It keeps us from turning commands found there into isolated rules of principles that are assumed to have special status because they are in the Bible.  Rather is proposes that Christians (and we hope others) take them to heart (and mind) because they have been found to be crucial to a people formed by the story of God.  Such commands stand as reminders of the kind of people we must be if we are to be capable of remembering for ourselves and the world the story of God’s dealing with us.

To take the prohibition of adultery, it does not claim to be intelligible in itself, but draws its force from the meaning and significance of marriage in the Jewish and Christian communities.  Marriage in those communities derives from profound hope in and commitment to the future, witnessed by the willingness and duty to bring new life into the world.  Moreover for those traditions family and marriage have special significance as they are also an expression of the relation these people have with their God.  the prohibition against adultry does not therefore derive from a set of premises concerned directly with the legitimacy of sexual expression, though without doubt it has often been so interpreted, but from the profoundest commitment of the community concerning the form of sexual life necessary to sustain their understanding of marriage and family.

Nor does the prohibition against resisting evil derive from an assumption about violence as inherently evil, but rather from the community’s understanding of how God rules his creation.  For how can a people who believe God is Lord of their existence show forth that conviction if they act as if the meaning of their existence, and perhaps even history itself, must be insured by the use of force?  The nonviolence of the church derives from the character of the story of God that makes us what we are–namely a community capable of witnessing to others the kind of life made possible when trust rather than fear rules our relation with one another.

Stanley Hauerwas – A Community of Character, Pg 70

Many Christians demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. … I haven’t heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere. “Blessed are the merciful” in a courtroom? “Blessed are the peacemakers” in the Pentagon?

Kurt Vonnegut, “Cold Turkey,” In These Times

We are almost done the beatitudes this summer.  It has been a good summer of being challenged to see what is really going on in this famous sermon by Jesus.  Let’s do a little summary of where we’ve been so far.  The first four beatitudes are poor in spirit, mourn, meek and those that hunger and thirst for righteousness.  Jesus works at two angles in this sermon.  In the first four he is describing a condition that we are in.  Mourning, meek, hungry, poor…..these are all describing conditions where God meets us.  The first four beatitudes is when God meets you where you are at.

The second four are merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers and those that are persecuted.  These last four are more about relations.  These last four are about how after God meets you, he then transforms you to interact with others completely differently.  After you’ve recognized and you’ve become the first four, you can no longer relate to others the same way at all.  God completely transforms the way you look at and treat people.

So we are looking at being a peacemaker, and apparently, by being one you get the great title of being called child of God.  Now there are a few terms that we should get out of the way in terms of what a peacemaker is.  For starters, a peacemaker is not the same thing as a peacekeeper.

Q: What is the difference between a peacekeeper and a peacemaker?

What I would see the difference between the two is that you can keep peace with guns.  Walk into a room with two people fighting and pull out a weapon and those two people are probably going to stop fighting.  Walk into a country conflict with your advanced machinery and you will keep the peace for a little while, they will all be awe of your presence.  What ends up happening though is instead of there being conflict between two sides, not there is just conflict on three sides and you become the third side.  Then we end up calling extremely destructive bombs, like Richard Nixon did, “the peacekeeper.”  This isn’t peace.  Oppressive and strong people call their attempts to control; peace, but we know better, you might create a sense of peace for a while, but there is no real peace there.  If you have to take sides, you misunderstand what peace is.

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension, but the presence of justice and brotherhood.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself

John 6:15

The peacemakers are are the ones who are not so convinced of their own truth that they are unable to see the truth in another.  They do not have to make the other wrong in order to believe that they are right.  The peacemakers are able to entertain the idea that truth might be bigger than their own particular piece of it…..they are those that are open to truth in others, even when it challenges their own truth.

– Kathleen O’Connell Chesto

“When I ask your opinion, you tell me what you think.  Now I have what you think and what I think.  If I argue with what you think, you give me five reasons why you think it.  And if I argue with each of those five reasons, you give me five more reasons for each of them.  Now I have thirty reasons why you think what you do.  And I can use them to make a good decision.”

