Opening: Singing song "Shalom my friend, shalom my friend, shalom, shalom; means peace be with you, means peace be with you, shalom, shalom"

Scripture

"Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the people of God."

But we didn’t get to this 7^th Beatitude without starting at the beginning. For each one makes way for the next.

First came Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven: translated as, keep aware of sinful pride, or the degrading of ourselves, that prevents us from depending on God.

We cannot break the cycle of sin within us until we recognize and mourn our condition, that enable us to put sin aside.

This refers to both our loss of those close to us and also mourning the sin that is within us. Once we identify our sin we are able to move into a humility and gentleness. This is an action of strength not weakness.

It is only in this previous state of humility that we are able to acknowledge our hunger for God’s ways and God’s hunger for us.

It is in the thirsting or seeking for God that we are able to be more merciful and compassionate to others, as God is to us.

Practicing mercy and compassion causes us to focus on our relationship with God more fully, in our search for a clean heart.

Becoming more pure of heart, allows us to accept the peace of Christ and to become peacemakers.

The Hebrew word for peace is Shalom. In Hebrew, one reads from right to left, with each symbol carrying a phonetic sound, like the English. However, the Biblical meaning is much broader than the English definition. Shalom means more than freedom from trouble; nor is it the opposite of agitated or distraught over some event. It is rather a state of the soul in which one has everything that contributes to an inner peacefulness, regardless of our situation. Shalom is practicing a harmonious cooperation aimed at the welfare of all, not just ourselves. It is a sense of wholeness within and without.

Shalom is a state of happiness, which all the Beatitudes promise. Jesus offers these 8 short statements as ways for us to find a satisfying peace. Throughout he places a special emphasis on humility, inviting us to choose the easier path of following God instead of ourselves. For you and I don’t know the way.

What I call Beatitude happiness is not about buying a new car, or traveling to some far off beautiful place, or golfing on a pristine course, or shopping for the perfect outfit, as wonderful as these can be. Beatitude happiness describes people who have a relationship with God, based on trust and a sense of belonging to God. It is about being in a relationship of being led and loved by a God who can satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts, in ways that we cannot.

We have the choice to ignore this primary clue from Jesus, as many will do. Or we can take seriously the invitation to practice these. We cannot achieve peace in our hearts or relationships with God or others, simply by deciding we are going to add this to our "to do" list this week. We can only gain Beatitude happiness by earnestly asking God to help us. It is in this way that we humble ourselves and acknowledge that God alone can make this happen.

When we hear the word peace, we most often connect it to war. We read the headlines seeing the words peace and war used interchangeably. In fact, we think of peace as a time without war. But what the world knows as peace and what Jesus is talking about, are two different things.

Jesus is talking about Shalom; the kind of peace that includes the integration of our inside thoughts with our outside actions. If our outside actions exude a kind and helping spirit, while our inside is raging with resentment, we cannot experience the shalom of wholeness and unity within.

Right now, in our church, there are over 60 members who have been meeting in small groups over the last 9 months, taking a look first at the grace in our lives; then the blessedness we find, and now, during Lent, considering forgiveness, both received and offered; some of which I want to share with you today.

We have examined the truth that unless peace is present within us, we cannot offer it to others. If we only talk about peace, but are not peaceful within, there is a disconnect, which can result in agitation instead of contentment. Nor can we make peace happen simply by willing it so, or through our own hard work. Inwardly divided hearts are not the way to peaceful living.

Peacemakers have certain qualities that one author lists as calmness, simplicity, patience and courtesy. Of course, this is easier for me to say than practice it in my own life, as I suspect is true of you too. Peacemaking is not an easy call; it implies self control, consideration of another first, not always demanding our own way, nor always giving in, either. The best results come from intentionally praying to God to help us practice this.

I think it is no accident that some of our greatest challenges with peace making, occur within our own family life. This is where our tempers flare the quickest, where our skills of clarity slip away, and where our gentleness and forgiving love can escape our reach.

It is here, especially where deep listening is required, more than defending our position. Perhaps it is a time where holy silence can be of more value than articulate explanations. Situations when our mercy is needed more than our management skills.

But you and I know it is not that simple. After a long day at work we want to be cared for, instead of caring for others. We would like the dinner fixed instead of having to plan and prepare something. When life is more demanding than restful we can easily feel unappreciated.

Most of us can identify with Martha or the elder son in the parable of the prodigal son. We want justice when we have been wronged. Yet it is precisely here in the family that we also have the best opportunity to practice peace, through a generous spirit or through random acts of kindness.

I think God places us into families for many reasons, such as skill development, survival and love. But learning how to connect with God and others is primary for our happiness, in the most wholistic sense. This is the way to find peace within us.

I think God invites us every day, to find ways to connect in peace with others too. It seems to me, that peace with others is a blending of peace and justice. In fact, some even bear the title, Justice of the Peace.

But establishing peace is not always peaceful. It cannot always be mandated. Sometimes it even demands being a peace breaker. Even Jesus said he did not come to bring peace but a sword. He did not mean let’s make war. Rather, he meant that God’s word is a piercing sword that separates good from evil. Jesus brings that Word.

