretty strong language-- but if we think about it just for a minute we will see how true it is.

When we are having a pity party—when we are licking our wounds—when we are inviting others to tell us how right we are and how wrong others are who have wounded us—who and what is standing at the center of our lives?  We are! 

And if we are at the center of our lives—who is not?  God.  When there is a conflicted marriage or a family or congregation where those involved are turned inward upon themselves (their own needs and wants at the center of their existence) is it any wonder that there is that place, as James says, “disorder and every vile practice.”

Maybe you think that judgment is a little bit strong—but you tell me:  what kind of vile things are said and done in our marriages and families and friendships and congregations because we want to be right—because we want to get our way—because we are unbending and unforgiving?  What kind of things are said and done to those closest to us that we would never think about saying or doing to a perfect stranger? 

Dear friends in Christ, very simply, very plainly—this ought not to be.  This is not God’s attitude towards us—and this is not to be our attitude towards others because this is not the life of Christ within us.  Instead, the Bible says:

The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

From the perspective of the Bible, wisdom is not an intellectual quality or even a spiritual quality—but first and foremost wisdom is a person named Jesus.  The Bible says Jesus became for us wisdom from God, righteousness and redemption.

At the very center of our existence as Christian people is Christ crucified.  We were buried with him and raised with him in Holy Baptism.  We have answered his call to take up our cross and follow him.  The benefits of his sacrificial death are present on our altar in his body and blood.  He alone, is our righteousness and sanctification and redemption and peace. 

And so I ask you, where in our relationship with the Prince of Peace is there room boasting in the rightness of our cause when it comes to conflicted relationships?

Where is there room in Christ’s forgiveness of us for a lack of forgiveness of others?  Because Christ is the wisdom of God-- and because he lives in us as our Lord and Savior--hear again the words of James regarding our attitudes towards others:

The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

            By virtue of our faith in Christ, we are right in God’s sight.  We have been purified from our sins of bitterness and selfishness by his shed blood.  And so we are to live out that faith in our lives, called to be peacemakers in our relationships just as Christ has made peace for us with God. 

Like our Lord we are gentle with others.  As we ask for the Lord’s mercy for our failures—we are merciful to others—forgiving them as we have been forgiven—not because we or they deserve forgiveness but because the Lord desires to give it—to us, and through us, to others. 

And all of this sincerely—from the heart—because our heart is full of love and thankfulness to the Lord for what he has done for us.  The Bible promises that this kind of life on our part will make a difference in our lives with others.  James says:  A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

We began our reflection on God’s Word talking about an idea:  waging peace.  And we recognize that concept may not work among the family of nations in terms of our foreign policy.  But God himself promises that it will work in our lives with one another and that there will be a harvest of righteousness from those who make peace.

For that harvest to take place, seeds must be sown—conscious, deliberate efforts on our part to be peacemakers among those who are closest to us. 

And so my prayer for you this week is that as a follower of the Prince of Peace you would sow peace in your marriage and family and workplace and congregations and that God would bless that planting with a harvest of righteousness.  Amen.