In this team-taught sermon with Greg Boyd and Bill Doherty, we learn about the importance of being a peacemaker, and discover some basic skills about how we can actually promote peace when polarized perspectives are part of our conversations.
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Agents of Shalom
• Bill Doherty, Greg Boyd
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become incarnate was to offer up himself on the cross on behalf of all humans and the entire creation. God is reconciling to himself all and reconciling all to one another. In this way, God is bringing peace. As followers of Jesus, we are called to partner with the Spirit in bringing this reconciliation and peace to our world, which means that we have the potential to be agents of shalom.
Matthew 5:9 reads: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Peacekeeping, on one hand, implies keeping two warring sides from attacking each other. Peacemaking, on the other hand, is a ministry of reconciliation which is ongoing, and not only about preventing war. It is more than resisting temptation. In the previous sermon, Greg and Bill talked about resisting the temptation to polarize against the political “other.” The best way to live this out is to resist this temptation – not to “white knuckle” it, but to substitute something positive, like prayer, and active steps to promote peace.
Peacemaking is a radical shift when compared with what we read in the Old Testament. The people of Israel engaged the polarization of their world just like every other people group. But Jesus came with a different agenda. This is especially poignant when we consider the fact that Israel, during the time of Jesus, was controlled by Roman overlords, which means that Roman soldiers were ruling with a heavy hand. To be a Jew meant to be polarizing, especially with the distain toward Samaritans and Gentiles in general.
Being such a peacemaker comes at a cost. Jesus opted out of polarization and instead extended understanding, acceptance and healing to those “others.” Jesus also got in trouble for this with his “own side,” which is what will happen to us if we become peacemakers in our polarized environment.
There are four things to remember about peacemaking. First, peacemaking is not always successful. We can’t control what others believe and practice. We can only control ourselves. Paul wrote in Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Second, peacemaking is a habit of the heart. A virtue is not something that we calculate to determine what we will choose to do. It is something that we do through practice to the point that it becomes a habit. One way to develop this habit of peacemaking is to think about the way we talk about people who hold the opposite view to our own. Then imagine that they are listening to the way that we are portraying them.
Third, we can call out ideas, but we are not to judge individuals. For instance, we can challenge the marriage of the church and state, which is often called Christian Nationalism, but we don’t know the hearts of those who espouse that ideology and might promote this perspective. Our call is to agree with God about their unsurpassable worth and to bless them.
Fourth, we should learn to put ourselves in the other’s shoes. One way to do this is to learn the story that motivates their point of view. We need to practice humility so that we can discover where people are coming from.
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Focus Scripture:
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Colossians 1:19-20
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
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Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
