A World That Longs For Peace

“If people fear to offer criticism lest it lead to a rupture of peace, that in itself proves that the peace is false. Peace, if it is to last, must be based on truth and lack of fear”.

Jewish Wisdom, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

We have learned that wars do not only happen among nations or among peoples. Even within an individual, a “war” or “revolution is possible. The root cause of war is human greed tht spawns envy or jealousy pushing both individuals and groups to actively grab that which is not theirs.

Given this kind of innate human nature, is there any possibility for peace? Can we hope for the day when people are able to live together in unity and harmony? Is it possible for you and me to understand each other’s differences, find our common humanity, learn to accept each other as we are, then learn to live in peace? Can you and I today experience peace even in a war-torn world?

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The Meaning of Peace

“Shalom” is a Hebrew word translated as “peace” in English. It has a more profound meaning than just ‘absence of conflict’ or ‘cessation of war’. When a person greets you “Saalam” (derivative of “Shalom”), he does not only wish you an absence of evil things in your life or freedom from all troubles. He also wishes you enjoyment of all that is good as well as completeness, soundness and a sense of well-being.

The Gestures of Peace

Miroslav Volf,a theologian from what used to be tha war-torn country of Croatia, calls peace an act of embracing. To embrace has both an aperture or opening and a closure. We raise our arms up in a gesture of openness (the aperture) welcoming the other person to come into our space, we hold him or her close to us as a signal of our acceptance, our oneness, our completeness with him or her (the closure)

       
 Our hold should not be too tight, but just enough for the other person to feel we are in need of him or her, that we recognize he or she is an equal; that we belong together. Then, we releases our arms to give freedom for the other to create a space for himself or herself. This is a difficult gesture to make especially with one we consider an enemy.

    Peace, Prosperity and Security

Peace or a sense of well-being also comes when our needs are met adequately. The beggar who lives at the edge of constant hunger cannot possibly live in peace. A poor child who goes to school without embarrassed for his lack. A housewife who has to wash clothes for other people in order to have money for her family sleeps restlessly.

Even if there is no war, if poverty is rampant, there is no true “shalom” or peace. In our country, poverty is a real war to be fought, considering the fact that a majority of our people are in scarcity.

Thus, to have peace is more than just embracing and holding hands. Material sufficiency is an important ingredient to peace. Sufficiency enables us to develop our full potential and allows us to fulfill our dreams. This was the prayer of Jewish King David as he urged the pilgrims on their way to worship in the temple of Jerusalem:

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

May they prosper who love you!

Peace be within your walls,

And security within your towers!”

Psalm 122:6-7

Notice that the king did not only pray for prosperity for the pilgrims but also wished the security. This too, is an important ingredient of peace. Security is this sense of confidence people feel because they are protected by their elders while they are young, by the police force when they are out in the streets, and by the government for upholding the law and enforcing justice for all.

For a nation to be secure, it has to have trustworthy leaders. And good leaders, according to the book of Proverbs, “abhor wrongdoing of all kinds for sound leadership has a moral foundation.” (Provv.16:12) Good leaders motivate and do not mislead or exploit (10). Furthermore, “good-tempered leaders invigorate lives, they are like spring rain and sunshine” (15, NavPress).

    Peace, the Spiritual Dimension

It was St. Augustine, a Christian church father, who said, “Our souls are restless until we find our rest in the Lord Almighty.” Peace has a spiritual dimension, for it is in the nature of humankind to be in relationship with the Divine. We may then enjoy economic or material sufficiency and may enjoy the protection of the state, but if we are not free to worship God, then our peace is not complete.

Remember:

Peace therefore, as embodied in the idea of “shalom” means reconciliation with fellow humans, material adequacy, a sense of security, and spiritual freedom to obey and honor God in our lives.

War only brings destruction and death, while peace brings hope and life. War feeds the baser instincts of man: greed, hate, violence, while peace nurtures his goodness: generosity love, harmony with others. War devastates, peace builds up.

Therefore, there is no reason at all that  the world should continue t make war, when it could promote peace. Peace was God’s intent for humankind. When God created man and woman in the beginning, he put them into a world of orderliness, harmony, beauty and peace (Genesis 1 and 2). We can go back to that place of peace when we allow God to be the center of our lives, for Christ is our quiet place of rest.

A Jewish prophet proclaimed:

“In returning and rest you shall be

Saved; in quietness and in trust 
shall be your strength..”

The possibility of eace is always there; nly, we have to understand what real peace is all about. And having understood it with our minds and felt the need for it in our hearts, we will determine to live it.

As the circle of peace widens nd reaches the ends of the earth, we can look forward to that day when guns and tanks and missiles will be turned into instrument of development rather than destruction. Then, people will turn their energies to making life more peaceful and progressive. They will strengthen institutions and structures that make for peace. This is what welong for. This is our hope beacase this vision is anchored in God who is the Author of peace.

Jesus answered his disciples:

“I have told you all these so that in me you may find peace. In the world you will have trouble. But have courage! The victory is mine; I have conquered the world”

John 16:33 TNEB