The Blessed Life: Making Peace
DATE: October 12, 2008
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:1‐12
This past week a flyer crossed my desk from Hartford Seminary promoting an upcoming week‐long series of lectures. Hartford was founded in 1833 and today is especially well‐known for the work it has done in the area of interfaith dialogue. While it is a Christian seminary, its faculty includes Muslims and Jews. Emblazoned on the front cover of the flyer are the words: "Preparing Peacemakers for 175 years."
I'm delighted to know that an institution which educates clergy and other religious leaders sees as its mission preparing people to be peacemakers. But ultimately, that task is too important, too fundamental, to leave solely in the hands of seminaries. For ultimately, that is the work of the entire church. From pre‐school on up we should, as a church, always be about the task of preparing peacemakers.
The seventh Beatitude reminds us of the importance of this undertaking. But note, Jesus does not say, "blessed are the peace lovers." He doesn't say, "Blessed are the peace keepers." No, he says, "blessed are the peace makers." Blessed are those who work to bring about peace. As one scholar writes: "Peacemakers does not connote a passive attitude, but [rather] positive actions for reconciliation." (Eugene Boring, New Interpreter's Bible, VIII: 180)
In the Bible, peace, shalom, is not just the absence of war, rather, it, as Jim Forest writes: "a condition of perfect welfare, serenity, prosperity, happiness and perfect relations." (The Ladder of the Beatitudes, 109) Peacemakers are those who actively work at bringing about harmony in the world. They may do it at a very personal one‐on one level, they work internationally, bringing together nations that are at odds with each other, or, in some instances, they may do both.
With all the talk in this campaign season about Iraq, Iran, North Korea and Russia, we may forget that one of our geographically closest neighbors is also still considered on of our enemies. I'm speaking, of course, about Cuba.
For well‐over four decades, ever since Fidel Castro rose to power, the United States has dealt with Cuba as an enemy. It has been under embargo since 1960. And formal diplomatic relations were severed in 1961. For years it was illegal for citizens of our country to travel there, and even today, travel is greatly restricted. The State Department website includes a very long list of regulations governing travel to and from the island nation.
Without the benefit of diplomatic ties, without the benefit of regular interaction between Cubans and Americans, it would seem reconciliation is virtually impossible.
But there are occasional glimpses of hope, for there are peacemakers at work. Some of them wear Little League jerseys and baseball caps, others wear the habits of Salesian nuns, and one of them sits in the U. S. Senate. Let me explain.
Ted Levin is the coach of a Little League team from northern New England, the Twin State Peregrines. It's made up of kids from both sides of the Connecticut River in Vermont and New Hampshire. For two years Ted has worked to arrange an opportunity for his boys to travel to Cuba to play local kids there.
It was to be a series of "friendship games"—but three times his application was rejected by our government. Finally, on the fourth attempt to gain permission, Levin was granted approval for his project. One Congressman heard about it and tried to pull the plug on the trip, but Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy squashed the attempt to disrupt the plans. He told the Congressman to "pick on somebody his own size." (The Boston Globe,8‐26‐08, D8)
Meanwhile, the good sisters of the Salesian convent in Penalver, Cuba, were organizing two teams of players to take on the Peregrines. Finally, this past August, the time arrived for the games. The Peregrines flew into Havana, via Miami, and then bussed to Penalver.
Before the games began there was a rather tense discussion about the rules. There were some variations between the Cuban rules, and those of the Americans. But both teams gave up one of their own favorite moves, to make it all work. The Peregrines agreed to a restriction on curve balls, and the Cubans agreed to no stolen bases, and as reporter Stan Grossfield writes: "Peace was restored."
The games were played with great energy, and a real sense of camaraderie. When Cuban players rounded the bases for home runs, they were applauded by the Peregrines.
The American team grew rather despondent at one point in the first game, as the score mounted up against them. Noticing their frowns, the Cuban mothers on the sidelines began chanting "Viva Pelegrinos!" Later when one of the Cuban players got hit by a fast ball, folks held their breath when they heard a loud crack. Was a bone broken? No, said Coach Levin, "he was OK. He had a prayer book in his pocket." (Ibid)
After the first game the kids all sat around sharing Cuban sandwiches, and using a translator and sign language as they talked about the things of childhood: pets, families, games.
When the series of games was finally completed, the kids posed together for photos: Cubans and Americans, arms around each others shoulders.
One of the Cuban players, Mario Avila, said as the Americans climbed on their bus: "I feel sad . . . they are my friends." (Ibid) And one of the American players offered a rather astute observation: "If more kids played here against Cuban kids, a lot more kids could have fun and Cuba and America could settle their relationship." (Ibid) As they pulled out for the airport, one of the chaperones noticed his son was missing his shoes. Where are they, he asked. "I gave ‘em to a guy," said his son, "He needed them more than me." (Ibid)
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons and daughters of God."
I'm not naïve. I realize it will take far more than a few baseball games to restore the broken relationship between Cuba and America. But it has to start somewhere—why not with chants of Viva Peleginos! and a pair of shoes? For peace doesn't just happen.
So how can you be a peace maker? What is the arena you are called to work in? For most of us it starts by making peace with God. That's why we include prayers of confession in every worship service. It is a concrete reminder that we need to come clean with God on a regular basis so that our relationship might be restored when it is broken.
It may be that you need to work for peace in your family. It may be as simple as apologizing for some harshly spoken word or it may be far more complex. I recently heard that almost two hundred different folks from Westport accessed the services of the Domestic Violence Crisis Center last year. Peacemaking starts at home.
Maybe you are called to be a peacemaker here at Saugatuck. How do we act as members of this part of Christ's church? Are there broken relationships that need to be made whole? Do we make room for God's Spirit to work it's healing in our midst? If you look in the rear of your hymnal, you'll see our Church Covenant. We use it each time new members join the church. It holds up the ideal for our life together. It is all about living and working together in peace.
Maybe you are called to be a peacemaker in our community. Years of wrestling over rules about dogs and the location of the YMCA, and other issues as well, have left a lot of broken folks. How can you help make peace in Westport?
And on a larger scale. These are extremely difficult times. The economy here and around the world is in a state of upheaval. People are on edge. Some worry about their portfolios. Some about their jobs. And the poorest among us, their very lives. Conditions are rife for class struggles, for finger pointing, for selfishness and self‐absorption. The world needs peacemakers now more than ever. Folks who will actively work for just solutions to complex problems, so that we might all live in harmony.
I heard a colleague say just this week, "The world needs the church to be the church." And so it does. The world needs us to be willing to set aside our arguments about curve balls and stolen bases. The world needs us to be willing to cheer "Viva Peregrinos!" The world needs us to be willing to give up our shoes for the guy who has none. The world needs us to be peacemakers. The world needs us to be the church.
Peace starts with the Holy One, but it works through you and me. That's why peacemakers are called sons and daughters of God.
Amen.
John H. Danner