The Sermon on the Mount in Our World, Part 7: Blessed are the Peacemakers

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God." -Matthews 5:9

The dove represents the Holy Spirit. The sword, spear, pruning hook and plowrepresents Isaiah 2:4 "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears intopruning hooks." The olive branch and olives represent peace.

American history pop quiz:

Since World War II, what is the longest the United States has gone without engaging in a military action?

No cheating. Think about it.

OK, give up? Eight years. From 1953, the end of Korea, to 1961, with the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Korea started in 1950, five years after the end of WWII. Vietnam ran from 1964 to 1973. 1980 was the botched attempt at saving the hostages in Iran. We were in Lebanon from 1982 to 1984, Grenada in 1983, and Panama in 1989. Then the Persian Gulf conflict in 1990. Somalia was 1992, Haiti was 1994, and various involvements in the Balkans lasted from 1995 until 1999. After 9/11, we went into Afghanistan and Iraq, and two-and-a-half years ago, we sent troops into Libya.

It has been a little over 72 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor, in December of 1941. America has been involved in an armed conflict for 47 of those 72 years.

Is this what a Christian nation looks like?

Jesus' blessing of the peacemakers in the world is the easiest one to relate to the modern political world. Jesus' whole message of love and service to others revolves around the idea of being peaceful. Jesus addresses it multiple times. He urges us to turn the other cheek, to put away our sword, to love our enemies.

Jesus' world was a very violent world. Rome conquered all of the Mediterranean basin and Europe through the power and efficiency of it's armies. The people of Israel were one of those overrun by the legions, the latest in a long line of violent takeovers of their country. They believed the only way to free their nation from the yoke of Rome was through a violent uprising, led by a warrior-king Messiah, in the model of David, the greatest warrior-king of all.

So violence was ingrained in the people of Palestine. Which makes Jesus' blessing of peacemakers, his shunning of violence as a way to lead his people, all the more amazing. How in the world would they ever escape the clutches of Rome, if not through a war? How would turning the other cheek, or loving you enemy, make this happen?

We see the same mindset today. Many people believe the only way America can maintain its place in the world, the only way our lifestyle can be sustained, is through force and a willingness to use that force at any time to protect our interest. In the face of terrorism and radicalism across the world, they don't see how America has any choice but to counter with violence and rule by fear.

And we've maintained that over the last 73 years by using our armed forces to impose our will on the people's of the world. We've appointed ourselves the world's police, and used both conventional and unconventional warfare to maintain the status quo and snuff out anything we don't like.

America has become a country of perpetual war.

We are a country that scoffs at the idea of compromise, of international action and unity, of dialogue with nations we disagree with, of mistrust for other countries. We throw around our weight, use bluster and hubris in our relations, and incite fear and hatred in foreign peoples through our military presence and tendency to use that military to advance our interests at the expense of the rights of other peoples to choose their leaders and policies.

And we have the gall to call ourselves a "Christian nation?"

"Realists" look at the idea peace and shake their heads knowingly. Naivety, they think. Peace sounds great, but its not realistic, right? Talking to other nations solves no problems, only buys the bad guys time. The UN and arms reductions and treaties all sound good in theory, but any SERIOUS THINKER knows that stuff is all unrealistic, and yes, naive.

And therein lies the radical nature of Jesus' call for peacemakers. Jesus understood then what we still have failed to grasp now. Jesus looked at the long line of "messiahs" who had led his people before, and saw a line of men who were crushed in their rebellions by the overwhelming force of Rome. He realized that the use of violence was hopeless. And so he taught them what it would take: peace. Love. Understanding. Nonviolence.

It's a message we need to take to heart today. Instead of throwing our weight around, of using our force to impose our will, of ruling with fear and causing anger, what if we led with peace? What if we relied on our statesmen, on the UN and treaties, and trust? What if we allowed other peoples to determine their own path, to pick their leaders and style of government and policies? What if we stood for universal human rights and freedom and religious liberty and equality everywhere, and abandoned those who ruled with a closed fist and persecuted their people? Imagine the world we would live in. And imagine the high regard we would have around the world.

We revere peacemakers in history. Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Dr. King, Bishop Romero, Mother Teresa. And we look for them in our time as well. Think of the Orthodox priests in Ukraine a few weeks ago, standing between the clashing lines of protestors and police in Kiev. OR Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, who for decades has tried to bring democracy and peace to her country.

