Blessed Are The Peacemakers

Introduction

In April 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. sat in a Birmingham jail cell, writing a letter in response to eight white clergymen who had criticized his methods. These religious leaders had urged him to be a 'peacekeeper' - to stop the demonstrations, to wait for a 'more convenient season,' to maintain what they called 'peace.' They wanted the absence of conflict.

Martin Luther King Jr. advocated for racial equality, civil rights, and social justice through nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience. His vision encompassed several key elements:

Civil Rights: He fought against racial segregation, discriminatory voting practices, and other forms of institutionalized racism in American society.

Economic Justice: King recognized that racial equality was intertwined with economic justice. He advocated for better jobs, fair wages, and economic opportunities for all Americans, particularly in his later years with the Poor People’s Campaign.

Nonviolent Resistance: King promoted peaceful protest as the means to achieve social change. He emphasized that nonviolence was not passive acceptance but active, principled resistance to injustice.

Integration: King envisioned an integrated society where people of all races could live, work, and thrive together. He had a vision of racial harmony and mutual understanding.

Human Rights: Beyond racial equality in America, King spoke out against global injustice, including the Vietnam War and poverty worldwide. He saw civil rights as part of a broader human rights movement.

Dignity: Throughout his work, King emphasized the inherent dignity and worth of all human beings, regardless of race. He called for America to live up to its founding principles of equality and justice for all.

But Dr. King understood something deeper about peace. From his jail cell, he wrote: 'I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.'

King wasn't a peacekeeper - he was a peacemaker. Like Jesus before him, he understood that creating true peace meant walking straight into conflict, not avoiding it. It meant sitting at lunch counters where he wasn't wanted, marching on streets where he'd be met with dogs and fire hoses, and yes, going to jail for the sake of justice. He knew that authentic peace couldn't be achieved by simply maintaining the status quo or keeping things quiet.

When Jesus said 'Blessed are the peacemakers,' he wasn't describing people who avoid tension at all costs. He was describing people like Dr. King - those willing to step into the storm of conflict, armed with truth and nonviolent love, to create something new: genuine harmony between God's image bearers. True peace isn't the absence of conflict; it's the presence of justice and reconciliation.

And just as Jesus predicted, Dr. King faced persecution for his peacemaking. He was insulted, imprisoned, and ultimately killed. But his work of peacemaking helped transform a nation, showing us what it looks like when someone takes Jesus's words seriously.

How might we take the words of Jesus and structure/guide our lives by them?

If you have your Bibles, or on your devices, would you turn to Matthew 5:9-11. If you are able and willing, would you stand as I read God’s word this morning. Let us pray. You may be seated.

Sermon

Historical Context

Jesus delivered this message in an occupied military zone under Roman rule The Jewish community was fractured into different groups, each with their own approach to peace:

Sadducees: Elite who collaborated with Rome to maintain power

Pharisees: Local religious leaders focused on Torah observance

Essenes: Separatists who withdrew from society

Zealots: Militant faction seeking violent revolution

True Peacemaking

Jesus redefines peacemaking as actively creating harmony, not just avoiding conflict. The Greek word used (eirénépoios) literally means "peace-doers" or "peace-makers"… eirene (peace) and poieo (to do/make).

Biblical peace isn't the absence of conflict or chaos but the presence of God’s harmony

True peacemaking requires engaging with conflict, not withdrawing from it.

Peace is something you have to make, it doesn’t happen naturally in the world. You have to work towards it.

Illus: "Imagine walking into a concert hall where a world-class orchestra is about to perform. But instead of seeing the conductor actively leading the musicians, you see them standing perfectly still with their back to the orchestra, arms crossed, doing absolutely nothing. When asked why, they respond: 'I'm keeping the peace. As long as no one plays, there can't be any wrong notes.'

That's absurd, right? We know a conductor's job isn't to maintain silence - it's to actively bring different instruments together to create harmony. They have to engage with the violins that might be rushing, the brass section that's playing too loudly, the woodwinds that are slightly out of tune. Their job is to work with all these different elements, each with their own tendencies and challenges, and help them create something beautiful together.

