Voices for Peace
But as to guidance in the Christian scriptures for seeking peace, I can refer to the words of Jesus Christ, who taught us:
Blessed are the peacemakers
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment...
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
We, as mortal beings, believe in the power of the sword; he believed in the power of the heart. We believe in raising ourselves from victimhood through violence; he believed we can assert our dignity and humanity through love.
Jesus’ teaching is, essentially, that enduring power, and enduring peace, will only come when we lay down our swords and take up his words, taking them seriously, and really seeking for the pathway to peace that is paved with love not just for those who love us but even, and perhaps especially, for those who don’t.
I’m not prepared to say who is right or wrong in the overall conflict relating to territory and settlement in the region of Israel. I am prepared to say that it is evident that neither side has considered or embraced or acted upon a gospel grounded in the moral logic of peace and the assertion of non-violent love.
Throughout his life, Jesus worked for the underdogs. He met with, dined with, and blessed those whom the majority in their society considered outcasts, filthy, sinful, or unworthy of friendship and concern. He forgave sinners, blessed the sick, and simply “went about doing good.” So should we.
As leaders in the Christian community, we have to lead out in all these ways. We should be visibly, actively, and enthusiastically developing, maintaining, and expressing friendship with and support of those who superficially might appear to be our opponents or otherwise unwelcome in our communities. It is in engaging directly with people, that others become brothers, that strangers become friends.
This includes being involved interfaith and other community organizations and activities. It includes providing whatever charitable services we can, such as supporting the poor, the homeless, or the addicted, helping refugees and other newcomers, supporting services for the disabled. We should reach out to those on the fringes. We should protect those at risk of persecution, harm, or neglect.
Can we tolerate racism, Anti-Semitism, or Islamophobia? No. We should condemn violent protests, hateful words, and anything that seeks to harm or demean a person because of their faith, skin colour, language, country of origin, or ethnicity.
We cannot merely be by-standers. We must care enough to be involved in a way that helps to protect individuals who are at risk. This is part and parcel of Jesus’ admonition to care for the one, even the lost sheep, the one who is on the outside of any place of safety.
And if those things – racism, Anti-Semitism, or Islamophobia – exist within our churches or our communities, we have to root them out; which means, we have to take them out by the roots; being reflective and honest in assessing our traditions, attitudes, policies, and practices, and consciously seeking to correct them.
Jesus Christ called his followers to bring about the realization of a kingdom that is not built upon power, prestige, and politics, but on love, persuasion, and kindness. A kingdom that acknowledges, encourages, and enables to power of every individual to be a force for good. That is the Christian enterprise. That is why we preach in our churches, hold potlucks, celebrate communion, and minister personally to one another in our homes. It is to knit together a tapestry of love and peace that envelopes all people, even those not engaged in the knitting.
Speaking less metaphorically, negotiating peace between nations will simply not be long-lasting if the people who live in their communities, who live on the ground, still hate one another. One Christian author wrote,
It’s tempting to think of peacebuilding as something done by diplomats, generals, and heads of state participating in elaborate ceremonies to sign treaties ending major conflicts [but\ they represent only the very tip of a peacebuilding pyramid, while most of the foundational work is done at lower levels. |
Each individual . . . holds in his own hands the peace of the world. That makes me responsible for the peace of the world, and makes you individually responsible for the peace of the world. [That\ responsibility cannot be shifted to someone else [including\ Congress or Parliament, or any other organization of men with governing authority. |
So, it behooves the leaders and members of every local Christian community to seek for and discover their own peacebuilding potential within the range of influence and effect that they can have. That might differ depending on where you are and what conditions you encounter, but we can all do something. We can help individuals resolve local, and even family, conflicts. We can raise our children to believe in the principles of loving and serving their neighbours. We can engage in organizations and activities that help to promote understanding and reduce human suffering.
Whether we are striving to protect the environment from degradation, working to help eliminate human trafficking, or holding the hand of the lonely person sitting next to us, “all … actions, rooted in ‘basic goodness’ and a desire to love one’s neighbor, are powerful avenues of peacebuilding.” This is the essential point of Christian teaching.
Living in Challenging Times
As most of you know, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have additional books, as well as the Holy Bible, that we rely on as scripture. One of these is The Book of Mormon, which is where we get that nickname.
The Book of Mormon tells the 1000-year history of a family. It is family that, like the family of Abraham from which they descend, is divided by sibling rivalry and strife. Early in the book, we learn about the family’s four oldest sons, two of whom seek to follow the God of Abraham, and two of whom have doubts, conflict, and serious anger issues. When their loving parents – the prophet Lehi and his wife Sariah – have passed, the brothers can no longer live in peace together. They separate and, ultimately, they and their descendants form two new nations – called Nephites and Lamanites, after the names of the leading brothers – that remain on-and-off at war for almost 1000 years. I am sure this scenario rings with familiarity for all of us in relation to more prominent and more current events.
Throughout their history, each of these two nations vacillated between righteous commitment to the covenants of Father Abraham, and cycling through other periods of greed, dishonesty, and violence. In the end, neither was wholly good, nor wholly bad. Each was wholly human.
Then the book tells us of a remarkable moment, when Jesus Christ, having been crucified and resurrected in Jerusalem, and having spent a further 40 days instructing his disciples there before ascending into heaven, comes to visit these long-scattered descendants of ancient Israel, and proclaims to them his gospel of peace and salvation. Those who experience his presence, hear his words, touch the wounds in his hands, feet, and side, and receive his blessings, also experience an inward transformation.
The book tells us that they were “converted unto the Lord” and that, as a result, “there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another,” “there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults,” “no robbers, nor murderers” “nor lyings… nor any manner of lasciviousness,” and “they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift.” “[S]urely,” the book says, “there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.”
But I think that most significant for our reflection today is when the book also tells us, that amongst them, for this brief period of time following the influence of Christ’s presence, there were no Nephites nor Lamanites “nor” as it says, “any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.”
It’s a principal doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ that all people are children of the same God, and we believe what is needed most now, in these challenging times, is for universal recognition of this truth, and to allow that grace that converts our hearts from strife to peace, and from hatred to charity, to have greater influence over us all. That, therefore, is my prayer, in gratitude to our hosts for seeking to lead out in that way in this community, and with gratefulness to God for the power He makes available to influence each of our hearts, to make that hoped-for change a reality. I offer this prayer for that reality in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.