Thinking and praying about peace
Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5.9)
As Christians, we will have a variety of views about when it is and is not appropriate to use military intervention; we will not always agree about the means by which our government should seek to protect our shores. But there some realities that we can recognise together:
Whenever there is military conflict, lives are destroyed, communities uprooted and it is nearly always the weakest and most vulnerable who suffer the most.
Money spent on weapons and military interventions is money that might otherwise be invested in the health and well-being of local communities, money that particularly has the potential to help the poorest and most disadvantaged.
The words of Jesus recognise that peace is not simply an absence of conflict, but something that needs to be actively sought and pursued. And peacemaking is more than a matter of de-militarisation, it requires us to ask questions about the inequalities, instability, misinformation and longstanding divisions that give rise to international conflict.
In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah spoke of a day when people once at war with each other "shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:4)
This vision of God’s kingdom is not one where weapons are confiscated, or mothballed but where communities willingly abandon them, because they feel safe and secure with one another, where nations engage with one another in an attitude of peace, trust and harmony.
Peace lies at the very heart of the Christian message. When Jesus was born, angels declared his coming as one that could bring peace and goodwill to all; as an adult he was known as Prince of Peace and before he died, declared to his disciples
“My Peace I leave with you”
We need political leaders who, irrespective of their party allegiances are committed to being peacemakers. To work to make our world safe, secure and just for all – to create that environment described by the prophet as one where swords can truly be beaten into ploughshares.
The prophet Isaiah and writers of the New Testament recognised the centrality of peace in God’s coming Kingdom. By acting together and speaking with one voice, supported by national and regional initiatives we can seek to ensure that the cause of peace and goodwill for all is not overlooked in our political debates. We can act as followers of the Prince of Peace by the way in which we use our right to vote.
Prayer:
God of Peace,
who declares your blessing upon us
when we pursue its cause,
we pray for every place in our world
where war and conflict invade and destroy the wellbeing of people and communities.
Our hearts break with yours
when the young, the innocent and the vulnerable
are caught up in conflicts
for which they have no desire
and from which they gain no benefit
help us to be a people of peace;
to be a nation of peace,
and to work with all people of goodwill
to build and sustain peace throughout our world.
Particularly we pray
for those whose decisions and political ambition
can and will affect the cause of peace.
Grant them wisdom and courage to do what is right,
through Jesus Christ,
whose peace transcends our human comprehension.
Amen.
Phil Jump, 19/03/2015