When the ‘First
World War’ ended on November 11th 1918, it was generally hoped that
this was ‘the war to end all wars’. This was because of the horrific cost on
all sides. However, hopes were soon dashed. Following times of conflict, peace
is always uppermost in people’s minds. However, it doesn’t take long for peace
to be taken for granted, and for ideas about certain conquests to quickly gain
adherents. Is this because people, generation after generation, have not
appreciated nor grasped God’s heart for peace?!
In the 8th
Century BCE, both Micah and Isaiah received words from God about future times
when there would be peace. They both attributed this to the time that would
follow the Assyrian conquest over Israel and the subsequent exile. When God’s
people were able to return to their own land, surely there would be peace.
Surely people so affected, and so well aware of God’s teaching, would take the
need for peace seriously. Surely they would give new priority to their
relationship with God!
The sad fact is
that human history has hardly seen a time when violence and war ceased. But
nonetheless, here we have both prophets, 2800 years ago, speaking identical words that hope for peace. They understood where God’s heart was at, so were not
deterred from delivering what was really a timeless vision for peace. The
question is: what do we do with it? In an age of global friction and conflict,
how do Jesus-followers respond to such inspired vision???
It was sin that
destroyed the first peace, and sin continues to destroy possibilities of peace.
Disobedience brought a heavy load. God’s gift of paradise was soon further marred by
Cain killing his brother Abel (Genesis 4). Person against person; nation against nation.
But in the midst of all this, God is calling his people to embrace this vision
of peace. “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears
into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more” (Micah 4:3b & Isaiah 2:4b).
Presented here is the end of all intent and training toward physical conflict.
Here also we read about some very effective recycling. Weapons (“swords” and
“spears”), that are no longer needed, are converted into farming implements
(“ploughshares” and “pruning hooks”). “Ploughshares” cultivate the soil to
allow for new crops, and “pruning hooks” cut back to promote the right sort of
growth. So, hardware that previously destroyed, has been re-purposed towards
the wise production of food. Such words are so relevant in a time where military
expenditure increases to the detriment of the poor around the world. Even a
military man like US President Eisenhower from around sixty years ago was
willing to admit that, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every
rocket fired, signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and
are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed”.
Micah then
continues to talk about nations being content to sit under their own vines and
fig trees because no one is making them afraid (4:4). Of course “peace” is more
than the absence of war, it is also the absence of fear. The Old Testament
Hebrew word “shalom” refers to a person’s sense of total well-being, especially
in their relationships with their neighbours, the rest of creation, and God.
“Shalom” means to live in harmony with others and thus to experience a personal
wholeness. In ancient Israel, a person could not really be said to be at
peace (“shalom”) if any of their neighbours were being oppressed. The New
Testament Greek word “eirene” also refers to well-being, harmony, health, and
also to being out-of-danger, and gaining contentment and rest.
So many
circumstances in life can upset the peace. People find themselves anxious for
many reasons. Issues come up in families, workplaces, schools, even churches
that cause disruption. Of course, it is conflict, whether it be personal or
military, that is the greatest enemy to peace. And it is the propensity of
human beings to find themselves within violent conflict that the prophets are
primarily addressing. For violent conflict is the most public and far-reaching output
of broken and sinful hearts. Now some might think that this vision of Micah
(and Isaiah) is only possible in another world i.e. either in a divinely
transformed ‘new earth’, or in heaven itself, not this world. Well maybe
ultimately that is true. And because “the mouth of the Lord has spoken”, this
peace will at some stage become a fulfilled reality.
But, if this is
truly the way of God or the heart of God, then we would have to embrace this in
the here and now. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray (the Lord’s prayer),
he included this: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is
in heaven”. The prophets here actually give us great incentive towards
peacemaking, based on the positive expectations of what God will ultimately
achieve. “The prophets’ use of their future vision … was designed to effect
response and change in the present” (CJH Wright).
There are many
things we can turn our minds to. What are the attitudes and actions that bring
disharmony and destroy the possibility of peace??
·
Ego,
pride, the desire for power, control & domination,
·
Jealousy,
unrestrained competitiveness, greed,
·
Racism,
intolerance, judgementalism, perfectionism (where others will never measure up
or be acceptable),
·
Violence; physical, emotional & spiritual abuse; bullying;
·
Bitterness,
unforgiveness;
·
Also,
where we leave imposed poverty and inequity unchallenged.
Okay, so where
do we make a start on this??? How do we embrace this vision of peace?
