This is a phrase from the Bible, it was spoken by Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount
We find the phrase “blessed are the peacemakers” in the Gospel of Matthew. Christ delivers the famous Sermon on the Mount. Alas, today it is not even known where exactly those events took place, because there are no mountains on Israeli territory, but a couple of versions still exist.
However, even if the mountain is a symbol or the consequences of artistic processing, the sermon itself does not lose its value. It is the core of the knowledge that the Bible gives to man.
Let us take a look at the words of Jesus Christ:
(Matt. 5:3–12)
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unjustly because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: just as they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Savior spoke this phrase in the Sermon on the Mount
Who will be called the sons of God.
God exists. Administrator. ·
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Matt. 5:9)
If we are peacemakers, then believers can sometimes call us “sons of God” - but not always. Who then will call the peacemakers “sons of God”? - God. Those who promote peace He recognizes as His children.
In this life this will be realized only partially, but completely in the life to come. Paul told Christians about this life: “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts” (Gal. 4:6). In a sense, we are already children of God - but the process of naming us “sons” will only be completed when we are in heaven with our Father. Paul wrote of “the glory that will be revealed” and that we “look forward to adoption as sons” (Rom. 8:18, 23; see also v. 19). On the one hand, we are already adopted and are called sons (Rom. 8:15), but on the other, until we get to heaven, this adoption remains incomplete (v. 23). Jesus, speaking about the state of God's people in heaven, said that they will no longer die, “for they are equal to the angels and are the sons of God” (Luke 20:36). Whether we are talking about this life or the life to come, it is difficult to imagine a more exciting promise: God will recognize us as His children, His sons and daughters!
Once we know what the promise contains, we should be even more willing to fulfill the requirement to be peacemakers. What is it like to be a peacemaker? “Peacemaker” is a translation of the Greek word eirenopoios, which combines the words “peace” (eirene) and “to do” (poieo). This combination is rare in the New Testament, but the word "world" (eirene) appears more than eighty times. Eirene means “harmonious relationship” and the resulting “feeling of peace and contentment.” The corresponding Hebrew word is shalom. About the word shalom, William Barclay writes: “In the Hebrew language the word peace never conveys only negation; it never means only the absence of disorder, excitement; peace in Hebrew always means everything that promotes the best for man. In the East, when one person says to another “salaam” - which is the same word - he does not mean that he wishes him only the absence of evil; he wishes him everything that is good.”
The word “peace” in the term “peacemaker” cannot be avoided, but the word “creator” cannot be overlooked either. The seventh beatitude is unique. Most of these commandments emphasize the inner attitude of a person, and in a few - the inner attitude plus action. But this commandment places the main emphasis on action. The right attitude is assumed, but in our text God's promise is directed to those who actively pursue peace. The Lord promised to bless not peace lovers (although this is undoubtedly commendable) or those who talk about peace (which is sometimes necessary), but precisely peacemakers.
God did not promise to bless those who believe in “peace at any cost.” Some people are considered peace-loving people because they avoid any problems at all costs. Instead of facing up to the potential problem and dealing with it, they ignore it in the hope that everything will resolve itself. Usually this doesn't happen, and it ends up being an even bigger problem than it was in the first place. In this regard, God clearly did not promise to bless those for whom peace is more important than loyalty to Him and His word. James wrote that “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable” (James 3:17).
In achieving peace, we must understand that we need to think ahead. When our daughter was little, she had numerous health problems and needed to take a lot of medications. How she hated them! It still creeps me out to remember how we had to hold our baby tightly and stuff medicine into her mouth (half of which she usually spat out). “Peace at any cost” would dictate that we not give her the medication—because there was no peace in our home while she was taking it. However, we looked far ahead and wanted her to be healthy. A similar example is when it is necessary to give an injection to a child in order to prevent or cure a disease. I don't know a single child who likes injections. In the same way, for the sake of a world that glorifies the Lord, we must look to the future.
We must face problems with courage and deal with them, even when it is unpleasant to do so. My brother said that a peacemaker “will not avoid conflict if necessary, but he will not enjoy it either.” Even when a peacemaker stops error, his love is visible to everyone (see Eph. 4:15).
“The servant of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be friendly to everyone, teaching, kindly, instructing his opponents with meekness, whether God will give them repentance to the knowledge of the truth, so that they may be freed from the snare of the devil, who has ensnared them in his will” (2 Tim. 2:24–26).
This should give us some idea of what the word "peacemaker" does not imply, but what does it mean then? When we hear it, different scenes may come to mind: a mother settling a quarrel between her children; a teacher stopping a schoolyard fight; men and women sitting at a table during an international peacekeeping conference. All this is important, but I want to start our conversation about the positive side of peacemaking with something more fundamental.
Peace with God
Peace in the world must begin with peace in the heart, and peace in the heart begins with peace with God. Isaiah wrote: “There is no peace for the wicked, says my God” (Isaiah 57:21). To have peace with God, we must submit to His will (see 2 Cor. 30:8). Instead of relying on ourselves, we must rely on Jesus and do His will. Paul said, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). Then and only then will peace with God, “who surpasses all understanding,” guard our hearts and minds (see Phil. 4:7).
Further, to be peacemakers, we must be concerned not only with our personal peace with God, but also with helping others to be reconciled to Him (see 2 Cor. 5:18, 20). I have nothing against most efforts to restore the world, but if they do not change hearts, the results will be short-lived. It's like covering a huge open wound with a tiny Band-Aid. It is possible to suspend hostilities without achieving peace. A husband and wife may stop arguing with each other, but if the hostile atmosphere remains, then there is still no real peace in their home. To have an outer world, there must first be an inner world.
To have lasting inner and outer peace, people must submit their hearts and lives to God. By becoming closer to God, people will become closer to each other. In the ancient world, there was a huge gap between Jews and pagans, which could only be eliminated thanks to Christ. Read the following passage from Eph. 2 in the translation of the Slavic Evangelical Society: “Now, in Christ Jesus, you [the Gentiles], who were once far away, have become near by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who made both [Jews and Gentiles] one and destroyed the wall that separated them [the law of Moses], that is, enmity, who abolished in His flesh the Law of Commandments, which consisted of regulations, in order to create in Himself out of two [Jews and Gentiles] one new man, making the world, and both [Jews and Gentiles] in one body [the church, Eph. 1:22, 23] to reconcile with God by the cross, killing hostility on it. And when He came, He preached peace to you who were far off [the Gentiles], and peace to those who were near [the Jews]” (vv. 13–17).
Just as Jesus bridged the gap between Jews and Gentiles, so He can bridge the gap between warring factions today—if they will come to Him and submit to His will. It is important for a peacemaker to help others come to the Lord.
Peace with other people
Personal peace with God and encouraging others to be reconciled with God is of utmost importance. However, this is not all that is required of a peacemaker. Personal peace with God should motivate us to try our best to live in peace with others. Jesus commanded His followers, “Have peace among yourselves” (Mark 9:50). And Paul wrote: “Nevertheless, brothers... be... peaceful, and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Cor. 13:11).
To Rome. 14:19 Paul used an interesting phrase: “Let us therefore seek the things that serve the world.” Paul did not explain what he meant by “that which serves the world”; he expected his readers to know what he meant. If you were to make a list of “things that serve peace” and things that disrupt peace, what would you include? Your list could include the following:
• Love for others serves peace, but indifference destroys peace.
• Kindness to others promotes peace, but harshness disrupts peace.
• Helping others promotes peace, while ignoring the needs of others disrupts peace.
• Following the Golden Rule (Matt. 7:12) promotes peace, but indifference to how we treat others disrupts peace.
• A strong desire to have harmony serves peace, and a quarrelsome disposition inevitably disturbs peace.
• Courtesy and openness serve peace, but sullenness hinders peace.
• The courage to go to those we have wronged or who have wronged us (Matt. 5:23, 24; 18:15) promotes peace, while failure to do so results in alienation.
• Repaying good for evil (see Rom. 12:20, 21) serves peace, but seeking revenge destroys all hope of peace. We should strive to have good relationships even with our enemies (see Matt. 5:25; Prov. 16:7).
When compiling these lists, caring for others should probably be at the very top more than caring for yourself. One of the most difficult sayings of Jesus is this: “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Lloyd-Jones wrote: “All our problems are explained by human lust, greed, selfishness, self-centeredness... We look at everything from the point of view of how it affects us... “How does it affect me? What does this give me? So this always leads to quarrels, misunderstandings, disputes and in no way makes a person a peacemaker.”
When peace is broken and strife begins, when you delve into the essence of the problem, you will inevitably find one or more people thinking first of all about themselves. Maybe they decided that they didn't get what they deserved, or maybe they just stubbornly insist on their own.
The Bible contains many illustrations of how important it is for a peacemaker to be selfless. For example, Abraham said to his nephew Lot: “Let there be no strife between me and you, or between my shepherds and your shepherds, for we are relatives” (Gen. 13:8). And then he gave him the opportunity to choose a piece of land for himself (vv. 9-12), although the right of primacy in the choice was his. Other examples can be given: Isaac, who loved the world more than property (see Gen. 26:17-22), and Jonathan, who unselfishly tried to reconcile his friend David with his father Saul (see 1 Sam. 18:1; 19 :2–6; 20:30–33). However, a special example of a selfless peacemaker is Jesus. In Col. 1:20 Paul says that Jesus “reconciled all things to God through Himself, through His death on the cross” (Russian Bible Society). “Reconciled” is the verb form of the word “peacemaker.” Here Paul states that Jesus was a peacemaker. As a peacemaker, He did not insist on His rights, but renounced them in order to come to earth (see Phil. 2:5-8) and reconcile God with man and people among themselves. For the sake of peace, Jesus even allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross. He is a true peacemaker, a selfless peacemaker.
Even if we have all the qualities we just talked about and do our best to live in peace with others, some will still not want to be at peace with us. To Rome. 12:18 (Restored Version) reads: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live in peace with all people.” It is impossible to be at peace with everyone. We can only control half of the relationship—our half. But let us do all we can to be “at peace with all men.”
