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AppendixSample sermonBlessed Are thePeacemakersEdwin Epp, Sargent Ave.Mennonite Church,Winnipeg, Man.Peace Sunday, 2005Text: Matthew 5:9, 38-48We have heard some personal stories of some whohave served the Lord and served the country asconscientious objectors to war. Conscientiousobjection is saying No to war. We do well to hearthese stories and let them nurture our ownresponse to violence and war in our own day. Whatwould you do? Those of you who are 18 or 20 or25 and you were confronted with the call to servein war, what would you do?There are other persons in our congregation whowere conscientious objectors during the war. PeterKroeker was one of these. Peter was reluctant tocome up here and tell his story—perhaps at 91 I’llfind it harder to be up here as well. But he eagerlyshared his story with me, and he knows I will sharea bit of it today. His experiences took him to anumber of places and types of work, includingfarm work, work at a logging camp, at a pulp mill,and a coal mine. However, the greatest part of theCO experience I sense from Peter as he tells hisstory, was the freedom of living with a clear conscience.He did what he saw as right in the eyes ofGod and what the church approved. His work wasfor positive things rather than for harm.This kind of alternative service has its foundationin the teachings of Jesus. “Blessed are the peacemakers,”Jesus said. “They will be called childrenof God.”There is a story that comes from 18th CenturySwitzerland. Switzerland at that time was not avery friendly place for many peaceful Christians.Mennonites were still persecuted because theyrefused to serve in the army or go to war.One night an old Mennonite minister’s determinationto love his enemies was put to the test. Agroup of young men from his village quietlyapproached the house where Peter and his wife layasleep. Swarming onto the building, they begantearing off the thatch which formed the roof.“Now,” they thought, “we will see if Peter is sucha loving person as he says.”But the noise of the falling thatch woke the oldman. Slipping from the door, he silently watchedthe dark figures at work destroying his roof. Herealized what they were doing and why. Whatshould he say to them?Peter alerted his wife to what had happened andasked her to prepare food for a meal. Then callingto the men on the roof, he said, “You have workedlong and hard. Surely you are hungry. Now comein to us and eat.”Startled, the men came down and entered thehouse. But Peter’s words of peace had overwhelmedthem with shame; they could not eat thefood spread out on the table. Instead, they rushedoutdoors, quickly repaired the roof, and then quietlyslipped away down the street. (Quoted frompamphlet, “What did Jesus teach us?”, p. 5-6).Blessed are the peacemakers.The call to peacemaking is the call to trust God, tolet God pass judgment, to let God deal with theunfaithful. Scripture reminds us that “Vengeance ismine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19).The conscientious objectors during the war took anunpopular stand but it was because they and thechurch that supported them trusted God andbelieved the teachings of Jesus were meant to belived out in life.The way of peacemaking and non-violence asks alot from us. It is not the easy way out, at least notin most cases. A read through of the website onalternative service shows us that the CO positionwas not an easy way in a world that was bent onwar. Churches were burned, painted and searched.Some persons experienced considerable intimidationwhen they were before a judge. It was notnecessarily an easy option. It required a lot ofcourage and backbone. David Schroeder makes thepoint in one of the pages on the website: “It mayactually take less courage to enlist in the army thanto refuse to do so, especially when the pressure ison for people to enlist. It takes even more courageto resist the draft when the government of the landis actively recruiting and drafting people whowould not enlist out of their own accord, andthreatens imprisonment for persons who resist thedraft. It takes courage to resist such fear of imprisonmentand death.”36