The Family Resemblance of God's Children
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
— Matthew 5:9
On this All Saints Day, we come to one of the most familiar and beloved passages in all of Scripture: the Beatitudes. Jesus blesses the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. He also blesses those who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake. Each of these declarations challenges our ordinary assumptions about what makes a person fortunate, admirable, or worthy of honor. But one Beatitude seems especially appropriate for our troubled and divided world: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Yesterday, in our reflection on the First Epistle of John, we considered the mystery of what we will become in the life to come. John assured us that we are God's children now, even though what we will be has not yet been revealed. Today, Jesus tells us something about how God's children are supposed to behave while we are still here. We are called to be peacemakers.
Notice that Jesus does not simply bless those who enjoy peace, or those who avoid disagreement. He blesses those who make peace. That requires effort, initiative, courage, and sometimes a willingness to be misunderstood by people on every side of a dispute. Nor does peacemaking require us to abandon our convictions or overlook injustice. Jesus also blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and those who suffer for its sake. Seeking justice and making peace need not be competing objectives. Indeed, genuine reconciliation may require confronting wrongs that have been ignored or excused. But I wonder whether we sometimes become so absorbed in advocating for our causes that we neglect the actual people we claim to be helping. Marches, demonstrations, and public advocacy can serve worthwhile purposes. Yet they cannot substitute for the personal work of listening, understanding, extending compassion, and helping someone in need. And surely there is something spiritually troubling when our pursuit of righteousness becomes an excuse to ridicule, humiliate, or silence other human beings.
Today I attended a beautiful concert by the Dexter Community Orchestra. The program brought together music representing Jewish and Muslim, Arab, and Middle Eastern cultural traditions. I found the experience moving on several levels. Here were musical expressions associated with peoples whose histories have included profound differences, painful conflicts, and also centuries of cultural exchange and coexistence. Yet in this concert hall, their music could be heard together, appreciated together, and celebrated together. Nobody needed to resolve every disagreement in the Middle East before the orchestra could perform. Nobody needed to pretend that the differences were unimportant. The musicians and their audience simply made room for the beauty that each tradition had to offer. What a wonderful illustration of what becomes possible when we approach one another with curiosity and respect rather than suspicion and hostility!
And that raises a question about our own society. If we can celebrate an occasion that brings together cultural traditions associated with some of the world's most difficult conflicts, why do we sometimes recoil from the idea of bringing together Americans who disagree about politics? Why shouldn't entertainers, artists, and public figures with very different audiences share a stage, exchange stories, and discover something they appreciate about one another? Why shouldn't neighbors who vote differently sit down for coffee? I remember the influence of Stephen Covey, whose familiar principle urged us to seek first to understand, then to be understood. I also remember John F. Kennedy Jr.'s magazine, George, which approached politics partly through the personalities and humanity of the people involved. Neither example offers a complete solution to our divisions. But both suggest that people become more approachable when we encounter them as human beings rather than merely as representatives of opposing causes. We need more people willing to carry that spirit forward.
As another national election approaches, I find myself increasingly concerned about the excuses we make for people on our own side while condemning similar behavior among those we oppose. We recognize the anger, arrogance, and intolerance of our political adversaries, yet sometimes overlook those same tendencies in ourselves. We may become so accustomed to treating disagreement as a contest that we forget the possibility of reconciliation. And there is an uncomfortable question worth asking: Have I become so attached to my indignation that I would actually resent an opportunity to make peace? Peacemaking does not require pretending that every position is equally sound, that every grievance is equally justified, or that every relationship is safe to restore. Sometimes boundaries are necessary, and accountability must come before reconciliation. But surely we can distinguish between opposing someone's ideas and treating that person as an enemy. We can disagree without demeaning. We can stand for justice without surrendering compassion. And we can begin by asking whether we have made any genuine effort to understand the people whose opinions trouble us most.
Throughout these four All Saints Day reflections, we have considered people whose stories have been forgotten, the quiet spiritual victories that may never have been visible to others, and the mysterious future God promises his children. Today, Jesus brings us back to the lives we are living right now. The saints we remember were not all famous reformers, celebrated martyrs, or towering religious figures. Some were ordinary people who quietly made life better for those around them. Perhaps they reconciled estranged relatives, welcomed an unwelcome neighbor, listened patiently to someone who disagreed with them, or helped two angry people begin speaking again. Their acts of peacemaking may never have been recorded, but they mattered. And perhaps this is how we can honor them most meaningfully: by becoming peacemakers ourselves. Find someone who sees the world differently. Invite a conversation. Listen without preparing your rebuttal. Discover something you can genuinely appreciate. You may not change anyone's mind, and you may not resolve a single disagreement. But you might begin to restore a relationship. The family of God is not strengthened merely by celebrating those who came before us. It is strengthened whenever God's children reach toward one another in love. Blessed are the peacemakers.
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