Fresh Studies in Matthew: Matthew 5:9

-

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”
Do we really believe this?  That bringing or creating peace from conflict is blessed enough for Jesus to put it here.  What does this mean, especially when he said he did not bring peace but a sword, himself?
We don’t get the privilege to bring a sword.  The very fact that our belief and attitude toward him makes all the difference in the world and in our lives means he will be divisive.  He brings the sword because people will differ over him, not because he is carrying one himself.  And in the end he brings a sword to make peace.  We want a sweet Jesus who loves children and gives wise sayings.  No such Jesus.
Jesus did bring a sword.  Not everyone is thrilled by Christian conversions.  It brings conflict in families, and Christ must come first.  Yet he is the prince of Peace.  These are the paradoxes.  Suffice it to say that making peace is something God wants for us.  We are not Christ and thus are not worthy to be the cause of existential division.  Only he is. We can be messengers of peace. 
How do we bring peace?  By compromise?  Sometimes, yes.  By reconciling people to God?  Yes that would too.  But not fueling conflicts?  Yes.  By looking fore creative solutions to conflicts?  Yes.  By making our own sacrifices?  Yes.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kallman's Syndrome: The Secret Best Kept

-
I went to my cardiologist yesterday.   Every year I have to wear a Holter monitor for a day because of a heart ablation I had in 2007.   If you don’t know what a Holter monitor is, it’s a 24-hour mobile, wires-hanging-off-your-body EKG.   The nurse practitioner saw me, (not the doctor, which is ok because his voice puts me to sleep).   She was very sweet.   She asked me if I was still taking Estradiol and Progesterin.   “No,” I said. “I’ve totally gone off those.   I was on them for a very long time and I wanted to be sure to stop.” What I didn’t tell her is how long I actually had taken those hormones.   37 years.   I started with HRT when I was 17 because I have Kallman’s Syndrome.   You may never meet a person who has this condition.   It only affects 1 in 10,000 people (or 1 in 86,000, according to one source) so that’s quite a range and far more males have it than females (as do most negative things).   So, being female, I am quite an oddit
Read more

Annie Dillard on Writing Advice and Some Observations

-
  https://getpocket.com/explore/item/write-as-if-you-were-dying-read-annie-dillard-s-greatest-writing-advice?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us I frequently listen to a podcast called THE HABIT. Its host is Jonathan Rogers, who for the most part interviews writers with a Christian focus. He is a better interviewer than I, and he runs a community of writers. I recommend him. I do have to say that the podcast makes me feel very shallow as a writer.  One reason is that Jonathan Rogers has a signature question, Who are the writers that make you want to write? If I ever land on his program (a dream), I will need an answer to that one, and right now I don't have one. Sure, there are writers I like, lots of them, but reading them doesn't send me to my computer to get cracking. They are more likely to make me think, you've got no business doing this writing gig.  Actually, bad or mediocre writers motivate me more although I am not exactly proud of that. And the fact that what I want to
Read more