"Blessed are the Peacemakers"

"Blessed are the Peacemakers"

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." Matthew 5:9 NIV

Oh no, not again, I thought, as my early-morning attempt to access the Internet failed. Has my cable service crashed? This would be a big problem as I prepared to make final changes to my sermon that I had saved to my computer.

I performed the diagnostics that I knew. Nothing improved. I called my Internet provider and got a rookie in technical support. My frustration edged up a notch. I tried to get in touch with my son who is a technology whiz. He wasn't available so I tried my Internet provider again and found an expert. Try disabling the wireless router, he suggested. That was it: my router had died. It could no longer pass signals from cable modem to personal computers.

An hour later I had acquired a new wireless router. The problem was solved. The wireless network was restored. Signals passed successfully. Emails and my sermon could be retrieved. Once again there was peace in our time!

So that's what it takes to make peace, I thought. Conflict is caused by a failure to communicate. Signals don't pass successfully from person to person, or from nation to nation. People withhold their needs, feelings and intentions. Suspicion mounts. People get defensive. Peacemaking is pushed aside and conflict takes over. Like the wireless router that stopped working, signals stop passing freely and frustration mounts.

Making peace among persons isn't as easy as buying a new router. But it does seem to entail the same process. Unplug the old. If it isn't working, it isn't working. Try something new, something fresh. Marriage counselors often recommend new methods for doing familiar tasks. Warring workplaces often benefit from new tools for exchanging information. Combative nations are advised to begin talks with each other with the hope that better communication will promote peace.

Jesus sent his disciples out as peacemakers, who would form circles of friendship and thereby enable people to connect with one another. That is still a primary Christian mission; better living through better circles of sharing.
"Blessed are the peacemakers
Rev. Charlotte Austin
McCary's Chapel United
Methodist Church