Mennonite
Central
Committee

Biblical roots of the peace position

God's compassionate spirit is at the center of the biblical story. Justice and concern for the poor and oppressed permeate the pages of the Old Testament. The task for God's people is outlined in Isaiah 61:1-2 and repeated by Jesus in Luke 4:18-19:

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted: He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.

The Beatitudes point toward peacemaking. "Peacemakers," Jesus says, "are the children of God." Later in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls his followers to go the second mile, to return good for evil and to voluntarily and persistently love all people, including enemies.

Paul, in II Corinthians 5:18, reminds us that we are reconciled to God through Christ; all who follow Christ are called to "make enemies into friends." Peter, also an active peacemaker, calls us to "seek peace and pursue it" (I Peter 3:11).

Love for God and others, the essence and dynamic of peacemaking, is the active, indestructible power that helps broken and divided individuals and groups move toward reconciliation. Such radical love - like Christ's love that led to the cross - serves and pursues justice through nonviolent means. The cross shows us how God deals with enemies. They are not destroyed, but met with love and a call to repentance. God's love, even to Christ's death on the cross, sets the model for all believers.