With all the divisions in the world today, we are sorely in need of peacemakers. We can surmise that human nature and the state of the world were not much different in Jesus’ day when he named peacemakers among the blessed in the Sermon on the Mount. Jen Norton’s Blessed are the Peacemakers (jennortonartstudio.com) offers food for thought regarding things that divide us, as well as what it takes to become a peacemaker in the midst of it all.
The lower part of the image is dark, with red lines of “division” physically visible, separating the top portion of the image from the bottom, as well as the left from the right. In the bottom left stands a Christian church. Across the dividing line is what appears to be a mosque with a minaret. This juxtaposition is emblematic of the interreligious divisions we face. However, division among Christians of different traditions can be equally, if not more, complicated—to say nothing of political, gender, and other cultural divides. The peacemakers are those who find ways to rise above the fighting (and
in-fighting), seeking common ground, friendship, and dialogue as means to bring peace to a fragmented world.
The two figures in the image, standing in a lighter, more harmonious-looking space, have caught hold of the dove of peace. As they hold it aloft, droplets, perhaps seeds of peace, flow from them down into the darker, divided areas of the world, suggesting that perhaps the best way to bring about peace is to take hold of it and begin sharing it with those who need it most. May we, too, be children of God who allow
peace to flow through us and out to a disenfranchised and hurting community, to the frightened refugee, even to our angry neighbor.
Amen.