This is what Jesus was talking about when he said 'Blessed are the peacemakers.' He wasn't calling us to be peace-keepers who maintain silence by avoiding conflict. He was calling us to be peace-makers who actively work to create harmony in a discordant world."

What Jesus is saying here is probably one of the more radical things for our culture, because it will cost us something. Matthew 5:10-11ff reveal this to us.

Cost of Peacemaking

I’ve been sitting with this all this week. It brings concern to me what would happen if we sat with this and the implication of this.

Jesus warns that authentic peacemaking will lead to persecution.

Opposition can come from:

Those who disagree with the method of peacemaking

Those whose power is threatened

Those who misunderstand the mission

In our highly charged political environment, there is no neutral ground. A single expressed agreement with a group can be interpreted as total alignment in the minds of others. Opposition to one thing is seen as complete acceptance of its opposite. It's maddening.

If you step into this arena, you will be misunderstood. But Jesus doesn't seem to think that being misunderstood is reason enough to avoid doing what's right. The mission is reconciliation to God through Jesus, and perhaps our true heart will shine through in this work.

I've been accused of selfish ambition and self-promotion. I cannot fight against a narrative I didn't create—one based purely on others' perceptions. May the name of Peter Voorhees vanish like vapor while the name of Jesus Christ lives on forever.

This persecution isn't a sign of failure but often indicates faithful Kingdom work.

Kingdom Vision

Jesus presents an alternative to all existing approaches to peace His way involves:

Engaging with conflict rather than avoiding it

Using self-sacrificial love rather than force

He demonstrates this on the cross

Including the marginalized

Look at who he brings together (women of different social standing, fisherman/blue-collar, tax-collector/zealot, money-guy, possibly a farmer)

Who he spent time with, who he healed, who he delivered

Showing mercy to enemies

Judas, Saul/Paul, us!

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!  For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” The New International Version (Ro 5:6–10). (2011). Zondervan.

The goal is investing in "new creation" - God's ultimate vision for restored harmony

Structure and Context

The Beatitudes themselves serve as a kind of autobiography of Jesus, describing the life he would live. These describe the life He is inviting the His followers into. Who are those born-again, who are those who are experiencing a piece of heaven now, those are blessed/living the good life.

These teachings would later be demonstrated through Jesus's life, death, and accentuated in His resurrection.

Conclusion

As we close this morning, I want us to remember that Jesus didn't just teach about peacemaking - He embodied it. When He went to the cross, He entered into the greatest conflict of all time - the conflict between God and sinful humanity - to make peace through His blood. And now, He calls us to follow in His steps. Being a peacemaker isn't easy. It will cost us something. We might be misunderstood, criticized, or even rejected. But remember - Jesus called this the blessed life, the good life. When we step into conflict with truth and love, when we work for reconciliation rather than just keeping things quiet, when we pursue justice rather than just order - we're not just doing good works. We're showing ourselves to be children of God. We're participating in His new creation. And while the cost may be high, the reward is greater: seeing God's harmony break into our broken world, one relationship at a time. So this week, I challenge you: Where is God calling you to be not just a peacekeeper, but a peacemaker? Where might He be asking you to step into conflict, armed with His truth and love, to create something beautiful out of discord? Because remember - blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Some people to think about who highlighted this idea of peacemaking…

Desmond Tutu - Led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa after apartheid, working to create genuine peace through truth-telling and reconciliation rather than vengeance

Dorothy Day - Catholic activist who fought for worker rights and social justice through nonviolent means, often facing arrest and persecution

Dietrich Bonhoeffer - German theologian who actively opposed the Nazi regime, choosing to engage rather than withdraw, ultimately giving his life

John Perkins - Civil rights activist and Christian minister who pursued racial reconciliation and community development in Mississippi despite facing brutal beatings

Nelson Mandela - Worked for racial reconciliation in South Africa after 27 years in prison, choosing peace and unity over retaliation

Oscar Romero - Archbishop who advocated for the poor in El Salvador and was assassinated while celebrating Mass

Mother Teresa - Stepped into the conflict of extreme poverty in Calcutta, working to create dignity and peace for the poorest of the poor

Malala Yousafzai - Pakistani activist for female education who continued her work even after being shot by the Taliban