No doubt you’re familiar with scenes of devastation from the Ukraine – and the sadness at the horrible loss of life in that conflict.  More recently we’ve witnessed shocking scenes from the Middle East – that horrendous terrorist attack on people in Israel who were quietly going about their everyday business.  Since then there’s been the terrible toll on civilians as Israel tries to eliminate the terrorist organisation, Hamas.  It makes us aware that our world has a great need for peacemakers.

But peacemakers are not only needed on the international scene are they?  Our family was sitting down to dinner one night when a domestic war erupted next door.  I got up and shut the windows to try and shield our children from the stream of obscenities that was interrupting our family dinner.  In a culture that is far too familiar with domestic violence we need peacemakers in our families and in our communities.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they will never be unemployed!

However, just as in most jobs, there are qualifications needed to be a peacemaker.  I’m not talking about a degree in peacemaking... or passing an exam for a diploma in counselling.  I’m talking about a much more basic requirement for those wanting the job of peacemaker.  They must know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.  That’s not just a desirable quality for peacemakers... a valuable asset.  No!  This is an absolutely essential prerequisite... without which no one will qualify.

It may seem strange to hear me say that you can only be a peacemaker if you know Jesus Christ.  Is that really so?  Aren’t there many peacemakers in the world...?  From UN peace-keepers.... to judges who act as peacemakers in family law courts.  Peacemakers... and many of them probably know little about Christ Jesus?

Well, that’s true!  Christians don’t have a monopoly on peacemaking.  But there are peacemakers and there are peacemakers.  And there is a kind of peace that’s called peace but that is not really peace.  So when we talk about peace we must make sure we know what we’re talking about.

What, really, is peace?  The world around us would say: peace is when the fighting stops...!  When the war is over... when the guns are laid down... then there’s PEACE.  When the yelling stops and the saucepans in the kitchen stop flying... then there’s PEACE.

But you and I know that isn’t necessarily so.  Underneath that outward peace there is still unrest.  The grievances can still be there... and the real problems, not yet resolved, by a long shot.  In such situations we don’t yet have peace... only a lull in the hostilities – more like a truce.  And sooner or later the pot boils over again.

We’ve seen that so often in the Middle East and in the Balkans.  There is ceasefire after ceasefire... but soon they were at it again.  And we see that in families too sometimes... it seems to be over but then it all erupts again.

The ancient Hebrew word for peace is so telling.  It’s shalom...!  And that’s not just a halt in hostilities.  Shalom is not just a negative thing – where weapons are laid down.  It is extremely positive as enemies are able to embrace each other again.  Shalom includes a healing of the battle scars and embraces the idea of health and wholeness.

When Jesus pronounced a blessing on peacemakers he didn’t just say they are blessed because they will always have a job.  No!  He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.”  How wonderful is that?  The Bible’s idea is that a son shows the father’s likeness.  Children reflect that character of their parent.  That helps us to understand this beatitude that Jesus pronounces on the peacemaker.  God is the God of peace.  He sent His son Jesus to be the Prince of Peace.  From the Bible’s perspective peace begins with God.  That’s why the Christian good news is called a ‘gospel of peace’.

That’s why I said that to be a real peacemaker we need to know Jesus.  Ask yourself what it is that causes strife in our world.  Is it not sin - greed and selfishness... hate and anger...? You don’t resolve those issues by calling for a cease-fire.  You resolve those issues by helping to find forgiveness and renewal through the saving work of Jesus.  Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.

John Westendorp