There is one more thing worth mentioning regarding peace with other people. The peacemaker not only makes every effort to live in peace with others, but also tries to reconcile those who quarrel. One might think of Moses trying to separate two fighting Jews (Ex. 2:13, 14), or Paul encouraging two sisters in the church to live in harmony (Phil. 4:2). If time permitted, we could talk about the need for peace in the family (see Prov. 15:17), in the church (see 1 Thess. 5:13), in society, and in the world.
We could compile another list of qualities necessary for those who want to create peace among people, including such traits as tact and wisdom (see Prov. 25:11; James 1:5). In some situations, the greatest contribution we can make to maintaining peace is to keep our mouths shut. “You are not a true friend if you pass on to your friend unkind words someone has said about him” (Lloyd-Jones). Amen! Solomon wrote: “Where there is no more wood, the fire goes out, but where there is no earpiece, strife ceases” (Prov. 26:20). You also need patience (see 1 Thess. 5:14) and even strength and courage (see 2 Cor. 5:6, Eph. 6:10). American Senator Hubert Humphrey once said: “Negotiating between conflicting parties is like fording a river over slippery rocks... It is risky, but it is the only way to get to the other side.”
Whether we are talking about peace with God or peace with people, we need to understand that without the Lord’s help it is impossible to achieve success. Those who are naturally peace-loving need God's help to learn to solve problems rather than avoid them. And the naturally grumpy need divine insight to see how important peace is. As we have already mentioned, this is part of the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22). We can only have peace with God, as well as peace with others, if we allow the Spirit of God and His Word (Eph. 6:17) to rule our lives.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” And vice versa: “Cursed are the troublemakers, for they will be called the sons of Satan” (McCord). Are you a peacemaker? Are you a son (daughter) of God? Do you have peace with God and people? If not, turn to Jesus in faith and obedience.
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This phrase is included in the Beatitudes
The Beatitudes are shorthand for recommendations. Savior on how to achieve bliss. They differ radically from the instructions of Moses in that they do not prohibit anything, but, on the contrary, advise.
9
so many beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew
The text of the Beatitudes is given either from the passage from the Gospel of Matthew quoted above, or is reduced to a shorter passage from the Gospel of Luke:
(Luke 6:20–23)
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are those who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you and when they excommunicate you and revile you and call your name dishonorable because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”
It is noteworthy that such text is absent in the other two canonical Gospels:
- From Mark - the oldest.
- From John - the only one attributed to a direct witness to those events.
It is possible that the text of the Beatitudes goes back to the source Q - the hypothetical lost Gospel, from which the texts of Matthew and Luke were based.
There is also a Commandment of Grief.
It is curious that if we compare both Gospels, the overall text will be reduced to only 3 commandments:
- Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.
- Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
- Blessed are the hungry, for they will be satisfied.
The Beatitudes are contrasted with the Woe Commandments:
(Luke 6:24-26)
“Woe to you, rich people! for you have already received your consolation (Slavic text - as you defend your consolation). Woe to you who are now satiated! for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now! for you will weep and lament. Woe to you when all people speak well of you! For this is what their fathers did to the false prophets.”
It may also be interesting for us here that Jesus Christ in his sermon relies on the Old Testament, for example, when saying that the meek will inherit the earth, He refers to the following verse:
(Psalm 37:11)
“But the meek will inherit the earth and enjoy much peace.”
It is also sometimes possible to come across the same quotes, with a slightly different syntax, for example: “blessed are those who are exiled for the sake of righteousness,” “blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” The source is still the Gospel, but it is a different translation.
The Mount of Beatitudes is named after the Beatitudes, this is where Jesus could preach
Chapter 2. The Beatitudes
The eighth, ninth and tenth Beatitudes are closely related to each other and therefore must be considered together:
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unjustly because of Me.
Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: just as they persecuted the prophets who were before you
(Matt. 5:10–12).
All three commandments are held together by the cross-cutting theme of persecution. The verb διώκω, found three times in different forms, means “drive”, “pursue”. With the three final Beatitudes, Jesus opens a theme that will run like a leitmotif throughout the entire corpus of the Gospels. In the first instruction of the twelve after his election, Jesus will tell them about the persecution and persecution that awaits them (Matt. 10:17–22). Shortly before His death, talking with his disciples in the temple in Jerusalem, He would return to this topic (Matthew 24:9–13; Luke 21:12–18). Finally, at the Last Supper, Jesus will again warn the disciples that they will suffer persecution (John 15:18–20).
Of particular interest is the comparison of the eighth commandment of Beatitude with the ninth: if in the first case we are talking about those who were persecuted for the truth, then in the second case Jesus is talking about those who will be persecuted, reviled and unjustly slandered for His sake. “Truth” and “Jesus” become synonymous here.
We said that all the Beatitudes taken together are deeply Christocentric, since they contain a moral portrait of Jesus. But if in the first eight commandments this portrait is, as it were, hidden under the enumerated human qualities, then in the ninth commandment Jesus finally reveals Himself not only as the source of these commandments, but also as the main reason why His followers will be persecuted. They will be persecuted not because they are poor in spirit, weeping, meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, but because they believe in Him, are His followers, and fulfill His commandments. In other words, they will be persecuted not for these or those qualities and not for following this or that moral principles, but because they do all this in His name: they will be persecuted precisely as Christians.
The Eighth Beatitude, like the first, ends with the words: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
We have already noticed that words about the Kingdom of Heaven frame the eight Beatitudes at the beginning and at the end. We can say that all these eight commandments are oriented towards the Kingdom of Heaven and demonstrate its presence in the community of Jesus’ disciples, who will be comforted, satisfied, will be shown mercy, will be called sons of God, will inherit the earth, and will see God154.
The eighth commandment ends the list of Beatitudes in which Jesus speaks about people in the third person. Beginning with the ninth commandment, He addresses His word directly to the listeners: Blessed are you...
If the Sermon on the Plain begins with a direct address to the listeners, then in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus’ speech first has a more general character, and only at this moment the third person is replaced by the second.
Some scholars believe that the ninth Beatitude “not only does not belong to the same stratum as the previous Beatitudes expressed in the third person, but also looks back at the persecution suffered by the community and in return clearly promises an apocalyptic reward.”155 We have already mentioned that the verses of the Sermon on the Mount dedicated to persecution are often interpreted in scientific literature as the fruit of the literary activity of the Evangelist Matthew, and not as the direct speech of Jesus.
Meanwhile, a warning about upcoming persecution is the leitmotif of Jesus Himself’s preaching. He speaks of persecution of His followers not only in the Sermon on the Mount and not only in the Gospel of Matthew. The prophetic meaning of Jesus' words was revealed not only during the era of persecution during the time of Nero: persecution of Christianity continued throughout the history of the Church right up to the present time.
The prophecies of Jesus are timeless: they relate to the very essence of the Christian faith, which, being an expression of the truth of God, always meets with resistance from the forces of evil that oppose this truth. In the global war between good and evil, Christians are called to stand on the side of good, even if it costs them their lives. For the feat of confession and martyrdom, they were promised a reward in heaven. The thought of this reward should be a source of joy for them. But the reward in heaven is none other than Christ Himself. It is He who contains in Himself the entire totality of goods that are described in the promises accompanying each of the Beatitudes.
It is no coincidence that the list of Beatitudes ends with words about the persecution of the followers of Jesus. These words are by no means an “appendage” to the previous commandments, an editorial addition designed to console the persecuted Christians of the late 1st century in their sorrows. They follow naturally from the previous commandments. To see bliss in spiritual poverty, crying, meekness, the search for truth, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking means a radical break with the generally accepted idea of happiness, it means living by different standards than the world lives, setting different ideals and goals for oneself. Such a worldview will inevitably lead to conflict with the world. The bearers of such a worldview will inevitably be outcasts in a world where happiness is measured in terms of material wealth, success, and well-being.
In his conversation with his disciples at the Last Supper, Jesus will say:
If the world hates you, know that it hated Me first. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you too; If they kept my word, they will keep yours too.
(John 15:18–20).
Through the Beatitudes, the community of Jesus' disciples is called to imitate their Master, to remain where He is. The Beatitudes are sometimes interpreted as a ladder, suggesting a sequential ascent from lower to higher steps156. But this ladder ultimately leads a person to Golgotha, and climbing it makes conflict with the world inevitable:
Whoever followed Jesus, renouncing property, happiness, law, justice, honor, violence, will differ from the world in judgments and actions, and will outrage the world. Therefore, the disciples will be persecuted for the sake of righteousness. Not recognition, but rejection - this is the praise of their word and deed from the world... Here, at the end of the Beatitudes, the question arises: is there a place in the world for such a community? It became clear that there was only one place for her - where the poorest, the most tempted, the most meek were located; this place is the cross on Calvary. The community of the blessed is the community of the Crucified One. With Him she lost everything, with Him she found everything. Starting from the cross, this is what it means: to be blessed157.
The cross of Jesus Christ, therefore, stands at the center not only of the Christian faith, but also of Christian ethics158. And the followers of Jesus in different eras joyfully and willingly went to their personal Golgotha. By becoming victims of persecution and persecution, they did not simply submit to fate: they saw in this an opportunity to realize the moral calls of the Sermon on the Mount and, through suffering and death, to come to Jesus Himself.
At the beginning of the 2nd century, Ignatius the God-Bearer, the Christian bishop of Antioch, was sentenced to death for refusing to sacrifice to the pagan gods. After the verdict was passed, Ignatius was shackled and, accompanied by soldiers, sent to Rome, where he was to be torn to pieces by lions in front of the public. The bishop's path ran through various cities, to whose Christians he sent his messages. Addressing the Christians of Rome, Ignatius asks the Romans not to petition for the abolition or mitigation of the execution:
I write to the churches and tell everyone that I am willingly dying for God, unless you prevent me. I beg you: do not show me untimely love. Leave me to be food for beasts and through them to reach God. I am the wheat of God: let the teeth of beasts crush me, so that I may become the pure bread of Christ. It’s better to caress these animals so that they become my coffin and leave nothing of my body... Pray to Christ for me, so that through these tools I become a sacrifice to God. On the way from Syria to Rome, on land and sea, night and day, I am already fighting with beasts, being associated with ten leopards, that is, a detachment of warriors who, from the benefits shown to them, only become more evil. I learn more by insulting them, but this is not an excuse. Oh, if only I were not deprived of the animals prepared for me! I pray that they will rush at me greedily. Neither visible nor invisible - nothing will stop me from coming to Jesus Christ. Fire and the cross, crowds of animals, dissection, dissolution, crushing of bones, cutting off members, crushing of the whole body, the fierce torment of the devil will come to me - if only I can reach Christ. The pleasures of the world, nor the kingdom of this world, will bring me any benefit. It is better for me to die for Jesus Christ than to reign over all the earth. I seek Him, who died for us, I desire Him, who rose for us. Let me into the pure light. Let me be an imitator of the sufferings of my God159.