“This is the argument of the peacemaker.  It is not the contentious arguing of those who are trying to explain or justify themselves and their actions.  The peacemakers do not argue to convince us of their truth, but that we can convince them of ours.  “Persuade me, Broaden my truth, enliven my vision with your own particular piece of reality.”  As my son would point out, it’s how they listen.  It is the listening that is essential, the listening that marks this as more than argument, the listening that leads to wisdom.  And when the need to explain ourselves and our position is greatest, then the listening demands total silence.”

- Kathleen O’Connell Chesto

“To be a peacemaker means not to judge or condemn or speak badly of people, not to rejoice in any form of ill that may strike them. Peacemaking is holding people gently in prayer, wishing them to be well and free. Peacemaking is welcoming people who are weak and in need, maybe just with a smile, giving them support, offering them kindness and tenderness, and opening our hearts to them. It is welcoming those with whom we may have difficulty or whom we may not especially like, those who are ….. different than us. It is to approach people not from a pedestal, a position of power and certitude, in order to solve problems, but from a place of listening, understanding, humility, and love. When we relinquish power, we become more open to the compassion of God.”
-Jean Vanier

Bing a peacemaker is part of being surrendered to God, for God brings peace. We abandon the effort to get our needs met through the destruction of enemies. -

Glen H. Stassen and David P. Gushee

Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up, but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed with all the tension its exposure creates to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.”

– Martin Luther King, Jr.

“There is no peace because there are no peacemakers. There are no makers of peace because the making of peace is at least as costly as the making of war – at least as exigent, at least as disruptive, at least as liable to bring disgrace and prison and death in its wake.”
– Father Daniel Berrigan

The peace intended is not merely that of political and economic stability, as in the Greco-Roman world, but peace in the Old Testament inclusive sense of wholeness, all that constitutes well-being. … The “peacemakers,” therefore, are not simply those who bring peace between two conflicting parties, but those actively at work making peace, bringing about wholeness and well-being among the alienated.
Robert A. Guelich

You may have the bulldozers, planes and helicopters that smash houses to rubble, the commandos who descend from ropes on ships and kill unarmed civilians on the high seas as well as in Gaza, the vast power of the state behind you. We have only our hands and our hearts and our voices. But note this. Note this well. It is you who are afraid of us. We are not afraid of you. We will keep working and praying, keep protesting and denouncing, keep pushing up against your navy and your army, with nothing but our bodies, until we prove that the force of morality and justice is greater than hate and violence. And then, when there is freedom in Gaza, we will forgive … you. We will ask you to break bread with us. We will bless your children even if you did not find it in your heart to bless the children of those you occupied. And maybe it is this forgiveness, maybe it is the final, insurmountable power of love, which unsettles you the most.
- Chris Hedges

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”

Now peacemaking is a divine work. For peace means reconciliation, and God is the author of peace and of reconciliation. … It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the particular blessing which attaches to peacemakers is that “they shall be called sons of God.” For they are seeking to do what their Father has done, loving people with his love.
John R. W. Stott

I’m reading this book right now called Mistakes were Made but not by Me and it is changing the way I interact with people and view them from a distance.  We can be quick to judge someone who does something ridiculous, or believes something ridiculous.  For example, if someone believed that aliens abducted him then we all would laugh and write them off as being crazy.  Rightfully so, but what we never ask ourselves is how/why they have that belief.  We make our entire judgment based on what their belief is.  Overtime we start to see that most of us are simply just not logical.  We create memories, we justify actions and we project what we want to be true onto almost every situation that we are part of.  The entire book is about the idea of why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions and hurtful acts.

Here is what I’m coming to grips with from the help of this book; we justify absolutely everything.  I think that we are inherently good and that we long to do the good and right thing.  Just like our first humans, Adam and Eve, the sin that we commit isn’t just simply doing something that is wrong or forbidden.  It is taking a bad thing and twisting it up with all sorts of good and noble motives and then spitting it back out as a good thing.  That’s when it gets complicated.  Adam and Eve were tempted with what seemed like (and very well could be) good and righteous things.  Knowing good and evil, not dying and being like God aren’t exactly the worst things to desire.  So all the foolish decisions we make on a day to day basis I’d would have to wager that we just honestly do not think they are foolish.  For the person who does a foolish thing, knowing that they are foolish, then I think you are the exception, and this little article isn’t about you.

