Click Here To Play
Why is it easier to start a war than to negotiate peace … why so easy to react to brokenness with more brokenness? How does that cycle ever stop?)
Everyone prefers peace rather than conflict, right? Why then is conflict so often the choice and reality of our world? We are taught to stand up to bullies. Bullies are conditioned to assume conflict is the answer to every selfish need. Peacemakers are often seen as idealistic weaklings, while those who bring conflict are not always the initiators. So, what is one to do when making peace seem so complicated and elusive? In the beginning, God created a world of peace. Genesis 2 illustrates the plan as God walked side by side with the first parents in a perfect world. There was nothing needed which was not already a gift. A different voice convinced them that they deserved more and so selfishness replaced loving trust in God. The rest of the story shows how seeds of conflict were planted and the beginning of a rebellion was underway.
Conflict is the painful reality of the tension created by what we call sin. Sin is the wall of separation between God and each other. It is a moat created to protect my castle from those I don’t want to let in, or those I don’t want to associate with. Conflict is the result of being convinced I am more important than the other, my needs have more value than theirs, and my goals must be respected no matter what the cost is to the other. The pain of such conflict is real. It doesn’t matter who builds the wall that separates. Pointing fingers never ends conflict, but continues the attack caused by my need to protect and lift up “me.” What is obvious to any is that conflict prevents peace, and as long as we need to keep protecting ourselves or punish others for what they have done, there can never be peace. We claim to want peace, but mistrust, jealousy, and selfishness sow the seeds of mistrust and suspicion which become the fuel for the next round of conflict.
We want peace but never want to let our guard down. And so why be surprised as conflict keeps returning life to the dark void of pre-creation described with these words: “the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.” Those are the first words of Scripture, but have you ever thought about what they mean, and how often that is the shadowing gloom that fogs the world’s vision today?
God created light, there was only chaos, separation, darkness, and emptiness. It was the worst conflict of all, a complete separation and lack of any purpose, harmony, or peace. When God acted, in the miracle of creation, a plan was put in place, chaos was left behind, and a kingdom of harmonious peace was established. Yet, Adam and Eve decided (upon bad advice) that they could somehow put their mark on God’s plan and in the process, destroyed peace and usher conflict into our vocabulary. And the world has never been the same, and peace has never been completely embraced. But the love of our Creator God entered into our conflict by taking on our flesh as a helpless baby and grew to destroy the conflict of sin and death with his new creation. In the example of his life, he revealed a selfless, servant lifestyle that shows what true love and peace can accomplish and maintain. How then can we maintain a holy peace?
God gave commandments as a guide, not to force justice but to illustrate the faithful living that will prevent conflict from beginning. Jesus played the trump card of his life, death, and resurrection on that beginning hand, to emphasize that if love rules, sin is forced into the darkness where it should remain.
Because love is seen all too often as weakness every culture adds more oomph with threats of punishment to maintain peace. As an example from the 1800’s, one of the most famous revolvers of all time was issued Army, and later to sheriffs in the Wild West. It was called the Peacemaker, with the assumption that a gun so powerful will force peace. And yet, peace can never be forced but only forged by the loving surrender of a heart that has been shaped into the image of God.
One day Jesus tried to help his followers understand the concept of peace, God style. He said it there is a conflict in a relationship that resolution and peace can be quite simple. First the two involved simply reach out to each other, change fists into open arms and hardened hearts into a loving embrace, and see what happens. If more help is needed, a close friend can help mediate without the need to recruit armies and force what love can accomplish more powerfully. He was preaching to the choir, who already knew the basics, with the idea that if followers of Jesus would remember whose they are and act accordingly; they will be emboldened to live the same way when outside the fellowship. It is what Jesus meant by being a light to the world.
A commandment can force a marriage to be respected, but if love dominates a relationship from the beginning, it will be a gift that assists in times of weakness and selfishness so that others might never need to get involved. Where there is love, there is no need of law. And when law is a demand rather than an interpretation of love, it has lost its power or meaning and can become a tool of darkness rather than light. When God brought light into the darkness of pre-creation, it was no different than when he brought a dazzling resurrection out of the cruel darkness of a crucifixion. His words at the beginning were echoed again in Easter’s proclamation “Let there be light!” And the peace that follows is the gift that changes life forever and living from one day to the next. Jesus words of instruction in Matthew 18 about resolving conflict are based solely on love. The goal in any such encounter is for each to realize their brokenness is part of the conflict, and that Christ’s forgiveness for us is a gift now that we can use with each other. Say “I am sorry” and mean it. Reach out and say, “I forgive” and truly mean it. Accept the forgiveness of the other and celebrate it. Life in the joy of that new creation and celebrate how great it is to have any conflicted be a thing of the past so that life can move forward fueled by peace rather than selfishness, anger, or despair.
Jesus’ entire ministry was to enter a conflicted world of walls and anger and lashing out at one another seeing to build bridges where they have been torn down and tear down walls that had been built up. He came to undo the confusion of Babel, the destruction in which no one wanted or was able to understand each other due to sin. Instead by the power of his Holy Spirit, the breath of creation, he bridged the angry barriers of sin gap so that each (in their own language) now could hear the same message and learn to live with the same love. He brought peace so that we might learn to live in peace. That is precisely with Jesus did as we wrestled on the cross, accepting the pain of our loss and the devastation of our conflict called sin and death. He buried them in the darkness of a tomb and left them behind as he emerged fresh and clean and alive, just as we are called to do when we put the conflict behind us and live as Easter people.
Jesus then added s a great one-liner to those who refuse to accept the gifts of forgiveness and peace. He said we are to treat them like tax collectors and sinners! Even the Church has sometimes misunderstood that guidance, assuming it means to throw them out to the wolves. At first blush it sounds harsh, like excommunication or shunning a sinner, until and unless we remember how Jesus treated tax collectors and sinners. In the most radical religious ceremony ever Jesus treated outsiders like insiders and sinners like everyone else. He touched their uncleanness. He invited them to meals. He healed their brokenness. And, as people who had been restored to the family, he called them to go and do for others what he had done for them. This is his Cycle of Life! And Matthew, the tax collector turned disciple made certain this loving guidance was part of his recollection of the Gospel! Paul in Romans 8 has the best closing line of all. “Owe nothing to anyone else but love!” What is more radical than that in a broken world? Love replaces the need for law and when law is helpful it is to be guided by love. This is how the peace which we are so miserable at creating comes rolling quietly into our world as a gift of grace. And that is nothing more or less than undeserved love. And into darkness comes his light!