Eighteen centuries later, another Christian martyr, Metropolitan Benjamin of Petrograd (1873–1922), sentenced to death on false charges, wrote from prison a few days before his death:
In childhood and adolescence, I read the lives of the saints and admired their heroism, their holy inspiration, I regretted with all my soul that the times were not the same and that I would not have to experience what they experienced. Times have changed, the opportunity to endure for the sake of Christ from our own and from strangers is opening up. It is difficult, difficult to suffer, but as we suffer, consolation from God also abounds... Now, it seems, we have had to endure almost everything: prison, trial, public spitting; doom and the demand for this death; supposedly popular applause; human ingratitude, corruption; inconstancy and the like; concern and responsibility for the fate of other people and even for the Church itself. The suffering reached its climax, but so did the consolation. I am joyful and calm as always. Christ is our life, light and peace. With Him it is always and everywhere good160.
In the two texts cited, one of which dates back to the very beginning of the history of Christian martyrdom, and the other to a very recent era, we see not only human steadfastness and courage. As in many other documentary evidence remaining from Christian martyrs of different eras, we see in them a very special phenomenon: at the center of all martyrdom stands Jesus Christ. His personality possesses the strength that allows him to endure torment with steadfastness, to rejoice in persecution and sorrow, and to readily accept death. His invisible presence is felt by those condemned to death, and this presence fills their hearts with the joy and gladness that Jesus spoke about in the concluding words of the Beatitudes.
The theme of persecution, connecting the New Testament with the entire subsequent history of the Christian Church, in the preaching of Jesus became one of the connecting links between the New and Old Testaments. It is no coincidence that the Beatitudes end with the words: Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Not only in the Sermon on the Mount, but also in other teachings, including in polemics with the Jews, Jesus will repeatedly address the question of the attitude of the Israeli people to the prophets. Shortly before his death, He will harshly rebuke the scribes and Pharisees for building the tombs of the prophets, being the sons of those who killed the prophets; Jesus will predict that, continuing the work of their fathers, they will continue to kill the prophets and wise men and scribes whom God will send them (Matthew 23:29–34).
By adding words about the prophets to the Beatitudes, Jesus thus introduces a new topic that will occupy a significant place in the Sermon on the Mount: the topic of the relationship between, on the one hand, “the law and the prophets,” that is, the Old Testament, and on the other, New Testament morality. The continuity between the New and Old Testaments is expressed not only in the fact that the commandments of Jesus are a continuation and completion of the Old Testament moral institutions, but also in the fact that His followers are entrusted with a prophetic mission: to testify about God and the truth of God with all their lifestyle. This is a witness carried out contrary to the will and standards of this world, which lies in evil
(1 John 5:19), often becomes a path to martyrdom.
But in their suffering and in death itself, Christians of all eras imitate Jesus, who testified to the truth even to death, even death on the cross
(Phil. 2:8). His suffering and death ushered in a long history of Christian confession and martyrdom—a history that continues to this day.
What does Jesus promise to His followers in exchange for loyalty and martyrdom? Reward in heaven. We will encounter the term “reward” (μισθός) more than once in the Sermon on the Mount. In the mouth of Jesus, this term referred primarily to the reward that a person should receive in the future life. He speaks, in particular, about a reward from the Heavenly Father, which those who receive a reward from people are deprived of (Matt. 6:1-2). This heavenly reward can be identified with the Kingdom of God in its eschatological understanding - as the posthumous bliss of the righteous.
* * *
It is no coincidence that we have analyzed each of the Beatitudes in such detail. Contrary to those modern scientists who believe that these commandments are the fruit of the moralizing efforts of the Evangelist Matthew, we are deeply convinced that they belong to Jesus Himself and contain the quintessence of His spiritual and moral teaching. It is in this capacity that they were conceived and spoken by Jesus; that is why He gave them a special solemnity, expressed not only in the fact that He began the Sermon on the Mount with them, but even in their external poetic form. Both the subsequent sections of the Sermon on the Mount and the entire story of the life, suffering and death of Jesus will reveal the meaning of the Beatitudes. In them, as in a mirror, this history is reflected, and with it the entire centuries-old history of Christian witness, sealed with the blood of martyrs and confessors.
The Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount are a spiritual program expressed in positive terms. This is one of their differences from the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Plain, where each of the Beatitudes, which describe positive qualities, is contrasted with a denunciation addressed to persons with opposite qualities. There is no such opposition in the Sermon on the Mount, although it is implied:
...In the Beatitudes, in addition to the expressed positive meaning, there is also an unexpressed negative meaning, which is just as clear. It is said: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
This means that the spiritually rich are those who have many unshakable truths in their consciousness.
will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It is said: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
This means that those who live here live easily and cheerfully.
they won’t find any amenities there; their life will be tasteless and boring. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth,
but the proud, full of self-consciousness, will be excluded from the inheritance.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for the truth, for they will be filled,
- and satiated with the truth, all politicians, public figures, philanthropists, professors and directors of gymnasiums, confident in their truth, are doomed to starve there, because the local truths, so satisfying in appearance and beautifully served , there will be fake dishes there.
Blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, persecuted for the sake of righteousness
- but they will not see God, will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, those who here practice strict justice, who quietly lust, who do not interfere in human squabbles, who taste their righteousness will not be pardoned honor and prosperity. And if by the Kingdom of Heaven we mean... that eternally unattainable, but truly existing limit of perfection, towards which humanity inevitably moves through sins and errors, then the commandments tell us: those who are well-fed in spirit, self-satisfied, prosperous here are empty flowers; they are of no use to humanity, they live uselessly.161
The Beatitudes clearly demonstrate the paradoxical nature of Christian morality. In them, Jesus says that true happiness (bliss) belongs to those who, by human standards, are deeply unhappy, and as positive qualities he cites those that are not at all so highly valued in human society (for example, humility and meekness):
The most radical revaluation of values that the world has ever known has occurred. Everything is made unusual, unlike what the world lives and what the world values. The blessed are not at all those whom the world considers blessed - blessed are those who weep, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. The world considers blessed the rich, the noble, the strong, those in power, the famous, the laughing. There is complete opposition and incompatibility between the Gospel and the world...162
From the very first words of the Sermon on the Mount, the foundation is laid for that teaching that the Apostle Paul will call foolishness and madness (1 Cor. 1:21-23), meaning its radical contradiction to the standards and measures by which happiness is usually measured. Jesus offers people a scale of values that is in many ways the opposite of what they are accustomed to and seems generally accepted: “The beatitudes turn reality upside down, or, more precisely, show that God sees our values upside down.”163 To a certain extent, this statement applies to the entire spiritual and moral program that Jesus offers in the Sermon on the Mount and other teachings preserved in the Gospels.
The Gospel Beatitudes have firmly entered into the liturgical practice of Christian Churches164. In the Orthodox Church, the Beatitudes are performed, according to the charter, at every Sunday Liturgy (in practice, they are also included in the Liturgy celebrated on weekdays). Their fulfillment is preceded by words based on the prayer of the prudent thief (cf. Luke 23:42): “In Your kingdom, remember us, O Lord, when You come into Your kingdom.” In the liturgical context, the Beatitudes sound like the spiritual and moral testament of Jesus, which the Church considers it its duty to remind the faithful when they gather to celebrate the Eucharist.
In the Interpretation of Basil the Great it is said that a peacemaker is an assistant to the Lord
It can take a very long time to dissect the Beatitudes. But now we are interested in the interpretation of one phrase: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” First, let’s look at the meaning of the word “peacemaker.” What kind of world is he creating? Of course, peace between people, the peace of God as it should be.
This is the peacemaker: “Who is the Lord’s helper, according to the word of the Apostle, who said: “We are messengers on behalf of Christ, and it is as if God Himself exhorts through us; in the name of Christ we ask: be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20); and again: “having been justified by faith, we have peace with God” (Rom. 5:1).
For the world of a different nature was rejected by the Lord, who said: “My peace I give to you; “Not as the world gives, I give to you” (John 14:27).”
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). If Jesus associated peace with the dignity of the Son of God, then He perceived it as something of great value. And how many times in the Gospel did He say the word “peace”, “Peace be with you” or “Go in peace”. And at the end, leaving his disciples, He said to them: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). What did He want to say by this and how did He understand the word “world”? All over the Earth people want peace! But this world remains unrealizable, since they do not know what it is or where to look for it. To know what the world is, one must study it from an esoteric point of view, and even if one succeeds in knowing it, it will remain something that is most difficult to realize. People think that peace can be established if someone is removed or something is removed from their external environment. This is where they are wrong. Even if people eliminated the army and guns, they would find other ways to destroy each other. You can issue a decree on peace and try to maintain it by force, but such peace will not last long, since the causes of the war will not be eliminated. Peace is, first of all, an internal state that can never be achieved by eliminating anything from the outside.
Therefore, work on the world must begin with work within oneself .
