When the prophet of old cried that people spoke of "peace, peace, when there is no peace", he was going against the climate of the nation. The country was not at war at the time and some in the nation were quite well off. The Babylonians loomed large on the horizon, but every indication was that God was blessing them with peace, prosperity (for some) and power. Hananiah, the FALSE prophet spread a message of God's blessings and favor. Jeremiah told the unpleasant truth. Jeremiah also demonstrated hope in the nation's future by making an investment that would mean nothing if the nation was not restored in the end, but the people needed to know that there was not going to be Peace, because the things that make for peace were lacking: Justice, Equality, Enough for Everyone, Humility and Mutual Up-building.
Jesus came to His disciples and said, "My peace I give you... not as the world gives (peace) do I give...". Jesus promised this in a time when there was no peace - shalom - well being and completeness and wholeness. Jesus promised a different peace than the Pax Romana, which may have meant law and order and a lack of war, but came at the cost of well-being for the masses, coercion, occupation, oppression and injustice. The empire values that brought about a relative lack of open war, fueled conflicts and divisions and caused most to suffer for the benefit of the few. Jesus' values were very different, in that ALL in the Kingdom of God are to have Justice, Equality, Enough and be built up. THAT brings true shalom - completeness, wholeness and well-being for ALL. When ALL in the nation have that, then the WHOLE nation has that. If some are lacking that, there can be no real, lasting, sustainable shalom.
So, Paul wrote that we must work toward "the things that make for peace." We must recognize that the well being of my sister and brother is tied to my well-being, ultimately. We must recognize that until ALL have shalom, none of us has shalom. In order to make that happen, we must have a different value than empire values that divide on the basis of wealth, power and status. We must adopt Kingdom of God values that unite in common love for one another. Those values demand Generosity over Greed, People over Profit, Shared Power over Abusive Power, Humility over Hubris and Mutual Respect over Status. Agape Love commands us to actively commit on behalf of the other, even stranger and enemy and especially the most vulnerable. If we live that love with one another, we will have shalom. Until we do, we will not.
Peace starts from within. If a person has well-being, completeness and wholeness within, that is what he or she will live out in the world around them. That affects the well-being, completeness and wholeness of the world around them. If a person lacks what he or she needs in order to be complete or whole (Enough, Justice, Respect, Equality, Equitable Treatment, etc.), then they cannot have shalom (well-being) and it will not be peace that they put out in the world around them, the world in which we all live.
If you want people to respect you, offer respect. If you want to be treated fairly, treat others equitably. If you want to have enough of what you need, make sure others around you have their needs met. If you want to be treated with dignity, treat others with the same.
If you want more than what you need and believe that you are superior and should have unequal and higher treatment than others get, then you are not operating out of shalom, but rather a sickness. If you think that you should have more wealth, power and status than others around you, then you are operating out of sick empire values that do not produce shalom within you and will not produce shalom from you in the world around you.
Shalom is God's sustainable way for the world; based on Agape Love, this well-being, completeness and wholeness can only happen because ALL value and have what makes for shalom in their lives -
Enough, Justice, Equality, Equitable Treatment, Respect and Acceptance. When ALL have that, there will be PEACE. Until then, "we cry 'Peace, peace', where there is no peace."
Pastor Jamie
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