Who, especially Christians, would say listen, I know this is wrong in what I’m about to partake in, or purchase or buy, but I’m going to do it anyway.  No excuses, I am just straight up going to do this wrong action.  I have never in my life heard anyone say that.  The closest I’ve seen is someone say something along the lines of that they know this might not be the best way and then offer a slew of reasons as to why they are going to do it.  Eventually all those reasons eventually lead the person to believe that it is the right thing to do.

So for example.  Let’s say you were debating to sell your entire CD collection and give the money to a family you know who is struggling for groceries.  When the idea first pops into your head, you might think, wow, that is a great idea, that is the noble and right thing to do.  Then what happens though is that over time, you just really don’t want to sell all your CDs.  So instead of just stopping with the philosophical games there and admitting that the right thing to do would be to sell your CDs and you’re just not going to do it you start to justify and make up reasons why it is actually the wrong thing to do to sell your CDs.  You say things like hand-outs don’t actually help anyone and you don’t want to prolong their misery.  Or that you deserve those CDs, or that those CDs actually mean something important to you and that you’ll just buy them a few groceries later on down the road.  By the end of the situation you have gone from it being the right thing to do, to being the wrong thing to do, and the only real thing that has changed is your desire.  You have completely changed your moral compass based simply on your desire.

We all do this.  I honestly believe that if we actually thought something was wrong, then we just wouldn’t do it.  Or if we actually thought something was right, then we would do it.  Very few of us are meek enough to say “I hold the belief that swearing is a poor choice and is not best practice, but I swear anyway.”  No excuses, just admitting that our life does not line up to our beliefs.  I would much rather have someone admit that they are a hypocrite and that their actions do not line up to their beliefs than have someone  constantly changing their beliefs to accommodate their actions.  Here is what I think best practice is to be a truly humble and meek Christian.  Look into your life and realize your flaws, or have your best friend do it for you.  Things will come up like we waste way too much, we drink too much, we destroy the environment without giving it a second thought, we shop way too much, we don’t make anytime for those that are less fortunate, we judge everyone we meet for the first time….and instead of making any excuses at all, not even one.  Just admit it.  Say yup, I am those things.

I think with this honest approach to our lives we will start to see a lot more peace.  Sounds odd to make that connection but I see how it can work.  When people can admit they are wrong, and they aren’t in the right at times, without needing to justify their way out of their bad decisions, it makes it a lot easier to just be in a relationship.  If I’m constantly making excuses for my bad eating habits (i’m too busy, i don’t like healthy food etc) then not only do I just keep eating poorly but I now have changed my philosophy about eating to fit how I do those things.  Instead, what if I just said “I have bad eating habits.”

It’s odd even ending a paragraph like that, because we want resolve, we want reasons for the bad things we do.  Admitting who we really are, being humble and having an honest approach about our own misgivings will go a long way for how we live and also for our theology.  No longer will our theology be shaped by how we live and the poor decisions we make but instead our actions begin to be shaped by our theology.

I love Lost. As most of you know I was a bit disappointed that it was all over and especially the way the writers ended everything, but nevertheless, it was still great writing and television. Since the show ended there are a few pieces I wanted to point to that are certainly worth the read.

First, and probably my favourite, was a 13,000 word essay on Lost by Jennifer Galicinski. It is entitled LOST: A Critique of the Modernist Quest and Prophet of a Better Way (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). It is absolutely excellent and for anyone that found themselves lost in the weaving storylines might find this helpful. It’s also a great critique on philosophy tying it in with the imagery and storytelling of Lost. Awesome. Chris Seay should be writing stuff like this instead (he wrote a book on the gospel according to Lost before it was even finished. WHAT?

I put together a quick response to her essay here.

I wrote this when Lost first finished. 5 Reasons Why LOST Disappointed. Which after reading Jennifer’s essay above, it was probably a bit premature considering I didn’t put a lot of work into it.

This was a hilarious video that summarized a lot of how you feel after watching Lost.

An Open Letter To Anyone Who Thought The End Of Lost Was Awesome.

It would be a could compilation of links if I didn’t link to Lost and Gone Forever, who I followed and read after every single episode of the last three seasons. This site helped me understand and analyze the show much better.