Someone, in order to satisfy his lusts, has incurred debts and cannot pay the obligation that he took upon himself, and now he is being pursued by a whole crowd of creditors. How can he find peace? “Hide,” you say. I agree, but how can he hide from the creditors who are pursuing him, who are inside him: anxiety, a feeling of awkwardness, conscience... There is no need to delude yourself - you cannot escape from the thought. At first glance, everyone can easily find Peace. To do this, it is enough to go to some uninhabited places, to the forest, desert, to the mountains, where there is loneliness and silence. There we can be calm: no one will bother us. And yet, we will not find peace there either. Why? Because we brought our own “radio” with us! Yes, people always carry a radio in their head, they never part with it or turn it off. Even if they are alone and silent, internally they are always connected to their husband, wife, mother-in-law, children, neighbors, their boss, their rivals... and then, what discussions can be heard! They constantly awaken the ambitions, demands, resentments, and resentments of their lower nature. And even if everything is calm on the outside, storms and hurricanes are raging inside. And it all ends with the fact that these internal unrest at some point begin to manifest themselves on the external plane. In our physical body, each organ performs a special function that was assigned to it by nature. And that's not all: since all organs are interconnected, they must work in harmony with each other, otherwise what musicians call lack of harmony occurs, and we usually call diseases. A person can be in good health only if all his organs perform work for the benefit of the whole organism. And such health brings peace, but this is still only a purely physical stage. To find inner peace, you need to go much higher, so that all the elements that make up the mental organism also vibrate in unison, like the organs of a healthy physical organism, that is, without egoism, without disagreement, without preconceptions. Peace is a state of higher consciousness, but this state also depends on the proper functioning of the physical organism, for even if the main thing is the peace of the soul and spirit, it is difficult to enjoy this world when the body suffers. This means you need to be vigilant and try to keep your body in good health. To find peace, you need to have great knowledge about the human being, about the various bodies of which it consists, each having its own needs, its own aspirations that must be satisfied. When the instruments in an orchestra are perfectly tuned and all the musicians listen to the conductor, the result is perfect harmony. In man, peace is also a harmony between all his constituent physical, mental, spiritual elements, and this harmony becomes possible only when these elements agree to submit to the authority of his divine nature. Health is the result of agreement between the various parts of the physical organism, so peace is the result of agreement between the various foundations that make up the mental organism: spirit, soul, intellect, heart, will. And peace is so difficult to find because they are very rarely in agreement with each other. A person may have clear, wise thoughts, but his heart, into which passionate feelings have slipped, pushes him to do stupid things. Or, for example, he is inspired by the best desires, but his will is inactive, etc. How do you want him to find peace among all these contradictions? People will never know what peace is, much less be able to find it, until they understand that it is a result, a consequence of something. Yes, peace is a state of consciousness that assumes that all functions, all physical and mental actions of a person are in perfect peace and harmony
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When a person opens himself to the desires and lusts inspired by the ego, then no matter what he does later, he can no longer be in the world, because with his desires, his lusts, he has already introduced into the depths of his subconscious the germs of disorder, in other words, war. To find peace, you need to know the nature and properties of each element: thoughts, feelings, desires. To never allow anything into yourself that could disturb your inner harmony. And at the same time, we must work to remove from the body everything that does not vibrate in unison with the world of light. Anyone who eats and drinks without measure and indiscriminately introduces into his body indigestible elements that cause nausea, colic, pain in the stomach, etc. And on the mental plane the same law applies: one who does not care about the quality of the feelings, thoughts and desires with which he feeds causes an upset stomach and cannot be calm. Consequently, the world is born as a result of deep knowledge about the nature of the elements with which man is nourished on all planes. And when he acquires this knowledge, he must simultaneously develop attention and a strong will to never allow impure elements to enter into him. Any impurities that enter your thoughts or feelings take away your peace. Peace is the result of harmony, absolute consonance between all the factors and elements that make up the human being, and this harmony can only exist if all these elements are purified. If there is no agreement between them, then impurities have entered into them. When your intellect becomes disordered, it means that you have absorbed some impure elements. “Unclean” must be understood as alien, not assimilated. Impurities are harmful energies because they cannot be absorbed. Perhaps in themselves they are not so unclean, but they are called unclean because their presence in the psychic organism causes disturbances. Therefore, they are undesirable and must be gotten rid of. If you are sick or restless, it means that you have allowed some impurities to penetrate into you in the form of thoughts, feelings, desires. All pollution, whether mental, astral or physical, brings disturbance. And when I say worries, this is the least of the troubles, because impurities can cause poisoning, intoxication, and even death, both physically and mentally. Therefore, it is necessary to cleanse yourself on all levels: both on the physical level and especially on the mental level. But as soon as you start talking about purity, most people stop understanding anything, because they always associate it only with the sexual side, when this is only one very limited aspect of it. Cleanliness belongs to all spheres of existence, but it will be clearer if you start studying it with the nutrition of the body. You know that it is not enough for foods to be edible to be eaten without prior precautions. Most of them need to be washed, and this is still not enough, since there are fruits and vegetables from which you need to remove the kernel, seeds, remove the peel or shell: the crust is removed from the cheese, the fish is gutted, and when it is eaten, the bones are removed, and etc. Imagine, there are almost no products that could be consumed as they are. Even milk is sterilized, and water almost everywhere is not potable. We should always be very careful about what people drink and eat. Even if you take all possible precautions, you need to know that food is never completely pure. What does the body do in this case? He establishes supervision. Just as at the borders of all countries there are customs officers who inspect cars and luggage so that people do not smuggle anything illegally, so in humans there is also a special type of customs officers who check food and discard everything that cannot enter the structure of the body. Despite this, it often happens that the person himself unknowingly interferes with the work of the organs tasked with making the selection. And then they release harmful elements, and they begin to accumulate in it. Yes, indeed, through his ability to understand and feel things, a person influences the creatures, the cells that are entrusted with protecting him (to make it sound scientific, let's say the “immune system”), and if he is not vigilant, he instills disorder and recklessness in these officials who stop understanding anything correctly and miss harmful elements. Thoughts and feelings are also food that we absorb and digest better or worse depending on the degree of their purity. That is why for mental food we must make the same selection that we do for physical food, in order to eliminate indigestible and harmful elements from it. Man eats bread, fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, etc., and in the sphere of thoughts and feelings there is the same variety of quality of food as on the physical plane, ranging from fresh fruit just picked from the tree to game with fragrant. There are also wines, confectionery... and even if they are of the best quality, be careful not to indulge in excess. In the Emerald Tablets, Hermes Trismegistus says: “You will separate the subtle from the dense with great skill.” To separate the fine from the dense means: to separate the pure from the impure, just as gold or precious stones are extracted from ore. All life is based on this principle of separation, selection. Selection takes place everywhere: be it in industry (refining, distillation, purification) or in trade (first grade, second grade, etc.) ... and exams, competitions are also just selection: whether we are talking about conferring the rank of general or When choosing Miss World, there is always a selection process. Who knows? All people have experienced this, but they do not think that in the inner life, where there are harmful thoughts and feelings that can cause illness or destruction, selection, weeding out, and sorting also need to be done. For most people, all thoughts, all feelings are approximately the same. But this is not so, here, just as in food, a distinction needs to be made, just as flammable materials are sorted based on their quality: first grade, second grade... Let's consider this example. In the past, lighting and heating used materials of such poor quality that they smoked, stung the eyes, had an unpleasant odor... and almost suffocated people. Now they use electricity, which leaves no waste and does not produce any smoke. Even with regard to coal, it is known that it has different qualities, from that which gives very little heat and a lot of waste, to that which gives a lot of heat and very little waste. Any flammable material: coal, oil, gasoline contains in various proportions, and this is what is essential, some non-combustible elements. This means that each matter has a certain quality, which can be better or worse, and therefore a choice must be made constantly. Thoughts and feelings are also fuel, and since not all of them are of excellent quality, they cannot provide the brightest light, the greatest warmth, or the strongest energy for movement. Some of them, just as during selection for nutrition, can be accepted, while others must be discarded so that the astral stomach and the mental stomach can better digest. Imagine that you are overwhelmed by thoughts and feelings such as envy, hatred, revenge, what can they produce? Of course, there is a lot of heat, but also a lot of smoke, which will cloud your inner vision and produce a lot of waste that poisons you. Naturally, in official science there is no subject where they study and classify thoughts and feelings. People immediately swallow and enjoy any thought, any feeling, without caring about the results that they will produce, without making any difference between them. Desires and passions are constantly boiling in people. Desires and passions are what are most widespread in the world; there is no shortage of this anywhere. But what is rare, what is almost impossible to find, is the wisdom that allows you to set a scale of values in order to be able to select only the best. However, you must know that you build your entire being from the materials that you absorb. Therefore, if these materials are impure, you will get sick. This is an absolute law, not only on the physical plane, but on the mental plane. Just as you must be careful that the foods you eat are well cleaned and washed, so in your thoughts and feelings you must be attentive day and night to everything that comes into you. Place customs officers at your borders and immediately say to every thought, feeling, and desire that appears: “Stop! Where are you going from now? What colors are you painted in? What will you bring me if I accept you?” Watch them carefully, and if you feel there is anything fishy about them, send them away. You say: “But how to select thoughts and feelings? How do you know if they are clean or not? It is very easy. Selfish, personal thoughts and feelings inspired by your lower nature cannot be pure. All feelings and thoughts that relate only to our interest, and do not bring anything useful and good for the whole world, are unclean
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Therefore, it is easy to classify them: lust, envy, anger, sensuality, love of power, etc. - carry uncleanness. Whereas the thoughts and feelings inspired by our higher nature, prompting us to do only what is useful and good for others - generosity, patience, selflessness, sacrifice, etc. - these thoughts and feelings are pure. Now you have a criterion, and it is very simple. Naturally, I am well aware that purity is not so easy to achieve, even if the criterion is so simple. But you need to at least start with understanding what it is, then you need to love it, desire it with every fiber of your being and, finally, try to realize it. It is necessary that you, with the help of selfless thoughts and feelings, generosity, self-denial, mercy, forgiveness, understand that you can find peace only when you introduce purity into your cells, into your entire being