(1)
In prayer
We acknowledge
that God is a God of peace, and desires peace on earth. Some may say that there
are stories contrary to this in the Old Testament. But before we deny that God
is first and foremost and holistically a God of peace, we would need to carefully
look at those incidents and ask ourselves a series of questions, in terms of
what and why. It became a very complex world the day sin entered. But I think
we can simplify things a bit as we acknowledge that God wants all humankind to
live in harmony – this is the vision of the ‘Garden of Eden’, restated by the
prophets, epitomised by Jesus.
So we pray for
peace on earth – goodwill to humanity. We pray that people would be reconciled
with the people they are at war with, whether this be nation against nation, or
person against person. And we pray that those people who seek to inflict terror
on others will be caused to stop; praying that any action taken against such
terror will be properly and carefully measured. And we pray that such
peace comes with justice, where people groups have the right to freely and
equally pursue their wellbeing and goals. For the absence of conflict without
justice is not peace. Like when Jesus threw the traders out of the
temple because of their corrupt behaviour, sometimes confrontation, that has
been prayerfully considered, is necessary.
The context of
these verses, both in Micah and Isaiah, suggest that this peace will only
become a reality, if nations are willing to submit to the Word that comes forth
from God … which demands a change of heart (i.e. repentance). If there is no
real change of heart, peace may be an illusion that won’t last long. So we pray
for people to come to their senses, step aside from their selfish and
pride-filled ways, and seek after the truth. Then there will be a greater
understanding of right as against wrong. Peace will not have to be forced, but
rather be embraced naturally. Parochial nationalistic or religious thinking
will give way to the Kingdom of Jesus. Injustice itself will bow to Jesus. Revenge and
war will no longer be the response of choice!
Prayer also reminds
us that no matter how bad things appear, God is with us! This understanding in
itself brings benefits: the settling of anxiety, calming of fear, gaining of
insight and improvement in decision-making.
(2)
In us
We ask ourselves
… ‘how should we live in light of this’? We make a personal commitment to seek
to live a life of peace ourselves! Following those verses where the weapons of
war become the tools of peaceful vocation, Isaiah writes, “O
house of Jacob [referring to God’s people, God’s household], come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord” (2:5)! We know where God’s heart is. We know what God
is like … we look at Jesus. So we are to walk in this light. Paul says, “So far
as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18). But this is easier
said than done! We can so easily be provoked to act otherwise. Where do we go
then??
We first need to
experience the inner peace that comes from having peace with God. We need to
have our personal demons dealt with. We need the forgiveness and the freedom
that comes from knowing we have the gracious gift of salvation. This comes from
accepting that what Jesus did on the cross applies to us and our sin. This
comes from laying ourselves bare before the mercy of God and being restored.
This comes from emerging as a new person in relationship with God and following
the risen Jesus as our Lord. Paul nailed this idea in Romans when he wrote,
“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which
we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God” (5:1-2). It is
because of this personal peace, which becomes more and more evident (or
should), that we can live in peace with others. God’s peace is part of our
experience of salvation. We can either resist this, or get with the program.
(3)
In
action
Now this matter
of living in peace is not just about staying out of conflict – it is actually
more proactive than that. Jesus called us to be peace-makers, not just lovers
of peace, or theorists about peace, but peace-makers. We are thus prepared to
go out of our way to create the sort of peace envisioned by God’s prophets.
This is about restoring some of what has been lost.
Now I’m sure the
first disciples were particularly concerned about this calling in their time.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus promised not to leave them unequipped, and breathed on
them with the Holy Spirit. This seems to be a forerunner to the mass arrival of
the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (covered in the Book of Acts). And in
John (14:26-27), Jesus links the Holy Spirit with a special measure of Jesus’
own peace. “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the
world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be
afraid.”
Who are the
peace-makers??
·
Those
who model peaceful living and neighbourly love – the community-minded, the
generous, the calm;
·
Those
who bring people together into harmonious relationships,
·
Those
who stand up for and offer material support to the poor, vulnerable and
oppressed,
·
Those
who bring comfort, encouragement and new hope to the lonely, addicted and
desperate,
·
Those
who can forgive;
·
Those
who guide people towards a relationship with God through Jesus.
There is a
natural benefit for peace-making: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will
be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). The act of peace-making identifies a
person as one, not just made in the image of God, but living as one made in the
image of God. Being a peace-maker simply requires us to wholly and utterly
follow the ‘Prince of Peace’ – Jesus. Jesus was the living example of peace in
his life, the initiator of the gift of peace from the cross, and is the abiding
presence of peace through the Holy Spirit.
Closing Prayer:
(2 Thessalonians 3:16) “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all
times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you.”
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