01/25/2026
Blessed are the peacemakers. This last Friday I drove over to Hwy 64 and waited for hours with hundreds of others stretched along the road to witness and be a part of The Walk for Peace. I resolved to do the best I could in taking a picture or two, but ultimately my goal was to show respect to the Venerable Monks as they approached and walked by. Having engaged in the recommended posture and greeting, I would describe my fleeting interaction with them, but I've decided that interaction shall remain between me and them and the precious few with whom I choose to share that experience.
The experience, though, has me reflecting on what makes for a peacemaker. Is it merely walking through all manner of weather to raise the awareness of inner peace as a pathway to peace in the world around us? Is it taking to bended knee in the freezing cold to peacefully protest the injustice of illegal detentions, then to be arrested? Perhaps it is holding one's hands in a posture of prayer, then be shot with pepper spray in the face? Or is it seeking to help another person up off the ground only to be forced to the ground yourself and ultimately shot?
The way of peace doesn't necessarily mean passivity nor safety-- just ask Dr. King, and, I will add, Alex and Renee. But I do think it requires a choice each day. Maybe the choice is to go out in the cold and hold your protest sign up. Maybe the choice is in how you conduct yourself in your day to day work life. Maybe the choice is using your platform to say what needs to be said.
I have the platform of the pulpit. While this page is the page of a congregation, I am posting here because I am the pastor of this congregation and for today with snow and ice keeping us from gathering together, I write from the pulpit:
Seek peace. Yes, seek inner peace for yourself. And, you can seek peace for this world by resisting the powers of this world through your prayers, your actions, and your words.
The one who occupies the White House has claimed the peace prize that was never given to him. We can claim the prize of peace each day by waking up and facing each day with compassion, empathy, and mercy for one another.
Yes, our yearning for peace may prompt us to shout in protest in town halls and in churches, but, then, again, the same Jesus who preached "Blessed are the peacemakers" is the same Jesus who flipped the tables of moneychangers in protest.
Walk in peace Venerable Monks and rest in peace, Alex and Renee.