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Don't look for them on the side. Only pure thoughts and feelings, precisely because they are pure, will bring you peace. If someone has treated you badly and all you can think about is how to respond to him or how to take revenge, then how can you find peace? Nevertheless, people spend part of their time every day chewing on thoughts of this kind. How many misunderstandings, clashes, and settling scores happen every day. And even if they then remain calm for several hours, several days, it cannot yet be said that they have found peace. This is just a brief respite, a calm (even evil people can find such peace), but then chaos and torment return to them again. If you feel neither excitement nor confusion for several hours, this is not called peace. Peace, true peace, is a lasting state. Once you manage to establish it in yourself, you will no longer be able to lose it. You have to suffer, suffer, be disappointed and sometimes even reach the depths of despair to realize that what you have been looking for until now has brought only confusion and anxiety. But when, after many sufferings of struggle, failure and victory, you finally achieve that your divine nature has triumphed over all the rages and cries of the lower nature, only at that moment will you find peace. Before that, you may be able to live some delightful moments, but they will be so short-lived! Many people can be heard saying, “I have lost my peace.” But peace, true peace, cannot be lost. From time to time there may be some disturbances, but all these are only superficial actions: the world is there, deep inside. It is on the surface that waves always rise, but further, in the depths, calm reigns
. When you manage to establish a true world in yourself, the shocks that can happen outside will no longer be able to alarm you anymore, you will feel under protection, in shelter, as in the fortress. The 90 psalm says: “The Lord is my hope; You have chosen the Almighty with your refuge. ” This high refuge is the highest "I". When you manage to achieve this point, the peaks of your being, then you will know what calm, peace is. This world gives an inexpressible, divine sensation, and when you can know it, it will accompany you everywhere: yesterday you felt it, today he is here again throughout the day ... And tomorrow, as soon as you wake up, he will wait for you again. You are surprised that you do not even need to make efforts to find it. Previously, in order to calm down, you were forced to concentrate, pray, sing, or even accept sedatives for a long time. Now this is no longer necessary: the world is here, it is in you. You say: “But life is the alternation of changes: success and failure, abundance and poverty, health and illness, joy and grief ... A person is forced to experience these changes.” Yes, you can get sick, suddenly lose all your condition, you can be imprisoned, tortured, your favorite creatures can go before your eyes, but you will not lose your world ... depending on the level of development of your weaning, you will be for everyone Difficulties, for each test, find an explanation, the truth that will calm you up and console you. Since you have risen very high, you understand that these conditions are short -term, you are immortal, and they will not be able to get you. You carry this world in yourself. And if you do not realize this, then only because you "remain on the periphery of yourself. And on the periphery you are always subject to change. Yes, you managed to enjoy a small lull, how confusion covers you again, as if in order to punish you because you stole some part of these moments of the world. Therefore, always keep this ideal to work for the good, help others, love them, forgive them, so that this ideal becomes very strong and soak all your cells that will begin to vibrate in unison with it. Then the world will no longer leave you, and even if some external events bring you confusion, you will find that contrary to everything, the world remains with you. And this will not be like before, when it was a respite, calm, invented, imposed, which lasts exactly as long as you support it with your efforts, but it will be a state that will enter you. Only he can find a stable and long world who managed to preserve the kingdom that is in it unharmed. Such a world is like an endless symphony, bearing bliss. A person feels that he has reached an elevated state of consciousness, when all his cells bathe in the ocean of light, swim in living waters and eat ambrosia ... He lives in such a harmony that the whole sky is reflected in it, and he begins to perceive all the magnificence that he never before I didn’t see it, because it was too alarmed, too excited both its inner and even external gaze could not dwell on any things to notice them. Try to analyze what is happening to you when you get bad news or when you are sad, annoyed. At this moment, you do not notice what is happening around you, you are in the power of your inner excitement, and even if you look at people or objects, you see nothing. Only the world, similar to the mirror of calm waters, will allow you to make out and understand the presence of subtle realities. That is why the initiates, who managed to know the true world, notice the miracles of the universe. Never imagine that by replacing a husband or wife, apartment, friends, profession, religion, country, etc. You can find the world. The world does not depend on these substitutions. A little calm, a respite - possible. But immediately after that you are overcome by other torment, because you did not understand that the world depends only on changes in your inner life. Make this change and you will gain the world, remaining with the same people, in the same places, with the same difficulties. The true world comes from the inside, it hits the key, it fills you, despite chaos and concussions of the outside world. This is like a river descending from a height. When you have such a world, you yourself are able to pour it out, spread it as something living, real, and you do work on the whole world, bringing this peace to others. How many people are currently working for the world around the world! They gather, they say, write, create the associations of the world, but this is not enough, since their life is not a life for the world: they continue to feed the war in themselves. On the day when they understand that all the cells of their body, all particles of their physical and mental being should live according to the laws of peace and harmony, on that day they will really work for the world. For this world will go from them, like blessed waves that will affect all the creatures surrounding them. It was Jesus who spoke of these people when he said: “The peacekeepers are blessed, for they will be called. The sons of God. " © You are gods - O.M. Aiwankhov
Articles about Virtues
"The Art of Peace" - Ueshiba Morihei. Harmony and balance. Chastity. Peace. Humility. "Beauty" - Gibran Kahlil Gibran.
Copyright © 2015 Unconditional love
Jesus Christ in this phrase calls on people to be reconciled with each other
John Chrysostom sees in the phrase Christ’s call to fight the disagreement of people among themselves:
“Here Christ not only condemns mutual disagreement and hatred of people among themselves, but demands even more - namely, that we reconcile the disagreements of others; and again also represents spiritual reward. Which one? “For they will be called sons of God,” since the work of the Only Begotten Son of God was to unite what was divided and to reconcile what was at war.”
The Beatitudes - what are they and why are they given?
Photo: Arhangelhram.by
The commandments were given to people back in the days of the Old Testament by God in order to protect them from all the evil and negativity that exists around. The commandments are a kind of warning that speaks of the danger of sin, recommending to stay away from it. In addition to the 10 commandments of the Old Testament, in the New Testament, Jesus Christ, in order to raise people to a new spiritual level and teach them love, also gave 9 beatitudes. These commandments in no way canceled those that the Lord gave to Moses, but only allowed man to understand what he should do in order to achieve perfection and get even closer to God.
The Beatitudes were announced to humanity in the Savior’s Sermon on the Mount, where He explained in detail how a true Christian should build his life. These commandments tell people not about the prohibition of sin, like the 10 commandments of the Old Testament, but about how a Christian should achieve bliss and perfection, what virtues can bring a person closer to the Lord, how everyone can find true joy. These commandments very successfully supplemented the 10 commandments given to people in Old Testament times, which in total allowed a person to understand what sins he should beware of and what he should do in order to achieve spiritual perfection and get as close to God as possible.
Peacekeepers have a lot to do for the benefit of humanity, and they will be rewarded for it
The Monk Isidore Pelusiot thoroughly delved into the analysis of the phrase and gave an exhaustive description of the peacemakers:
“The Savior pleased the peacemakers and announced that the sons of God will become, firstly, those who are at peace with themselves and do not stir up rebellion, but cease internal warfare, subjugating the body to the spirit, convincing the lower to be in slavery to the higher, in such slavery , which is better than any freedom and royal power; then - those who bring peace to others who live in discord both with themselves and with each other.”
The words of the monk can be considered as a guide to action:
“But no one has the right to tell someone else what they themselves do not have. Therefore, I am amazed at the incomparable generosity of God’s love for mankind; because He promises good rewards not only for labor and shedding sweat, but also for some kind of pleasure, since peace is the height of everything that delights us, and without it, when it is disrupted by war, nothing joyful will have power.”
The peacemaker is the one who has made the body an instrument of virtue.
At the end, Isidore Pelusiot tells what benefits await those who were able to organize peace between themselves, God and other people:
“It is also well said that the peacemakers will be called sons of God; and such a reward was assigned for this feat. Since He Himself, as the True Son, pacified everything, making the body an instrument of virtue, people of two kinds, that is, those who believed from the Jews and those who believed from the pagans, creating one new man, uniting the heavenly with the earthly, he rightly said that those who do the same as possible the same thing, they will be awarded the same name and elevated to the dignity of sonhood, which is the highest limit of bliss.”
Isidore Pelusiot: Those who are at peace with themselves and do not stir up rebellion, but cease internal warfare, will become sons of God
COMMANDMENT—BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS
A peacemaker is one who gives peace to others. Who exactly? Imitators of God's love for mankind, which is characteristic of God's activity, show this very thing in their lives.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa
GOSPEL
Jesus Christ (Savior)
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God (Matt. 5:9).
Prophet (King) Solomon
Peacemakers have joy
The path of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who listens to advice is wise. A fool will immediately show his anger, but a prudent person hides his insult. He who speaks what he knows speaks the truth, but a false witness is a deceiver. Some empty talkers wound like a sword, but the tongue of the wise heals. Truthful lips last forever, but a lying tongue lasts only for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of evildoers, joy is in the heart of peacemakers. No evil will befall the righteous, but the wicked will be filled with evil. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who speak the truth are pleasing to Him. A prudent man hides knowledge, but the heart of a fool speaks foolishness. The hand of the diligent will rule, and the lazy will be under tribute. Longing in a person’s heart depresses him, but a kind word cheers him up. The righteous shows his neighbor the way, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. A lazy man does not roast his game, but the property of a diligent man is valuable. In the path of righteousness there is life, and in its path there is no death (Proverbs 12:15-28).
Venerable Simeon the New Theologian
Those who see God have become sons of God
Blessed are those who consciously became friends with Christ, who came to give peace to those far and near, that is, to the righteous and sinners, to reconcile us, His enemies, with His Father, and to unite together what was divided among ourselves, for which purpose He took on our human flesh, to teach us the Holy Spirit. So, it is clear that those who see God have become friends with Him, achieved the desired peace and become sons of God.
Saint Basil the Great
Be a peacemaker
A Christian, to the best of his ability, by all means, should soften the one who is upset against him. Nothing is more characteristic of a Christian than to be a peacemaker, and for this the Lord promised us His greatest reward.
Saint Gregory the Theologian
Those who love the good of the world are close to God
All those who love the good of the world and, on the contrary, hate discord and turn away from it, are close to God and the Divine spirits <Angels>.
