Today is the last day I’ll be reflecting in this space on the beatitudes. But there are still two more, and then a whole Bible to explore after that. I hope that in these reflections, you’ve felt connection, presence, grace and a call to be. I also hope that you have experienced how life-giving taking time with a passage can be (notice I say “a passage” because some of the ways I’ve connected with God most deeply have come outside of Scripture. What is it that helps you “love God and neighbor” Go there).
The challenge for us all is to keep this up. What does exploring the Bible look like for you? How can you create a rhythm where you are entering into the world of Scripture in a way that sends you more deeply into the world all around you? How can you do this most days? You don’t have to read the Bible in a year or read 100 verses a day to find God — active and alive — in the Bible. But the invitation is to read it. I hope you’ll start somewhere (maybe the Psalms or I really love Luke and Acts) and spend some time with even just one verse each day.
As always, I am praying for you, rooting for you, hoping and loving alongside you. Please reach out if there is any way I can support you on your journey. Thank you to those who have reached out to me already — you are supporting me on my journey and I am grateful.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)
For most of my life I’ve thought of peace as a passive thing. But what if it’s not? What if peace is one of the most active and justice-seeking calls in the Bible? What if God’s children are the ones who refuse to rest in the face of injustice and pain?
The Greek word for peacemaker is eirēnopoios, which shows up only in this verse in the New Testament. It’s a compound of “peace” (eirēnē) and “maker/doer” (poieō), meaning one who actively makes peace. I think that means it is wrapped up in initiation, not passivity—those who build peace, create reconciliation, repair the breach. This is not simply the absence of conflict, but the presence of wholeness and justice.
How can we be people who help create wholeness and justice? What does it mean to “build peace” in your life? What is something you can do, some way you can be, that will begin to build peace? Peace in your relationships; your mind, body and spirit; peace in your community and your home. How can you build peace like that?
May you be blessed with peace today. May you be blessed in building, starting, sustaining, creating and supporting peace. May your desire for a more just world send you to the places at the edge, the out-of-the-way place. May your desire for wholeness call out in you a compassion that is uncommon and maybe uncomfortable. May you be blessed with the energy to be part, really with, those who are in pain. May you be blessed with an awareness of where your love, your gracious way of being in the world is needed to bring about peace — peace with legs (that gets busy). Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
coledarren 