Blessed are the Peacemakers

All Praise to the Triune God.

Nobel Prize is an award that is widely regarded as the most prestigious one, of its kind, available
in different fields including peace. Every year a selected peacemaker or peacemakers get a gold
medal, a diploma and a sum of money and last year it was awarded jointly to Kailash Satyarthi
and Malala Yousafzai - around 3.25 Crores of Indian Rupees for each person. Of course, a very
huge sum. But, according to the Holy Bible, a peacemaker receives something different, the most
wanted and precious reward - they will be called children of God.

Our subject is "Blessed are the peacemakers." Let me add the second part to it for make it more
clear to my listeners - "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" St.
Matthew 5:9. We Christians are proud to say that 'we are children of God since we received Holy
Baptism and Holy Unction'. Nobody will continue to be children of God just because they got
the sonship, but to meet also the conditions laid by Christ Jesus. If it was so, Adam would not
have lost the sonship and all salvific actions of Christ Jesus were not at all warranted.

'Blessed are the peacemakers' is the seventh beatitude out of eight that Jesus uttered near the start
of His ministry, according to St. Matthew. We can see that this utterance foreshadowed his role
in peacemaking when he made peace between God and men or reconciled humanity to God, by
his death on the cross. This is what Jesus wants us to do.

When Jesus sent his disciples for His ministry he asked them, "When you enter a house, first say,
'Peace to this house.' If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if
not, it will return to you" Luke 10:5-6. It is a command given to the disciples that is to be
continued from generation to generation. Due to our ignorance or some other reasons, we never
greet anybody as Jesus taught. We, thereby, neglect the value of the peace that is given by the
Saviour. Here, the place where we dwell, we can hear this salutation, 'aslam alaikhum', everyday,
which means 'peace be with you'.

God is the author of peace, and that is why Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give
you" St. John 14:27. And he continues that it is not like the world give. It is the peace that never
troubles the hearts and keeps away us from all fears.

We all know that we live in a world of war, enmity, hatred, and peace is lost in every arena.
Hatred is there in the family, enmity in the society and war between countries. Long pending
issues between nations are not settled; always there is tension within the countries and at the
borders of many world countries.

There are so many International Organizations and individuals working for the world peace. But
day by day situations are becoming more and more alarming. Peace is lost everywhere. At one
end, nations are trying to bring peace but at the other end, they are accumulating ammunition and
weapons. The emphasis in the Bible verse, that we discuss, is on individual peacemaking; not
nation to nation peacemaking. When individuals live in peace and harmony, nations,
automatically be in peace. In this context, we have to laud the works of Mr. Sathyarthi, Ms.
Yousafzai and such others whom I referred in the beginning.

In any group of people there will be some who bring conflict and bitterness. They upset the
group and are destructive to the society. We can find them in offices, in churches, in schools, and
even in families. This prompts the exigency of a peacemaker. Peacemaker works for harmonious
relations between people.

Who is a peacemaker? The basic meaning describes one who attempts to bring reconciliation and
well being between people who are at odds. A peace maker is the one who can bridge the gap
and smooth out the trouble. He can quiet the 'troubled waters'. This person brings peace between
people and tries to prevent hostile relationships and restore broken relationships.

Jesus was a peacemaker through his message and by his death. Isaiah 52:7 predicts that the
Messiah will bring peace through his message of salvation. Again, Isaiah says in 9:7 that the
Messiah's government will bring peace. The Messiah - Jesus - is therefore characterized by
peace. In John 14:27 and 16:33, Jesus gives peace to his disciples and says that in him they have
peace.

Let us also be peacemakers in all walks of our life and let us be the children of God.