Wednesday, Dec. 1 Dana Goble
What to do when there is no peace: disarming our hearts, so we can forgive (p. 175) Matthew 5:
1-12
Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount
1
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples
came to him, 2and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
3
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in
the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
11
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Passage
Today I’ll be continuing the theme of this advent season of Peacemaking and Nonviolence and
expanding on the reflections of yesterday. Red encouraged us to take a vow of nonviolence in
our daily lives. And, just as we’ve been admonished to embrace a peaceful life with peaceful
actions, as Christians we also have to embrace a life of forgiveness.
The stand out phrase in the passage I read was “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be
called children of God.” A major aspect of peacemaking is forgiveness. Forgiveness doesn’t
require someone asking you forgiveness first. Forgiveness doesn’t require someone approaching
you and saying sorry. Forgiveness doesn’t require someone to reciprocate the forgiveness.
Forgiveness requires you to disarm your heart and rid yourself of any grudges or bitterness or ill
feelings to someone else.
A short passage in Matthew 18 demonstrates how Jesus wants us to forgive. Verse 21 says,
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister
who sins against me? Up to seven times?” In verse 22, Jesus answers by saying, “I tell you, not
seven times, but seventy times seven. Jesus is asking Peter, and us, to demonstrate an
unconditional forgiveness that we must give to one another. This forgiveness can be given to the
fast food worker who messes up our order, the sister that stains a shirt she borrowed, or the
roommate who doesn’t clean up after herself… but it also must be given to a significant other
who cheats on you, the parent who causes family strife, or even the friend that betrays your trust.
Once the forgiveness is granted, it is often easy to feel good about what you’ve done;
celebrating, and thinking to yourself “Oh, I was the better person because I forgave them”. But
forgiveness is more than saying sorry. That parable in Matthew talks about how Peter was trying
to impress Jesus by telling him that he forgave someone seven times. Jesus reminds Peter, and
us, that it isn’t the number of times you forgive someone, but rather the attitude and the heart you
have when doing it.
Random House Dictionary has two parts to define forgiveness. The first is, obviously, the act of
forgiving, but the second part defines it as the disposition or willingness to forgive. Embracing a
life of peacemaking which inevitably leads to a spirit of forgiveness doesn’t always mean having
a celebration every time we forgive someone. Especially when the hurt is deep it requires a lot
of grace and time. Graces often comes when stepping back and healing ourselves during the
process of forgiving someone.
We’re all human, and it is natural to be tempted to hold back anger in the short run, but it just
leads to holding a grudge which eventually leads to bitterness. We need to disarm our hearts and
let down our guard and act as peacemakers by showing forgiveness to one another. In a world
that is filled with violence and bitterness due to not forgiving, we as Christians should embrace
the spirit of Christ. In order to fulfill God’s commandment and perpetuate the love of a Christian
you have to be willing to forgive unconditionally, despite the actions of others. We can never
repay Christ for forgiving us, but we can emulate the greatness of what he did by the simplicity
of opening our hearts and forgiving others.