Let them not think, however, that I am claiming that every world must be treasured. For I know that there is wonderful disagreement and the most destructive unanimity, but we must love a good world that has a good goal and unites with God. And if it is necessary to express this briefly, then I will say my thought: it is not good to be both too sluggish and overly hot, so that either, out of softness of character, agrees with everyone, or, out of stubbornness, disagrees with everyone. Just as lethargy is inactive, so complaisance to everything is uncommunicative. But when there is a case of obvious wickedness, then one should rather go to fire and sword, not look at the demands of the time and rulers and in general at everything, rather than partake of the evil brew and join the infected. The most terrible thing is to fear anything more than God.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa
With the advent of peace, all passions excited by resistance disappear.
Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).
Scripture briefly offers the gift of healing for many ailments, concluding details in this comprehensive and general speech. First let us understand what the world is? Nothing more than a love-filled disposition towards a fellow tribesman. Therefore, what is meant by the opposite of love? Hatred, anger, irritation, envy, rancor, hypocrisy, the scourge of war. Do you see how many and for what ailments one saying serves as a preventative medicine? For the world equally opposes everything that has been calculated, and with its presence leads evil to destruction. Just as upon the return of health disease is destroyed, and upon the appearance of light there is no darkness left, so with the appearance of peace all passions excited by the resistant disappear. And what a blessing this is, I don’t consider it necessary to describe it in words. Judge with yourself, what is the life of those who mutually suspect and hate each other? Their meetings are unpleasant, everything in one is disgusting in the other, the lips are silent, the gaze is turned in different directions, the hearing is blocked for words from the hater and the hated... Therefore, just as the aroma of fragrance fills the surrounding air with its aroma, so the Lord is pleased to increase in abundance the grace of the world for you so that your life can be a cure for someone else’s illness.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for these shall be called the sons of God (Matthew 5:9). Who exactly? Imitators of God's love for mankind, which is characteristic of God's activity, show this very thing in their lives. The Benevolent Giver of blessings and the Lord completely destroys and turns into nothing everything that is not akin to goodness and is alien to it, and legitimizes this way of action for you: drive out hatred, stop war, destroy envy, prevent battles, destroy hypocrisy, quench what burns in the heart the inside is vindictiveness, but to introduce in place of this “that”, which is restored by the destruction of the opposite. Just as light comes with the removal of darkness, so instead of those listed above, the fruits of the spirit appear: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness (Gal. 5:22), and all the number of goods collected by the Apostle. Therefore, how blessed is not the dispenser of divine gifts to God? one who is likened to his gifts, who likens his benevolence to God’s generosity? But, perhaps, satisfaction does not only mean the good delivered to others, but, as I think, in the proper sense it is called a peacemaker, who is the rebellion of the flesh and spirit and the internecine warfare of nature in himself brings into peaceful harmony, when the law has already come to inaction bodily, warring against the law of the mind (Rom. 7:23), and, having submitted to a better kingdom, becomes a servant of the Divine commandments. It’s better to say, let’s hold on to the thought that the word of God does not advise this, that is, it does not set up for itself the life of those who have succeeded in duality, but so that, when the mediastinum of the fence (Eph. 2:14) of vice is destroyed in us, by dissolving with the best wallpaper (Eph. 2:14) they became one. So, since we believe that the Divinity is simple, uncomplicated and indescribable, then when human nature, through such pacification, becomes alien to the composition of the dual, it exactly returns to goodness, becoming simple, indescribable and, as it were, in the true sense, one.
Venerable Ephraim the Syrian
Be a peacemaker in order to be worthy of the title of son of God.
Venerable Cassian the Roman
We need to try better to cleanse our vices and correct our morals. If they are corrected, then I do not speak with people, even with beasts and animals we will get along very easily, as it is said in the book of blessed Job: and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you (Job 5:23).
Venerable Barsanuphius and John the Prophet
Question. The Scripture says: Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), - is it therefore good to strive for the peace of all?
Answer. It is better to pacify your own heart: this is fitting for everyone, and blessed is he who does it. And it is not decent for everyone to reconcile quarreling people, but only for those who can do this without any harm (to themselves). The weak should rejoice in the peace of all, but not make himself a mediator for the reconciliation of every person, and perhaps only those whom he loves according to God - and then when there is no spiritual harm in store for him.
Venerable Isidore Pelusiot
The Savior pleased the peacemakers and announced that they would become sons of God
Peace, dissolved by truth, is a divine work. If one is without the other, then this will harm the beauty of virtue, because both robbers and wolves have peace with each other, some to the harm of people, others to the destruction of sheep. But I will not call such a world, not adorned with truth, peace; if it agrees with the truth, then in the true sense it will be called peace. Why did Christ say: He did not come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword (Matthew 10:34). And what not every world forbids, but one associated with vice, speaks about this in another place: My peace I give to you (John 14:27). For in the true sense the world is one that is adorned with righteousness and piety.
Like-mindedness is the beginning and foundation of all good things for a person, and one should not give anyone a reason for fighting and quarrel. But if you see somewhere that piety has been harmed or the weak have been offended, do not prefer peace to truth; on the contrary, become courageous, fighting against sin to the point of blood (Heb. 12:4).
The Savior pleased the peacemakers and announced that they would become sons of God, firstly, being at peace with themselves and not stirring up rebellion, but ceasing internal warfare by subduing the body to the spirit, convincing the lower to be in slavery to the higher, in such slavery, which is better than any freedom and royal power, then establishing peace in others who live in discord both with themselves and with each other. But no one has the right to tell another person what he himself does not have. Therefore, I am amazed at the incomparable generosity of God’s love for mankind, because it promises good rewards not only for labor and shedding sweat, but also for some kind of pleasure, since the top of everything that amuses us is peace, and without it, when it is disrupted by war, there is nothing what is joyful will have no power. It is also well said that peacemakers will be called sons of God (Matthew 5:9); and such a reward was assigned for this feat. Because He Himself, as the true Son, pacified all things, making the body an instrument of virtue for two kinds of people, that is, those who believed from the Jews and those who believed from the pagans, creating one new man, uniting the heavenly with the earthly: then he rightly said that those who do, if possible , the same thing, will be awarded the same name and elevated to the dignity of sonhood, which is the highest limit of bliss.
Evfimy Zigaben
(Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew)
Blessed are the peacemakers: for these shall be called the sons of God.
Those who not only do not create strife themselves, but also lead other warring parties to peace. The Sons of God will be called as imitators of His Only Begotten Son, whose work was to unite what was divided and to reconcile what was at war. A peacemaker can be blessed as one who reconciles the desires of his flesh with the desires of the soul, and as one who subordinates the worst to the best. Not only do they themselves have peace with everyone, but they also reconcile other warring parties. Peacemakers are also those who turn to God through the teachings of His enemies; they are also the sons of God, because the Only Begotten Son reconciled us with God.
Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)
Try to maintain peace with your neighbor through humility
The Lord commanded the ever-intensified maintenance of peace with your neighbors (Mark 9:50) ... Do not bother trying to figure out who is right and who is wrong, whether you or your neighbor: try to blame yourself and maintain peace with your neighbor through humility.
Saint Nicholas of Serbia
Purity of heart is the basis of peace, silence and peace
On this basis rests the level of the world, the seventh level of the heavenly pyramid, which ascends to heaven. A heart that is filled with false thoughts, crazy desires of our corruptible light and bad passions cannot be peaceful, for all this causes disturbances in the waters and raises dark storms in the vastness of the sea of human life.
At heights, even muddy water from standing puddles is purified. Raise your heart, too, man, and the heavens will purify it. Peace will come into your pure heart, and the Lord will look into the calm mirror of your soul. Peace and tranquility are spiritual delights. Likewise, purity of heart is also a spiritual delight. He who has peace within himself has great pleasure within his soul. And no one can take this pleasure away from him. He who has peace in his soul has Christ , for it is said that “He is our peace” (Eph. 2:14).
Whoever adheres to the Prince of Peace will certainly achieve peace in his soul, for Christ is called the Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6). Whoever during a storm comes to the shore of the Giver of peace will receive peace and will cease to be afraid, because Christ is the Giver of peace, for He said: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27).
Whoever says that he has Christ in himself, thereby claims that he has peace in his soul. Only with Christ can we achieve peace in our souls, but without Him we will never achieve it. The Apostle Paul speaks a lot about reconciliation with the Lord. However, this reconciliation does not mean a bargain between our will and the will of God, but a complete and joyful submission of our will to the will of God. The Apostle Paul also speaks about our reconciliation with other people. This reconciliation means agreement between our will and the will of other people. People have been trying to agree and come to an agreement among themselves for thousands of years, but they have not been reconciled. Therefore, the Apostle Paul argues that peace between people can only be achieved through universal recognition of the will of God.
“As it comes around, so it will respond.” He who hears the peace of God within himself responds to it and radiates it around him, without much effort, very easily, with the ease of breathing. Hence, creating the world means receiving and giving. Receive peace from the Lord and pass it on to people (and animals) around you. Yes, and animals! Remember, God's holy people lived in peace even with wild animals and petted them like gentle lambs. Consequently, to create peace means to bring peace to animals, and in general to all surrounding nature, for nothing disturbs nature more than the sinful restlessness of man. It is not nature that brings peace to people, but on the contrary, it is people who give peace to nature. As soon as there is peace between people, nature also enjoys peace.
The peacemaker will be called the son of God. He will be called by the same name as Christ from century to century. The peacemaker carries out the work of Christ. In the name of the Heavenly Father, he appeals to the brotherhood of people and in the name of love for God calls for brotherly love. To bring peace between people, he reminds them of their royal origin and raises them to a higher level of kinship. And only at this higher level can real peace, unshakable peace be achieved. Civil peace is fragile, only fraternal peace is durable. Not fellow citizens, but only brothers can accept and have Divine peace, real peace. The peacemaker inevitably preaches the great and close kinship of the family of God; he is a preacher of heavenly fatherhood and the brotherhood of man. “You are brothers, for you have one Father in heaven!”
This is his infallible argument for peace, which no reasonable person can contradict. This is the most sublime and inspiring argument for achieving peace among people. Because of this, the peacemaker constantly turns to the offended God with a prayer: “Forgive them, Lord, for they do not know what they are doing; forgive them, these are Your children, and You are their Father!”, and the Father listens to the peacemaker son, and through him gives people His Holy Spirit, Who brings the heavenly gift of peace to embittered people. And peace is health.
