Unabashed Peace-niks
“Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. “ (Isaiah 2:3-4 )
Back in 2007, the originator of this blog asked the question, “What is a plowshare, anyways?” Being a good Mennonite girl whose formative years were in lived out in a small town that had farms all around, I knew what a plowshare was.
That type of knowledge can be learned best in quiet countrysides, rolling hills, and the undisturbed solitude of being the fields planting and harvesting so that those around you can be fed and nourished.
But if war and violence should come, and break the peace in the land, we should not fight back. We should not take those implements that have allowed us to earn a livelihood and turn them into the means to hurt, maim or kill. If it be the choice of striking down another or being strike down ourselves, we will face the violence and accept its consequences. But we will not wrest the violent tool away and turn it against another.
The confession of faith says, “We believe that peace is the will of God. God created the world in peace, and God’s peace is most fully revealed in Jesus Christ, who is our peace and the peace of the whole world. Led by the Holy Spirit, we follow Christ in the way of peace, doing justice, bringing reconciliation, and practicing nonresistance even in the face of violence and warfare. “
Mennonites do not develop the tools of violence and war, so we have never had to need to remake them. But we seek to remake the aggression and violence that is in the world into peace, compassion, caring, forgiveness, and mercy. It takes time, and it is a task that is passed on from generation to generation.
But gentle reader, it is with great sadness that I must say, that while it is our confession of faith, some Mennonites today do not give it the same weight and authority that others do. Not all peace-niks are Mennonite, and not all Mennonites are peace-niks. Just like so many things, there are people at all points of the spectrum coming from all sorts of places and backgrounds. But the broad identity of Mennonites is that of lovers of peace.
May you gentle reader dwell in peace, and may God’s peace surround you. Selah!
