The news from the past week was dominated by stories about the cycle of violence between the US and Iran. Politicians and pundits debated about whether or not the use of preemptive violence in killing an Iranian military leader followed by Iranian missile attacks promoted greater safety in that region and around the world. Although a large scale war seems to have been avoided, during the cycle of violence an airliner was mistakenly shot down resulting in the deaths of 176 innocent people.
Meanwhile yesterday many churches focused on the story of Jesus baptism. As he was preparing for public ministry, Jesus came to the Jordan river to be baptized by John the Baptist. Although many people were baptized by John, Jesus’ baptism was accompanied by the heavens opening, a dove descending, and a voice from heaven that declared, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3: 17) From the beginning, Jesus’ calling from God focused on proclaiming and sharing peace. This peace is not just the absence of violence but the wholeness that God desires for every person, community, nation, and the entire creation. The Hebrew word “shalom” summarizes this kind of holistic peace. Through the gift of the same Spirit, followers of Jesus continue to be called to practice and share God’s peace. Instead of strategies of preemptive violence, we are called to preemptive peace – grounding our lives and actions on the love of God for all people. We believe that the means and ends must be consistent with each other. If the end we seek is peace, the means by which we pursue that end must be peaceful. This may sound idealistic to some, but it is clear that cycles of violence do not lead to lasting peace. There is an alternative if we are willing to be open to the Spirit that speaks to each and all of us about our core identity given by God, “This is my Daughter, this is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Seeing each other in this way leads to preemptive peace.
