Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Jesus famously said 'Blessed are the peacemakers ...' (Matthew 5 verse 9). Yet peacemaking is hard work. Genuine peacemaking is an active role, not simply sitting on the sidelines with hopes of a better future world.

And peacemaking risks being misunderstood by either one or even both fighting parties. It risks being caught in the crossfire in an awkward "no man's land" that none of the sides recognise the validity of. It can therefore be a lonely place.

To be a peacemaker means separating subtle yet clear distinctions in one's thinking. For instance, seeing the differences between the atrocities of people and the humanity of a people. The fact that hideous, outrageous and unjustifiable acts have been carried about by people does not mean it is right to 'label' a whole people group - even though a casual observer might only see them as effectively one and the same.

To be a peacemaker means accepting the humanity of all people groups involved. It also means recognising sustained and prolonged systemic injustices against a people, and affirming in clear terms their humanity and right to dignity (this is why the slogan 'Black Lives Matter' is valid to promote, even though we would of course assert 'All Lives Matter').

To be a peacemaker means striving not merely for a lack of violence, not merely for accepted co-existence, but a pathway towards all able to flourish without loss of their positive cultural heritage. That may seem an unbelievably lofty goal, but it surely has to be the ultimate hope of the peacemaker.

Jesus said 'Blessed are the peacemakers ...' in the context of other statements. The set of statements portray a spiritual struggle: a recognition of spiritual poverty, deep pain, and worldly power systems for what they are. A struggle for that which is right, a way of mercy rather revenge (no matter how measured or proportionate that revenge might be considered to be by others), and a way of purity amongst the carnage of fallen humanity. Into that progression Jesus drops this statement on peacemaking, and goes on to signal the people enacting this set face the real possibility of being directly attacked themselves.

In these statements Jesus is saying 'There is a way ...', and He is associating that Way with Himself - the Way that He leads and invites us to follow in. He closes out the set of statements with this chilling reality: to follow this Way might well lead you to be persecuted and maligned ... but that is part of the deal.

Blessed are the peacemakers ... but not an easy option.
Blessed are the peacemakers ... a role that sits in a bigger spiritual struggle - one in which Jesus leads and others are called to follow, most likely at deep personal cost to themselves.

Field Number Two - Gospel Sharing

As mentioned previously, in our work on a new housing estate we are following a model for outreach called 'Four Fields'. This is not a quick-fix system, but is about being intentional and recognising that there will be different phases to our efforts. The first phase (Field Number One) is simply about meeting people and building relationships. We intentionally get ourselves 'out there', volunteer locally and so on for this to happen. This phase is open ended - the timescales are in God's hands, not ours.

In our conversations we share who we are. We have always found it better to be up front and honest about our faith identity - people can react with interest or disinterest, either is fine and need not cause any offence. Sometimes this can lead to a conversation about faith developing along the way ... which brings us to Field Number Two: Gospel Sharing. Here we start actively sharing, seeing if the conversation might develop from a casual exchange to more interest being shown. Spiritual discernment for this phase is crucial: might the person we are talking to be open to being invited to a place where we can talk in greater depth? Are they showing signs of being genuinely spiritually open and seeking, or just interested in passing?

The wonderful thing is that God can surprise us! At a time when we would be quite happy to continue meeting people in the first field, someone comes along who appears to be actively asking for conversation about faith - in other words we find ourselves in the second field already! This has been our experience recently, which we are now following up. Hopefully those seeking can be invited into exploration sessions including Discovery from the Bible (another important tool in the toolkit).

Of course there is still a long way to go (fields number three and four await for the future). Note that in this model introducing to the wider church is delayed until that fourth field: for now the action occurs in the 'third space' meeting places or in homes, and will mostly continue in these places whilst we are in fields two and three. The small setting is a better environment for someone to discover Jesus and learn what it means for them to follow Him: the model pursues depth with each individual.

You might be asking: 'Do these four fields relate to the parable Jesus told about scattering seed?'. There is indeed a rough parallel, but not an exact correspondence. In meeting people and gospel sharing we are indeed scattering: liberally and plentifully. Some falls on the path (the people we get to merely encourage along the way). Some may fall on rocky ground - there is interest but no real roots are put down. Some may explore with us, maybe even accept Jesus, but be choked off by the cares of the world (entering field three, but not moving beyond it). Finally some may endure and be fruitful - only time will tell.