“Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9

  But I believe Christ calls us into the center of the world’s cries, pain and violence.  True peace will not come because there are no more hand guns, better school policies or peace treaties, although all those things can help.  The peace that Christ brings runs deeper than that and strikes at the very center of the matter, the human heart.

  It is in the heart where greed, hatred, grudges, rampant anger, strife and envy dwell.  When those things are allowed to take root and fester, when we convince ourselves we are judge and executioner, when we blame people as the cause for all our problems and when the lives of others are less important than our own then the potential for grave atrocities is set in motion

   The need for forgiveness, truth, love, kindness and methods of resolving differences through non-violence are just as necessary this day as when Jesus spoke about them two thousand years ago.  We desperately need the Holy Spirit at work in us as we heed Christ’s call to peacemaking.  When we learn to live under God’s rule then there is a chance for peace.  Amen.

By God’s Wondrous Grace,

Rev. Mark L. Juengel