“Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert.” “He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached” Jesus to forsake his peacemaking mission from the Spirit. Jesus refused, including the last to rule the world, “the devil… showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world… “All these … Continue reading “Consistent Ethic of Life: Peacemaking”
Tag: warmakers
Peaceful Trans-Figuring
“Jesus took Peter, James, and John” “up a high mountain.” There they saw Jesus, “transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.” “And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared.” When we look at Moses and Elijah we see ancient figures bound to the kingdom of Israel. When we … Continue reading “Peaceful Trans-Figuring”
Pacifist or Christian?
This Sunday’s Old Testament reading concerns Yahweh. Yahweh is the Lord of ‘Hosts’ – which means Lord of ‘Armies.’ Yahweh is a warmaker and is ordering obedience. It is the same obedience ordered by the warmakers who invented Yahweh; warmakers such as Moses. The Gospel reveals Jesus is not a warmaker but a peacemaker. Jesus … Continue reading “Pacifist or Christian?”
Rejecting Warmaking, Accepting Peacemaking
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” (John 14:27) Jesus authored for the world a peace entirely unlike that proselytized by the world’s militaries. The military believes in peace, through violence. Jesus’ early followers gave witness to the difference between … Continue reading “Rejecting Warmaking, Accepting Peacemaking”
Peacemaking
Peace is Jesus’ way. It is his gift to everyone: “Peace be with you.” Those who want to learn from Jesus, receive the gift of peace and share it with others. One sign of our doing so is our willingness to be at peace, as Jesus was, with different people. Our differences with people might … Continue reading “Peacemaking”