As followers of Christ, we have a duty to oppose conflict and violence anywhere is arises. We must stand against the use of force to settle differences, no matter the reason. Jesus in his example showed us the path of nonviolence. Even at the point when one would think violence was most warranted, in the Garden when the guards show up to arrest Jesus and take him to his death, he implores his disciples to put away their swords.

It is impossible to live out Jesus' requirements for our lives if we make violence a part of our lives. You cannot practice love and forgiveness and mercy and acceptance if you are practicing violence. The ideas are fundamental opposites.

And the transformative thing about peace and nonviolence, the thing Jesus showed us, is that if we each sincerely practice it in our own lives, it will spread! If we are peaceful to those around us, and to the world around us, it will rub off on others, and begin to spread. If we show love for others and accept them, they will feel compelled to live the same. And eventually it will spread to our institutions, to our governments, across the planet.

We Christians knew this once. We spent the better part of three centuries practicing peace and spreading it across the Mediterranean. And then, we got sidetracked. Constantine decided to use Christianity as his standard in battle, and we bought in. We liked the feeling it gave us to be the one's in power now, the ones wielding the sword, rather than those feeling it's bite. And we've been off track ever since, trying to equate Christ with battle and armies and guns and a violent culture. Everything He was against. Everything He taught us not to be.

Now, in America, Christianity has stood behind preemptive wars. It has been used to add a sheen on respectability to assassinations and torture and coups. It has been enveloped in our gun culture, wrapped around armed revolution and the need to use violence to "protect" one's self.

It's our duty to return Christianity to its original form. Jesus showed us that nonviolence would protect us, would make us respected, would make us leaders. We have a duty to show to world again what He taught. "Blessed are the peacemakers" is essential to Christianity. It is at the heart of who we are. Let's show the world we can live with peace.

Read Part 1: Blessed are the poor in spirit. 
Read Part 2: Blessed are those who mourn.
Read Part 3: Blessed are the meek 
Read Part 4: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
Read Part 5: Blessed are merciful  
Read Part 6: Blessed are the pure in heart

The Sermon on the Mount in Our World, Part 6: Blessed are the Pure in Heart

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." -Matthew 5:8

The Holy Trinity, the heart, hand and lily, represent the pure in heart. The doves represent purification.

Now here is a tough one. I took a look at this verse, and said, "how in the world am I going to find a link to policy and government?" If there is any part of the Sermon that can stump this series, this verse is surely it.

We have to look closely at what Christ meant by the "pure in heart." Many scholars believe Jesus was referencing Psalm 24:3-5, which reads,

"Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
They will receive blessing from the Lord,
and vindication from the God of their salvation."

"Clean hands and pure hearts."

"those who...do not swear deceitfully."

I think I'm finding some ground to stand on here.

Jesus often quoted the Psalms, so it's quite plausible that was the reference he was making here. The Psalmist here was identifying the people who would inherit God's kingdom, who would take up residence in God's house. Obviously, he was speaking of the Israelites at David's time.

The ancient Israelites considered themselves a people set apart from the others in the ancient Middle East. And in many ways, they were. There were very possibly the only monotheistic people around, not to mention the only people who preached a personal relationship with their god. They had been one of the last to come to a monarchy, and had a very unique and distinct set of religious practices and customs. And their God constantly told them how special they were, how he had a special plan for them and regard for them over all other peoples.

This was still the prevailing notion at the time of Jesus. Despite the Roman takeover, the Israelite people still considered themselves in God's favor, and believed it only a matter of time until they threw off the yoke of Caesar and rebuilt their kingdom centered on Jerusalem. This explains the popularity of various "Messiahs" who popped up in Palestine during the occupation. The people knew that there destiny wasn't as a Roman province.

At the same time, there were definite cracks in this facade. Their "King" was now a puppet installed and supported by the Romans. The presence of Roman legions and governors and customs had become commonly accepted, and even the Jewish religious leaders openly cooperated with the Roman authorities. While many Jews felt a special place with God, they were also coming to a slow acceptance of dominion under a foreign power. Some even felt declaring an allegiance to Rome would ease their troubles and allow them to maintain their culture in peace, far enough from Rome to maintain some independence, but fully enveloped in the perks that came from being in the Caesar's good graces.

And then here comes Jesus. People on all sides of the debate expected another prototypical "Messiah" who would lead an uprising against Rome militarily. They expected a declaration against Rome, and a reiteration of the special place Israel held in God's heart.

And in one way, Jesus did just that. He rejected the idea of allegiance to Rome, of the idea that the Empire was something compatible with God's kingdom.

