Blessed are the Peacemakers

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

I’ve often had to be a peacemaker in my life. There are times when I’ve had to step in between two people who were shouting at each other and say, “Now that’s enough!” Two people that were toe to toe, faces red, veins sticking out, tempers running hot . . . and I had to step in and guide them into a peaceful resolution. It’s not always easy being a peacemaker, but sometimes it’s necessary.
But what is a peacemaker, according to Jesus? Do Jesus mean to tell us that someone who “keeps the peace” in a family by smoothing over those little differences is a blessed thing to be? Or does He have in mind our troops in Iraq who are striving to create and keep a delicate balance of peace in a war-torn region?
In order to understand what Jesus means by being “peacemakers” we can turn to Matthew chapter ten. There Jesus is sending out his twelve disciples on a journey, and He tells them in Matthew 10:11-13, “11 "Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.”
“Let your peace rest upon that house” . . . that says something about what Jesus considers to be in the task of peacemaking. For the disciples were not just on any journey, but specifically a missionary journey. According to Matthew 10:7, they were to preach this message: “The kingdom of heaven is near.”
Jesus equates bringing peace to a household with proclaiming the message of the Gospel’s nearness. For Jesus, peace—true peace—is first and foremost a matter of having peace with God through Him. “Peacemakers” bring people peace with God through Jesus Christ.
Do you believe that? Better yet . . . does Jesus Christ bring real peace? You’ve probably seen the bumper sticker “Know (k-n-o-w) Jesus, know peace. No (n-o) Jesus, no peace.” And if you’ve seen one of those bumper stickers, odds are you’ve also seen someone driving that car who was screaming their head off trying to get the best parking spot at the mall. “Know Jesus, know peace”? You who know Jesus . . . are you always models of perfect peace? Or do you feel like you lack peace—that sort of tranquil feeling of inner serenity?
Does Jesus bring real peace?
Peace can be like reading a book. Life without Christ would be like me handing you a book and ripping out the final chapter . . . you’d read the whole thing KNOWING that you wouldn’t have all the answers when you were done . . . that would be very frustrating! But life with Christ is like handing you the final chapter, having you read it, and then giving you the rest of the book. No matter what happens in the middle of the book—bad, good, tragedy, beauty—you know how the story ends up. You can relax, you can have peace, because you know the end of the story. The peace of Christ is in knowing that no matter what happens in this life, your eternal destiny is secure in Him. That’s peace.
Peace can be like a map. Who can be peaceful when they are lost? It’s frightening, tense. But when you have a map, you can readily discern where you are, where you are going, and how to get there. Just having that map brings you peace, because you can find the way if you happen to get lost. And when you are lost, pulling out that map brings a lot of peace. Christ is like that, as well, because He shows us the way to the Father. When we get lost, He is there to steer us back on to the correct course. The peace of Christ is in knowing that we can never be lost with Him at our side, even if we do wander off the path for a while.
But more than that, Jesus Christ brings us peace not just by knowing the end, not just by knowing the way, but by reminding us that He knows the end and is carrying us toward it. Jesus Christ brings us peace, He gives us peace. In this Sacrament of bread and wine we have peace because we are reminded that God, in Christ, is favorably disposed towards us. We’re not His enemies, but His beloved children. The knowledge of who we ARE, right now, also brings us peace. That’s not like reading a book, it’s not like having a map . . . but it’s peace from knowing our identity in Jesus Christ.
The peace of Jesus Christ is a real peace, because it is a peace with God. It’s not something we always feel, but it’s something that we always have in Christ.
Peace-makers, then, are blessed because they bring the real, genuine peace of Jesus Christ to people wracked by the terrors of their conscience. Peacemakers are blessed because they bring the peace of Jesus Christ to people afflicted with guilt.
When your friends and family are poor in spirit, when they mourn, when they hunger and thirst for righteousness and they feel the impurities in their hearts, you have not only the duty, but the blessed privilege of being a peacemaker for them. You become God’s chosen instrument to bring the peace they long for into their lives.
Isaiah 52:7, “7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"” How wonderful is the news that Jesus Christ can be Savior to those you know and love! How great . . . how good . . . is the peace that God brings when you say to a struggling sinner, “Jesus Christ forgives you all your sins.” Peacemaking is something you do when you offer Jesus Christ to someone who needs Him.




Tonight you will come and receive God’s peace through the wonder of the very body and blood of Jesus Christ being present in, with, and under the bread and the wine. You will receive God’s peace through this Sacrament and receive the forgiveness of your sins. Isaiah 53:5, “5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
And after you receive God’s peace in this Sacrament, Jesus Christ asks that you remember what it was once like to live as an enemy of God. Remember what it was like to have no peace because you did not know Jesus. See yourself in the lives of the people you know . . . the people you meet. And then become God’s blessed peacemaker for them.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”