This is how peacemaking activities create the seventh level of the heavenly pyramid. This level is built as if from pure gold and flickers nobly in silence.
Sons of God is a title that must be earned on the spiritual path
Bishop Mikhail (Luzin) considered it necessary to tell believers in more detail who the Sons of God are. These are people who are very demanding of themselves on the spiritual path. It is especially appropriate to include peacekeepers in this category:
“Sons of God All believers are children of one Heavenly Father (Rom. 8:17; Gal. 4:5), but especially peacemakers. God is the God of peace (1 Cor. 14:33); those who create peace among people are especially like God in this and are especially worthy of being called sons of God. They are especially likened to the God-Man, who came to earth precisely in order to reconcile God and people, and in this case they are the true children of the God-Man.”
Orthodox Life
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God (Matthew 5:9) - how to understand this expression of the Lord from the “beatitudes”? How to learn this virtue? How to distinguish peacemaking from people-pleasing? In what situations can we be peacemakers, and when should we, remembering the words of the Savior, bring not peace, but a sword? The rector of the temple in honor of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in the city of Saratov, Hegumen Nektary (Morozov), is reflecting.
In the gospel understanding, a peacemaker is a person who helps to establish peace where there was previously hostility, or, in a more expanded sense, who prevents this hostility from breaking out. But, probably, in the full sense of the word, to an even greater extent a peacemaker is a person who, having involuntarily become one of the parties to the conflict, at the same time not only does not allow this conflict into himself, but also does absolutely everything possible to pacify the one who found himself “on the other side of the barricades.”
This can be achieved primarily when a person finds it possible to renounce his interests, aspirations, desires, and to some extent even his will in this particular situation. Indeed, the basis of any conflict - in the family, or at work, or between two different political parties, or two states - almost always lies in the fact that one of the parties or both parties puts their interests above the interests of their opponents. And then the struggle begins, in which the stronger side imposes its will and its desires on the other, weaker one. Or it happens with varying degrees of success. This is how protracted conflicts begin, this is how information wars begin, and this is how sometimes real wars begin - bloody ones. But if one of the parties has the good will to relieve the severity of the conflict situation, then it is possible that the other will not have the opportunity to conflict.
But because there are very few peacemakers at such an everyday, everyday level, there are also few opportunities to promote peace in some global conflicts. But the peacekeepers, who today are called blue helmets, that is, soldiers sent to certain zones and certain parts of the world, are still primarily engaged not in reconciling people, but in enforcing peace. And this, in turn, is often associated with the suppression of one side or another of the conflict, and, mainly, only because someone needs it. Therefore, of course, those peacemakers whom we see on TV and about whom we read in newspapers are hardly peacemakers in the Gospel sense of the word; there is a colossal substitution of concepts here.
Yes, there are situations when the efforts of these peacekeepers, even if associated with some kind of force, still lead to peace. But this is only partly true. Of course, if a contingent of peacekeeping forces is deployed somewhere, then, as a rule, the fighting stops, but at the same time, we understand perfectly well that in the world around us there are certain mechanisms that serve the interests of the most powerful side. And the strongest party is almost always the one that gave rise to this conflict without directly participating in it.
For example, today one could find on Youtube a speech by the head of the largest American private intelligence agency Stratfor, George Friedman, in which he directly said that the United States should not directly participate in any armed conflicts, since it is too costly. But they can quarrel between different states and prevent partnerships between them. In particular, they discussed the inadmissibility of a union between Russia and Germany, since this is the most important threat to the United States and its hegemony in the modern world. The same applies to the countries of Europe, which need to be disunited and, by dividing and dividing, to rule. The words of this person also indicated the need for the process of disintegration of the EU, which Britain has now launched, and, as a consequence, armed conflicts within Europe. Therefore, we can clearly see how conflicts are born, or more precisely, how they are planned. To paraphrase a well-known saying, one can argue that if wars start, it means that someone needs it.
But here we can also recall the wonderful words of the late Patriarch of Georgia Ephraim that if out of two people at least one is smart, then there will be no quarrel. And if of the two parties that are forced to enter into a conflict, at least one is, let’s say, smart, then there will be no conflict and no war. After all, it is always in the interests of the people to avoid war in any case, unless we are talking about a war of liberation, when someone has already invaded our territory, and we need to defend it.
Give up self-love, but not faith
If you want to avoid conflict and give in, there is a danger of going to the other extreme - to people-pleasing, to cowardice, to weakness that is tempting for potential aggressors. Common sense is required to clearly understand where the line lies, beyond which it is no longer possible to retreat.
But most conflicts occur for the stupidest reasons. An ideal illustration is Gogol’s “The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich and Ivan Nikiforovich Quarreled.” This happened over some nonsense, and after a while no one could even remember what the reason for the quarrel was. Most often, people conflict over little things that hurt their pride. One did not let the other get off the bus, one stood in line and was sure that he was standing in this place, but it turned out that another was standing in this place, they began to find out, word by word - the whole line almost clashed hand-to-hand . This is what our life is filled with. A Christian needs to sacrifice his pride in such cases. You cannot compromise principles, ideals, and, of course, you must under no circumstances compromise your faith. Just as you cannot give in to someone to the detriment of the interests of your loved ones.
And it is very important not to look for the unreason or even madness in other people that leads them to conflicts over trifles, but to see all this in ourselves. And by neglecting these little things, you can get away from most of the conflicts and quarrels in your life. Of course, any conflict is a matter of human egoism. And the one who has less egoism is more likely to be able to stop the conflict, end it, come out of it with honor and, at least to some extent, become a peacemaker and be honored with the bliss of peacemakers.
The strong are not afraid to appear weak
Of course, there are conflicts that do not arise because of trifles. For example, one of your colleagues is trying to shift their responsibilities to another or is abusing their official position, and it is quite clear that this is a reason for tension in the relationship. But in any case, as a rule, several types of reaction are possible. They are trying to shift someone else’s work onto me, I agree with this, but over time I find myself overloaded and fail both my own and someone else’s work at once. You simply can’t force someone who is used to shifting their work onto my shoulders to work. Another type of reaction: “Why are you allowing yourself to do this? Are you crazy? You are not a good person." The result is obvious. And a third type of reaction is possible, when I say: “Sorry, please, I have my own work, and this is not mine, so I still can’t do it. It’s my fault, but I can’t handle it.” And in this case, the danger of conflict is much less than even in the first case. Because at the moment when you find yourself unable to do the work for someone else, he will still demand this from you and be angry, and when you immediately set a certain line, but at the same time express regret and do not blame him for anything, this reduces danger of conflict. But even if a person tries to quarrel with you, you can be a stone wall against which he will break his arms and legs, or you can be a pillow that gently absorbs all these blows. It's not easy though.
The fact is that evil, unfortunately, has this peculiarity: when you don’t resist it, it grows. There are different ways to fight evil, the most important thing is that these methods should not be associated with the fact that evil multiplies in you. Therefore, it is better to approach each situation of this kind, let’s say, technically: do not give in to the first impulse to release a fire-breathing dragon that will scorch everything around with the fire of anger, irritation, frustration, but take, figuratively speaking, a step back and give yourself time, at least the shortest , to remember that I am not just reasonable, mature and independent, but also a believer who wants to be a Christian and is trying to be one. Therefore, I must have enough firmness, but at the same time meekness and love, so that conflict does not arise. And if a person comes into conflict with me, I will not answer - I, God willing, will turn out to be the same smart person that Patriarch Ephraim spoke about.
And there is no need to be afraid that by doing this, we will seem weak, downtrodden, and will find ourselves in last place in the team. Often a person gets angry, irritated, in fact, because he feels weak in himself and is afraid to give in. And, on the contrary, a strong and self-sufficient person understands that no one will force him to do anything against his will. And therefore he can communicate correctly, politely, with love, in a Christian way and at the same time know that he will allow himself to do this, but not that. And other people in the team, as a rule, feel this power. In addition, a person who does his job well, is courageous, firm and at the same time calm, as a rule, does not end up in last place.
What should we do if someone close to us clearly commits some mistake, some sin and thereby creates problems not only for ourselves, but also for those around us, but at the same time we know that any remark, even made with love, will cause will indignation lead to a quarrel? Study the person and look at the situation. And in some cases we will understand that in principle we can do without this remark, which will cause anger, and we will not do it, and in some cases, knowing that work, other people or the person himself may suffer, everything We will do it again, but at the same time we will be ready for a “volcanic eruption.” And, as the Psalmist says, having prepared ourselves, we will not be dismayed.
Sons of God and sons of the enemy
If a person witnesses a conflict and tries to reconcile two warring parties, it often happens that each of them tries to attract the peacemaker to its side and is offended by his neutrality. And it happens that those in conflict unite and begin to quarrel with those who tried to reconcile them. Therefore, before any peacemaking actions, you need to think carefully: are you not in vain and are you thinking in vain that the causes of discord are insignificant? You must first try the situation on yourself to make sure that you yourself could calmly and soberly give in and not conflict. And in no case should you act as an “elder”, because, as a rule, this hurts a person’s pride, but you need to stand on the same level with them and act, perhaps at first not so much with rational arguments, but with a call to love . And most importantly, you need to be well acquainted with these people and they need to respect you.
Of course, sometimes there is no time for thinking when people are killing each other before your eyes - here you have to think about whether you can really help stop this fight, the massacre, or whether it is better to call someone for help. After all, Christianity does not imply unreason, therefore, when we begin some business, we must judge what needs to be done in order for this business to be successful.
The Gospel says: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God (Matthew 5:9), what do these words mean? The Lord came into the world in order to carry out this amazing sacrament of reconciliation between man and God, to give man the opportunity to be reconciled, including with himself, and to return to the state of sonship with God. Therefore, those who imitate Christ, the main Peacemaker, in this transformation of hostility into peace, are so pleasing to God and so dear to God that they become His sons. And on the contrary, those who sow enmity become not the sons of God, but the sons of the enemy.
