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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
Non-violence is not a way of avoiding the issues inrelationships or in the world. Non-violence calls usto look for creative alternatives to violence. It callsus to look at the deeper issues that underlie theconflict. Which is easier—to retaliate whenwronged or to respond with something positiveand good?Jesus offers us some ways:Do not resist the evildoer. We call it non-resistance.Trust God to work something good out of yourrefusal to do evil.Turn the other cheek.To the one who takes your coat give yourcloak as well.If someone forces you to go one mile, go another.Give to those who beg from you and don’t refusethose who want to borrow from you.He also says:Love your enemies. Pray for those whopersecute you...These are rather unusual teachings in the contextof violence or conflict. What they call from us is achoice. It is a choice to be governed by somethinggreater than our reflexes. Retaliation is natural.Hatred of those who hate us is also natural. ButGod works differently. True, we cannot changeothers or control how they will speak of us orwhat they will do to us. But their greed does nothave to be matched by our greed; their violencedoes not have to be matched by our violence.Christ invites us to new responses that reflect theway of Christ and that also keep our conscienceclear.I do not read this text to say that we should just letourselves be victims. I read it to say that there areactions we can take that will address the situationwithout being violent, without doing the samething that is being done to us. How is it Christianto respond to an unchristian act in the sameunchristian way? We can choose to respond to aconflicted situation in a non-threatening way.Following conscience. Making choices that are lifegivingrather than life-taking are in line with theteaching of Jesus. Blessed are the peacemakers.One more thing. There are two references to childrenin today’s readings from Scripture. “Blessedare the peacemakers, for they will be called childrenof God.” Later on, “Love your enemies andpray for those who persecute you, so that you maybe children of your Father in heaven....” Are you achild of God? Does your life show a resemblanceto God, like a child resembles his or her parents?The resemblance will show in peacemaking, inloving enemies, and in prayer for the persecutor.May God give grace to each of us to respond towords and acts of violence in ways that build peaceand point to God through Jesus, the greatest peacemakerof all. Blessed are the peacemakers.37
Page 1 and 2: Cultivating Peace:Courage, Conscien
Page 5 and 6: Cultivating Peace:Courage, Conscien
Page 8 and 9: FridayA different way of lifePut yo
Page 10 and 11: On becoming a COHow does one learn
Page 12 and 13: swords into ploughshares. Is.2:4Str
Page 14 and 15: Committed even unto death:the story
Page 16 and 17: Public witness for peaceToday there
Page 18 and 19: Objecting to paying for warCanadian
Page 20 and 21: Our task is not only to keep our so
Page 22 and 23: Litany of ResistanceJim Loney, who
Page 24 and 25: Mennonite Church ManitobaTo listen
Page 26 and 27: Love your enemies. Mt 5:44More Old
Page 28 and 29: Digging deeperThese reflections on
Page 30 and 31: inevitable, the last and often firs
Page 32 and 33: Learning in ActionCO RegistryA numb
Page 34 and 35: Peacemakerswho sow inpeace raise ah
Page 36 and 37: The Powers That Be: Theology for a
Page 40 and 41: Readers’ theatreO Bind Us in That
Page 42 and 43: Voice 3: Blessed are those who trus
Page 44 and 45: How did the church/family react to
Page 46 and 47: pious answers, and sitting back to
Page 48 and 49: “Our beards,” Joseph interjects
Page 50: Peacemakerswho sow inpeace raise ah

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