Deacon 11: «Peace or the Sword»

He was saying this as I arrived…

«This is the season when everyone, or almost everyone, is speaking about peace. Peace on earth, peace at home, peace everywhere. But do they all understand or even know what peace is? I too ask myself what is peace Deacon 11, and I tell you, I have to think about that one.

First, one can say that peace is the absence of war, strife, fear, stress, difficulties and everything else that we can think of that can perturb our «peace». But I tell you that peace is more than that.

As far as peace being the absence of war, well, I don’t think so. Lao Tzu, a wise Chinese philosopher, originator of Taoism and author of the Tao Te Ching said, among many things, that, «A good soldier is not an angry man», and that, “A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.” So where is the peace? Is peace surrounding the good soldier and the courageous man?

Jesus said “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.» (St. Matthew 10: 34-36) Was Jesus saying that he did not believe in peace on earth? I do not think so. I think he was talking to the good soldier and to the courageous man.

Peace is gained through the struggle. Peace is the outcome of the fight. Peace is the resolution of violence. Peace is the state of being that allows you communion with God, with Godliness and with the power that rules the universe. Peace is not a wish, it is a triumph. Peace is found when one is in a state of harmony with life, with the universe, with those that surround us and with God. One cannot find peace, or be at peace, simply because one wants it or wishes it. One must take up the sword and fight for the right to be at peace.

And do not get me wrong, I am not, by any means, saying that to have peace one has to eliminate one’s enemies. No, we are commanded to love as God loves us means we must include our enemies. Our struggle is within ourselves. for within us is the Kingdom of God and it has many enemies. Those are the ones we take our sword to, and in so doing, we find we have won our peace, our right to peace.

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