What Makes for Peace?

 For The Citizen, November 10, 2023

     As Remembrance Day approaches, we may be especially conscious in 2023 of the various conflicts raging on the globe. Not only is the Russia-Ukraine conflict dragging on as a sort of ‘proxy war’, but since October 7 we have seen the Israel-Gaza turmoil escalate. There is also the risk of a broader conflict developing should some of Israel’s neighbours become drawn into the fray, making it a regional war, with backing by superpowers that are far away but have vested interests.

     War and peace... Is there some secret that would tip the scales towards the latter? At Remembrance Day we honour those who fought in the World Wars and other conflicts, many giving up their lives to protect our country and its allies from enemies. I had a deep impression made upon me by my mother who grieved the death of her fighter pilot brother, killed returning from a mission into Germany in January 1945. I grew up frequently hearing stories of my father who as a “D-Day Dodger” fought as part of the Canadian Army up through Sicily and Italy from 1943 til war’s end, concluding with liberation of the Netherlands. He was wont to observe, “War is hell!” Thankfully we his family were spared from the more gruesome experiences he must have endured.

     The epistle-writer James asks, “What causes fights and quarrels among you?” (Jas.4:1) What indeed? It’s been said if we can define the problem, we’re already halfway towards the solution. From whence spring our conflicts?

     The inspired writer continues, “Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (Jas. 4:1-3) The exterior battle arises from our warring desires within. Ukraine has rich resources and is Europe’s bread-basket, so becomes a desirable target for expansionist Russian appetites. The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is hotly contested by both Jews and Muslims, being a sacred site for both religions. We want what the other fellow has, so we’re tempted to grab it for ourselves when others’ backs are turned – and we’ve left God out of the picture, we haven’t asked Him for our needs.

     A little earlier James describes additional factors giving rise to conflict: jealousy and selfishness. “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” (Jas. 3:14–16) Such ancient wisdom as the Tenth Commandment warns against coveting what belongs to our neighbour. Selfishness puts my desires ahead of my neighbour’s, leading me to suppose I have some ‘right’ or justification to help myself to what properly belongs to them. Such thinking or philosophy (‘wisdom’) James points out is downright demonic. Yet our consumer culture caters to selfish desire.

     By contrast, James espouses a different kind of attitude or ‘wisdom’, an approach that is heavenly not earthly. “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” (Jas. 3:17-18) Purity avoids mixed or hidden motives. To be considerate means I take the other person’s interests into account. When I submit, I subject my own claims or ‘rights’ to another’s, to be harnessed for their benefit rather than my own advancement. Mercy exercises forgiveness where one has been wronged in the past, refusing to exact revenge, having pity upon the destitute and disadvantaged. When I am impartial, I do not show preference for those who are more closely tied to me, those towards whom I might otherwise be inclined to show bias for personal reasons.

     “The seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (Jas. 3:18 NASV) Do we really want to sow peace? What does that seed look like? Jesus said peacemakers are ‘blessed’ for they will be called ‘sons of God’ (Mt. 5:9). So we somehow reflect God’s nature when we sow peace. Jesus urged His followers, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” (Mk.9:50) Making an effort to be at peace with others has a salting / flavouring / preserving effect. And Jesus instructed those He was sending out, “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’” So it would seem peace ought to be a priority for those who would convey Christ’s Good News.

     But there is a cost to peace. Christians understand that peace with God is a costly gift bought by Jesus for us at the cross: forgiveness doesn’t come cheap, somebody has got to pay! So towards His last earthly hours Jesus could say to His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.” And, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 14:27; 16:33)

     Peace has a cost, it may require sacrifice for it to happen. My grandson Aiden (14) in Neerlandia, Alberta wrote a short piece for Remembrance Day recalling how ordinary citizens sowed peace in the face of a persecuting and murderous Nazi regime in WWII... “One of the most inspiring things that happened during the Second World War was how an abundance of people rose up and hid the Jews. The punishment for this was not only their deaths, but the deaths of those they hid. I honestly just assumed that they would hide them for a day maybe, and then the Jews would go, but in reality, they could be hidden for a very long time. It wasn’t just a matter of keeping them hidden though; they had to keep the Jews fed, clothed and healthy. Not only did they have to be afraid of the Nazis, but they lived in constant fear of everyone including their neighbors, friends and family. But their efforts were not in vain; because of these courageous people, countless lives were saved.

     “There were many people who hid the Jews in their homes, as I just described, such as Corrie Ten Boom; but there were also courageous people who helped Jews in different ways, such as Oskar Schindler. Oskar was a German businessman who saved the lives of over 1,000 Jews by hiring them to work in his factories. He and his wife did many things to make sure that the Jews were kept safe, which included...providing the Jews with food and medical care.”

     My grandson concludes, “In all of these great stories there were courageous people who were willing to take a stand against evil, and fight, even at the cost of their lives. Could we be more like them? Could we take a stand against the wrong that's always there? Even just little acts of kindness can make a person's day.”

     Sowing peace-seed by gestures of consideration, submissiveness, mercy, and impartiality... Such little acts planted could bear significant fruit in a conflict-fraught world!