The Church as Peacemaker

It is Christmas time, a time for which some of us wait the year round – an occasion to hum those hauntingly memorable carols, buy new clothes and presents and get ready in many other ways to rejoice in the birth of our Savior Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace. In his first coming, he came to leave his peace with all those who acknowledged Him as their Lord and Savior through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. The seeds of a Kingdom to come were sown – A kingdom that will come to completion at His second coming.

The means that he left behind to spread His gospel on earth and to offer a sample of the kingdom to come in the end days is the church. The church on earth is an ambassador of the prince of peace in thought, word and deed and in the words of St. Francis of Assisi, we are asked individually and corporately to be channels and instruments of his peace- not just peace in our hearts and souls in the sense of having received personal salvation but also peace in our nation, society and world. The picture of the kingdom as a time when God will one day wipe away every tear from every eye and swords will be melted into ploughshares means just that – a time when weapons will be out of date in an environment of amity and harmony.

Examining the church’s past history in acting as an instrument of peace is informative because it might provide us with a road map for peace initiatives in the future. The need for the church to be involved in such initiatives is no lesser today than it was in the past. In taking part of the peace initiatives, the involvement of the church in the North East deserves some recognition and study.

The north east of India has a chequered political history. For instance, the Nags had declared their independence from British rule on the 14th of August 1947, a day before the birth of independent India. In fact in 1947, Mahatma Gandhi had told a delegation of Naga leaders, that Nagas have every right to be independent.” But after Gandhiji was assassinated, his promises die ended with him as the new Indian government decline to accept Naga hope for independence. Naga protests and resistance to the incorporation of their land into the Indian union began to steadily grow.

Then in 1955 the Indian army occupied the Naga areas and martial law was declared. Violence quickly escalated. In the 1960s and 1970s, Baptist Church leaders initiated efforts to halt the violence. Eventually the Shillong Accord was signed in 1975 as a result of these efforts, Although the peace agreement was flawed as Key Naga resistance leaders were left out of the process, the accord agreed to incorporation into the Indian union and although not every one was satisfied and happy with the happy with the arrangement and the Naga underground split after the agreement, it did bring down the level of violence and allow some manner of governance and development to occur in the state.

In many instances, the church though powerful was still a distant second in commanding loyalties compared to tribal and ethnic allegiance. Christianity after all is only 125 years old in Nagaland but tribal and linguistic identities go back centuries. It is commendable that in spite of its many limitations, the church tried to be a moderating influence in a spiral of terrorism which might have otherwise completely spun out of control.

The story has been more successful in Mizoram. In 1958, a proliferation of rats attacked the rice crop, bringing famine to the Mizo hills. That became the catalyst for an uprising against the insensitive bureaucracy in Assam. An organization, known as the Mizo Cultural Front, metamorphosed into the Mizo National Famine Front. In 1961, under the leadership of Laldenga, the Front morphed into a military outfit called the Mizo National Front (MNF). The different denominational churches in Mizoram, under the initiative of the major Churches such as the Presbyterian and the Baptist, came together by forming committees, in order to work together toward conflict resolution and peace building. Eventually, the church was actually successful in bringing Mizo National Front to the negotiating table and getting them to sign a Mizo accord which has largely lasted to this day Mizoram has now become one of the most peaceful and fast developing states in Northeast India.

Today the challenge before the church is to attempt to bring peace in settings where the threat is terrorism in its various forms and the church is not necessarily as powerful or as influential as in the examples cited above. But the church can still be a peace making voice. It can tell the world that terrorism is not spread only by the poverty of money as is often thought but that it becomes viral when there is a poverty of dignity. Humiliation is the most underestimated force in international relations and in human relations. It is when people or nations are humiliated that they really lash out and engage in extreme violence. In such settings, the church is called to bring the message of peace and the greatest peace maker of all.

Happy are the peacemakers, says Jesus. Those who know that peacemaking is hard but that the ball is always in our court and it are more important even than worship. Happy, says Jesus, are the peacemakers. Those who know that conflict is inevitable, who know we can never escape it, not that we want to create it but who are willing to take a step into it where ever necessary to bring about God’s peace. Not to run away. Not to perpetuate conflict. But to be a peacemaker.

An Upside Down Power

Too many people spend all of their allotted time on this earth trying to become rich and famous or rich and powerful or maybe just rich or maybe just influential. Reality says that only a few people get to any of these slots. The lot for all the rest might be to envy them. But Jesus tells us not to envy because God will judge by different rules. One’s possessions or position do not count.

What matters is what we give of ourselves. God encourages people to give the most of themselves. God’s plan does not honor the people who wield power, but people who love their neighbors and help those in need. It is how we use that power. God won't reward the people with great talent only, but He will remember the people with great hearts. It is how we use that talent. How does God defines greatness ? His definition has nothing to do with points on a scoreboard. It is all about how we live our lives. Perhaps we think we have never lived near human greatness—but maybe we just haven’t thought of it in this light.James and John ask Jesus for permission to sit with him at the head table when he comes into his kingdom…one at Jesus right hand and the other at his left hand. In most meetings, the boss sits at the end or like the Prime Minister in a Cabinet meeting—he sits in the middle.

In any event, the most trusted or senior members of the team are closest to the head person and this allows them to prompt the boss discreetly as needed. People of lesser rank perhaps do not sit at the table but are placed around the outside wall. The boss is front and center in any arrangement and the trick for everyone else is to get as close as possible.James and John thought that Jesus would become king once they reached Jerusalem…and they wanted the two most honored seats. Jesus, you will recall, had already chosen three disciples as favorites and the three included James and John.

Peter was the third. Since James and John were brothers, it was easy for them to bond. In this case Peter was the outsider and he was being pushed to the side. "Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" Translated, he was asking James and John if they were able to share his fate. Imagining Jesus at the head of the table, they assured him they were able. Jesus then told them that they would share his fate, but he couldn't promise them the seats at his right and left.But when Jesus was actually lifted up it was on a cross and there was a thief at his right hand and a thief at his left hand. That was one of God's ways of warning us to expect some surprises in his kingdom. In God's kingdom, the old rules –– the world's rules –– won't apply. We will have to learn a whole new set of rules. God gives all of us a glimpse into His kingdom. Jesus explains the new rules. He begins by talking about the rulers with whom James and John are familiar.

Those rulers lord it over people. The ones whom people usually count as great are really only tyrants –– oppressors –– people who exercise power cruelly and unjustly. Jesus tells James and John –– and us –– that the kingdom of God isn't like that. So who will be the great people in God’s kingdom? There are people here on earth whom most of us might not consider as great and most importantly, they don't think of themselves as great. Not many people know their names, but God knows their names. These people show all of us the way. They give themselves in quiet service to our church or our children. They are here at church whenever there is a need at here or in the community. There will be a look of surprise on their face when Jesus says, "Come and sit with me.""Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all."