Notice that this beatitude does not say "Blessed are those who love peace." Rather it states "blessed are those who make peace". Peace is not a noun; it is a verb. Biblical peace is not about evading issues; rather it is about facing and resolving them. Making peace is not about putting on the coat of passive acceptance; with the attitude that says, "There’s nothing I can do" or "I don’t want to make any waves". Shalom peace is about making peace, even if it is a struggle to do so.

Recently I have been in a conversation with our neighbor, who is a district judge for Jefferson County. She works in an environment where justice is meant to bring peace but justice and peace don’t always intersect. Those who come before her are not peaceful; they are coming to receive their punishment for what they have done. They are angry, scared, and out of their element. She bears the responsibility of meting out justice to keep the peace. Like the one coming before her, it is not always a time of peace for a judge either.

One Sunday afternoon, I decided to "walk across the room", so to speak. I have been drawn to how much our worlds intersect. People come to her place of work and confess, as they do in mine. People are seeking absolution from her, as they do from me. She and I are often face to face with the broken, the lost, and the misguided. There are consequences for us when we break the law, whether God’s law or the court’s, which are related.

As I stepped into her kitchen, she was surprised to see me. She had wanted to talk, just as I had. Her week tumbled out of her, weighing heavily on her heart. She had read the documents, heard both the defense and the prosecution. She had weighed the evidence.

Now, the next day, she was scheduled to declare a judgment upon a 20 year old male who had made a very poor decision. At a party, he had become intoxicated, and to the horror of his family, the victim’s family and the court, he had accidentally killed someone in a car accident, right out here on 6^th avenue. The prosecutors wanted jail; the defense team fought for a half-way option.

Weighing the punishment all week had cost my neighbor hours of anguish. She knew that first time offenders run the risk of being destroyed in jail. Yet if she chose a punishment free of jail, he may endanger others. She wept when she thought of his parents and her own children, bound to make mistakes too, that are not always preventable. Tears came to her eyes when she learned he had attempted suicide, when he discovered what he had done.

She witnessed the understandable revenge in the family of the one killed. What is justice in this case? she queried. The final call was hers. It became apparent to me, that her position was one of great responsibility, more than any prestige. She was faced with weighing the deep loss of both families while balancing the welfare of the community. You see, she was wearing the mantle of peace maker.

I don’t know the process she endured, the care with which she selected her words for the courtroom. However, I do know that mercy and compassion for both sides, informed her decision of how to uphold the law that day; and I pray she never loses that. She knew that this terrible event was a life changing one for both families. In the end, her sense of justice and mercy, led her to sentencing him to jail, with a chance of probation. This is the hard work of peacemaking, the kind the Bible is talking about. There is nothing passive about it.

What prevents us from experiencing Shalom? Instead of practicing peacemaking, we clutch onto our misguided sources of protection, like power, anger, fear or greed; those very things that separate us from God instead of giving us peace. When we consciously choose humility, gentleness, righteousness, mercy, we then have the hope of being transformed. Armed with a peace within, we are able to avoid the war that can rage within us. Shielded with Shalom we are equipped to be a peacemaker.

A little over a week ago, this truth came into my office in the person of a 32 year old woman. She was tearful and shaking. After I shut my door, her story tumbled out of her like a rushing creek, whose banks had overflowed.

She carried a tape recording of her husband yelling at her in a demeaning and destructive tirade. He demanded she carry two jobs, to manage the home, and their daughter. He blamed her for their business being in trouble. She was exhausted trying to please him without succeeding. He told her how worthless she was, that she simply needed to work harder; that six hours of sleep was enough. This mental abuse had continued for over for 4 years. Her self image was dangerously low. She could see no way out.

Both of them had made mistakes, but he found her the only one at fault. No matter what she did, she was not able to make peace with him. Her mental anguish tortured her and she cried out for peace within. As she shared her story, she offered her confession in tears of hopelessness: "Do you think I am a worthless person? Do you think I’m crazy? Could God really love someone like me?" She was without peace and didn’t know how to find it. She needed to be reconciled with herself, with others and with God, the only one who could bring peace to her soul.

Life presents all of us with challenging times; times when things go wrong and we can’t seem to find our way back. Sometimes we have traveled alone for so long, that it is difficult turning back. But turn back we must, for it is God alone who can turn our spiritual torment into peace.

Are we able to say at last, "Dear God, I need you to show me the way?" because when we do, it is then that God will show us the way that brings us Shalom; a peace that can bring a holy reconciliation.

Those who practice shalom have chosen to imitate the greatness of God. Instead of an eye for an eye, peacemakers seek to return good for evil. They practice love with those they hate. Where others build walls, they construct bridges. To some, their efforts seem futile, but this is never the case. They live out God’s shalom, keeping the vision alive.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the daughters and sons of God. Happy are you when you become a peacemaker, if only for a moment; for this is finding the kind of peace that really matters.