Isaiah 66:10-14 / Galatians 6:14-18 / Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
It is said that if we want to have peace, then we must prepare for war.
That is the battle cry of mankind from the earliest times when man used sticks and stones against each other, to nations lifting swords and spears in confrontation, to modern weapons of mass destruction and annihilation.
But from the countless wars that have been fought, the one lesson that never seems to be learnt is that war does not prove who is right, but only who is left. And by then, not much is left.
All this is because there are assumptions that the world makes and they have become like “operational principles”.
For example, loud is strong and quiet is weak. So we shout down our opponents.
Size and numbers are the measure of strength and might. So, the bigger the better.
Punishment and humiliation are necessary for law and order. So pain and shame is the call of the day.
These are assumptions that the world has recourse to in order to solve a difficult situation.
But history has shown over and over again that these assumptions and the presumed solutions have not worked for the better.
Hence as much as the world yearns for peace, at the same time it prepares for war, because in the end, war is still the preferred choice to solve a problem.
So what does Christianity has to offer in the midst of all these loud and aggressive assumptions?
In the gospel, Jesus talked about a rich harvest, yet the labourers are few.
This rich harvest can be seen as a harvest of peace and salvation. Yet the labourers for this harvest are few, because most of the labourers prefer a quick harvest of violence and aggression.
And Jesus knows fully well the dangers of sending workers to harvest peace and salvation.
He tells His disciples this: Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
How more graphic and vivid can Jesus describe what the dangers of working for peace and salvation can be?
Being like lambs among wolves is like a suicide mission, there is zero survival chance. Nothing is going to be achieved and all is going to be futile.
And here is where we have to listen to Jesus – be like lambs among wolves.
In other words, as disciples of Jesus, we are not going to fight fire with fire. We are not going to follow the ways and the assumptions of the world.
In the face of violence and aggression, and surrounded by fierce wolves, we are called to be meek and gentle lambs and offer peace.
So we don’t let people tear us into pieces; rather we draw them into our peace.
Let us remember that peace is not the absence of conflict, but it the ability to resolve conflict by peaceful means.
Only when the power of love overcomes the love for power, then there will be peace. Because where there is love, there will be peace.
So in order to have peace, we must prepare for love. Peace is the only battle worth fighting for.
It is a battle that we can win only when we listen to the voice of our Good Shepherd and to be the labourers and the channels of peace.
We must let the peace of Jesus heal our violent and aggressive inclinations, so that what He says to us, we too can say to others, and that is “Peace be with you.”
Jesus has given us the power to tread underfoot the serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy.
And because Jesus is our Good Shepherd, we must be His lambs of peace and not become wolves of war.
And so to Jesus we pray the well-known and profound prayer:
Make me a channel of Your peace
Where there is hatred let me bring Your love
Where there is injury, Your pardon Lord
And where there's doubt, true faith in You
Where there's despair in life let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there's sadness ever joy