The “Explanatory Bible of Lopukhin” points out the difficulty of comparing peacemakers and sons of God
As always, one of the most comprehensive comments is provided by Lopukhin’s Explanatory Bible. The authors immediately draw attention to the fact that a peacemaker is a multifaceted phenomenon. On the one hand, these are those who seek peace, and on the other, those who build it:
“That by peacemakers we mean not only the so-called peaceful, calm people, who themselves do not bother anyone and no one touches them, but also people working to achieve and establish peace on earth, it is hardly possible to doubt this.”
Commentators do not forget to refer to ancient authors in order to further explain the concept of “peacemakers”:
“By peacemakers Jerome means those “who first in their hearts, and then among brothers who disagree with each other, establish peace. What good is it if you pacify strangers, but vices fight in your soul?
But immediately the authors of Lopukhin’s Explanatory Bible point out a problem in the traditional Christian understanding of peacemaking in combination with the concept of “Sons of God”:
“But Jerome does not explain why the peacemakers will be called (recognized) sons of God. What is the connection between peacemaking and sonship? Why are only peacemakers called sons of God? What are the sons of God?
When will the peacemakers be called sons of God? Attempts to resolve these issues with the help of Old Testament analogies, as well as examples from rabbinic and apocryphal writings, can hardly be considered successful.
In these latter cases the peacemakers are sometimes called simply “blessed” or “blessed,” in others “the disciples of Aaron;” or it speaks of “sons of God,” and the Israelites are called “sons of God,” but not because they are peacemakers. It must be recognized that the expression of Christ is original and the combination of peacemaking with sonship belongs only to Him. What He said and wanted to say is extremely difficult to explain.”
Commentators consider the only way out to be a reference to the works of Chrysostom and Theophylact:
“There is nothing left but to use the explanations given by Chrysostom and Theophylact. The first says: “The work of the Only Begotten Son of God was to unite what was divided and to reconcile what was at war.”
Therefore, the peacemakers will be called sons of God because they imitate the Son of God. Theophylact says that here “we mean not only those who live in peace with others, but also those who reconcile others who are quarreling. Peacemakers are also those who, through their teaching, bring the enemies of God to God. They are the sons of God. For the Only Begotten has reconciled us with the Father.”
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St. Petersburg Church of Christ
So we continue to study the Beatitudes.
These are several verses mentioned in the two Gospels in Christ's Sermon on the Mount. They begin with “blessed are the poor in the Spirit.”
The word “blessed” refers to people who are destined for eternal salvation and bliss. This is exactly the meaning of this word. Christian beatitude is something deeply internal, not subject to any external influence.
Despite the fact that the next commandment is different, I decided to talk to you today about peacemakers.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. (Matt. 5:9)
I visited a church in Jakarta, a lot of impressions, the church there is amazing. Relationships are the main thing - that's what I heard on the first day, what I saw while I was there.
Peace is the most important value
I think this is very relevant to our church right now. I became involved in several situations where two students or several could not find peace for a long time, it was even difficult to forgive each other, and in some cases they are only on the path to reconciliation.
Who are the peacemakers? Those who create the world. In Greek it is “eirene”, in Hebrew it is “shalom”. You've probably all heard this greeting. “Peace be with you” is the wish for “shalom.” And the depth of meaning of this word is that it does not simply mean the absence of troubles and worries. It means everything that contributes to the highest good of man.
It says “peacemakers,” not “peace-loving.” Some may mistakenly think that nothing needs to be done for peace. Blessed is not the peace that is the result of avoiding the problems of reality, but active overcoming, peacemaking.
Peace is not the absence of conflict, it is the ability to resolve conflicts peacefully. (Ronald Reagan)
Peacemakers are not only those who live in peace with others themselves, but also who help those who quarrel find peace.
Called sons of God
The work of the Only Begotten Son of God was to unite what was divided and to reconcile what was at war. (John Chrysostom)
Peacemakers will be called sons of God because they imitate the Son of God.
All this is from God, who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, because God in Christ reconciled the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to people, and gave us the word of reconciliation. So, we are messengers on behalf of Christ, and it is as if God Himself exhorts through us; On behalf of Christ we ask: be reconciled with God. (2 Cor. 5:18-20)
The word peace has another meaning - the rabbis loved to discuss it, and Jesus probably meant this too. The rabbis believed that the highest goal a person can achieve is to establish right relationships with people.
Whoever commits sin is of the devil, because the devil sinned first. For this reason the Son of God appeared, to destroy the works of the devil. Whoever is born of God commits no sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. The children of God and the children of the devil are recognized this way: everyone who does not do righteousness is not from God, and neither does he who does not love his brother. For this is the gospel which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another (1 John 3:8-11)
The absence of peace is war. This is anti-love. This is what the devil wants to sow. Those who create the world do what pleases God.
Unfortunately, everywhere, including in the church, there are people who become a source of trouble, resentment, and discord. They either become involved in disputes themselves or cause disputes among others. But, thank God, there are those who help resolve conflicts, disputes, and find peace.
God wants unity among us. Jesus prayed for unity. Paul in 1 Corinthians talks about unity.
The sons of God are the ones who build the world. The sons of the devil are those who create discord.
It is interesting that discord and discord can come from clarifying spiritual issues, proving someone is right, finding justice.
The devil begins with the foam on the lips of an angel who has entered into battle for a holy, just cause. Everything turns to dust: both people and systems. But the spirit of hatred in the fight for a just cause is eternal. And thanks to him, evil on Earth has no end. Since I understood this, I believe that the style of polemic is more important than the subject of polemic... (philosopher Grigory Solomonovich Pomerantz)
Before you write something in the chat, think 10 times whether this will cause discord between people. You can be deceived and serve the devil, not by building the world, but by destroying it.
We are made for relationships
What helps us stay happy and healthy in life? If you want to become the best version of yourself, where should you invest time and effort? Not long ago, a study was conducted of young people born in this millennium to determine what main goals they set for themselves in life. More than 80% of them said that they set wealth as their main goal in life. And another 50% of the same young people said that their goal is to become famous. People immerse themselves in work to achieve more. And we think that this is what we need to have a good life.
In general, it is very difficult to fully see a person’s life and study him.
An amazing study was conducted at Harvard University - they monitored the lives of 724 men for 75 years. Year after year they were asked questions about their work, life at home, and their health. Of course, no one knew in advance where their life stories would lead. This project survived. About 60 of the 724 men are still alive and participating. Since 1938, the lives of 2 groups of people have been studied: Harvard students from the 1st year and from the poorest areas of Boston. Interviews, medical examinations, and conversations with parents were conducted with each of the participants. Workers, lawyers, bricklayers, one President of the States, some became alcoholics, some became schizophrenics, some rose from the bottom, some vice versa. And so they examined their lives, and what lesson they learned: the most powerful message is that good relationships make us happier and healthier, not wealth, not fame. Dot. 3 important lessons about relationships:
- Social connections are very good for us, but loneliness, on the contrary, kills us. People who are more connected to family, to friends, to community are happier, physically healthier, and live longer than those who are less socially connected. Lonely people who separate themselves from others are less happy and their health deteriorates faster.
- The question is not the number of friends, not whether you have an official relationship, whether you are married or not, but the question is the quality of your close relationships. It turns out that living in open conflict is very bad for your health. For example, a high-conflict marriage has a very negative impact on health. And if you live in a good, warm relationship, this protects you. And those men who were satisfied with their relationships at 50 were the healthiest at 80.
- Good relationships protect our brains too. Those who, at age 80, felt they were in a relationship where they could rely on a person had longer memory retention.
Conclusion - a good, happy life, longevity depends on the quality of a person’s relationships. Everyone seems to understand this, but why is it so easily ignored? Too lazy to figure it out, you need to deal, you need to build. Relationships don't just happen. You need to invest in relationships! It might be as simple as replacing screen time with time with people. Go on dates. Call, come visit relatives. Resolve a protracted conflict. Spend time with someone you haven't spent time with for a long time.
The main value in our life is relationships. It was especially pleasant to hear this from the lips of wealthy people. The church in Jakarta is known for a large number of wealthy people, large businessmen who run their business righteously, serve the church a lot and baptize many of their friends, acquaintances, and businessmen like them.
And the Lord God said: It is not good for the man to be alone... (Gen. 2:18)
How to find peace
How do relationships go bad? Lack of attention. Resentment. Duty. Different opinions.
Peace is not the absence of conflict, it is the ability to resolve conflicts peacefully. (Ronald Reagan)
If possible on your part, be at peace with all people. Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to [God’s] wrath. For it is written: Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. So, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink: for by doing this you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Rom.12:18-21)
If someone has offended us, our first reaction is to take revenge. We want the person to feel the full depth of the pain that he caused us. We think this is fair.
Jesus chooses a different path - to give judgment to God. God will reward. Instead, He offers to feed the enemy and give him something to drink.
For example, we visited Jakarta a lot. The Indonesians say this - it is important to invite people to visit. This is the first thing the students say there. You can meet a friend at a restaurant, but then the most you can do is pay per person. But when he comes to visit you, you serve him. It's worth a lot. You cook, clean, wash the floors, toilet, bathroom, vacuum cleaner, dust, etc. Then you take out the dishes, cook some interesting food, and go to the store. And then you eat together.
Paul says - the enemy is hungry - feed him. Imagine feeding yourself what you have in your refrigerator. This usually means you eat together. In general, there is something special and intimate about eating together.
But I am writing so that you do not communicate with those who are called brothers, but are themselves libertines, money-grubbers, idolaters, slanderers, drunkards, and swindlers. Don't even eat at the same table with people like that! (1 Cor. 5:11)
It's interesting when you share food with someone you somehow connect with them. Sharing food is like recognizing unity. Not to be in unity with someone who is mired in sin. But share food with the person who has become your enemy. Feed him, it will unite you.
Friends, if you have a bad relationship with someone, invite him to visit and eat together.
Let's be peacemakers. Do what God wants - peace and unity. We are made for relationships. It is more important to be in peace than to be right.
Alexander Soloviev
Published February 10, 2021
Other Bible Lessons