But he didn't go into the other camp either. Because when Jesus blessed the "pure in heart" and referenced the Psalms, he was painting with a very broad brush. He wanted his followers to take no oaths, to swear no allegiance. He not only pushed back against the Romans, but also strongly pushed against Herod and the leaders of the Jewish faith in Jerusalem. He did this because he wanted his followers to understand something way outside of their cultural heritage:

God's kingdom is bigger than Israel.

God was no longer favoring just the Israelites. His message wasn't just for them. His message was for all humanity. I didn't play favorites. It didn't lead them into war with other peoples and their gods. It didn't stand behind their sports team against the other sides. God's kingdom as envisioned by Christ was all-encompassing. He didn't instruct his followers to go and make disciples of the Israelites. He said to them, go out into the whole world and make disciples of all men!

The pure in heart, in Jesus' reckoning, were those who were purely in God's camp. They didn't conform to worldly allegiance or national boundary. They loved all people and accepted all people and cared for all people. These people who maintained a pure heart would see God and His kingdom right there, in the open and inclusive love they were practicing in the world.

A lot of modern-day Christians need to take a good look at this teaching. Some many Christians today equate Christianity and God's kingdom with America and the veritable religion that has sprung up around American symbols and ideas. We are told that God "blesses" America above others, that we are the modern "Chosen people of God." We are now encouraged by church leaders to pledge our allegiance to the American flag that they prominently display in God's temple and that the work of America is the work of God on earth.

Watching some of the things our country does makes me, and many others, very leery of equating America's actions with God's will.

Now, this isn't to say that America is bad by any means. America is a nation that has done more to extend the hand of freedom and equality than any other nation on the earth. It's a nation where we are free to practice our religion, to say what we think. A nation where we are accorded affirmative rights that no one, not even the government, can take away.

But America has a tendency to do a lot of bad things too. From our long acceptance of slavery and institutionalized racial discrimination, to our ill-conceived foreign wars that lead to death and suffering for millions of innocent people, our nation is far from "Christian" in the things it does.

This is why Jesus emphasized a kingdom above all others, that preempted nationalism and borders and allegiances. Because associating God's kingdom with any one nation puts the sins of that nation under the banner of God. And God is above and beyond any sins were commit here.

As Christians, pure of heart, we are also to be above petty allegiances and boundaries. We are supposed to be open and welcoming and inclusive of all people. We are supposed to respect the different peoples and nations, but to let them all know that God's kingdom encompasses it all.

In God's kingdom, national identity is unnecessary.

Christ is not represented in an eagle, or a star-spangled flag, or in a national anthem. Christ is represented in the purity of His church and the work it does to bring about His kingdom on Earth.

Read Part 1: Blessed are the poor in spirit. 
Read Part 2: Blessed are those who mourn.
Read Part 3: Blessed are the meek 
Read Part 4: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
Read Part 5: Blessed are merciful 

Why the Debate Between Evolution and Creation is Unnecessary

So tonight is the TOTALLY EPIC, EARTH SHATTERING DEBATE between Bill Nye and Ken Ham on whether creationism or evolution is the one, true story of the mankinds' beginning.

I'm not watching tonight.

I'm not watching because I don't think the ideas of creation and evolution are incompatible.

I've laid out previously why I think creationism is a mistaken idea. In short, I think the creation story as laid out by the Book of Genesis is allegorical, a story told to explain our existence in the context of all creation and God. I think the ideas and themes contained therein are much, much more important than whether or not the Garden of Eden was in modern day Iraq or Iran. The story of Adam and Eve was one created by a people long, long ago to help them understand their existence in a world before science. It was a world before Galileo and Darwin and da Vinci.

God created a rational, ordered universe. He made it that way because he wanted us to understand the universe, to understand what is going on around us. He created laws of nature and physics. He gave us the ability to understand those laws. Who is to say that God didn't use natural phenomena like the Big Bang or evolution to create life on earth? We think hundreds of billions of years sounds so long, but to a God outside of time, it is but a blink of an eye. I think God absolutely used these methods to create our earth, and gave us the ability to discover that and understand it.

As progressive Christians, we are doing ourselves a disservice by allowing a debate between these worldviews. As we are called to always do as followers of Christ, we should be uniters. We should bring together these two supposedly incompatible worldview and show people that they can coexist. We should show them Christianity doesn't require us to reject science, and being a believer in science doesn't require us to reject faith. The two are always in harmony, and the idea that they aren't is a danger to our faith.