Jesus declared “Blessed are the peace makers . . .” (Matthew 5:9)
The Hebrew words which Jesus used can be translated, according to some biblical scholars, as blessed are the “shalom pursuers.”
This translation brings His declaration in line with the words and actions displayed throughout His public ministry.
Peace – shalom – was His often repeated greeting to His disciples. John 14:27 records Jesus’ words to those who were with Him at supper: “Peace (shalom) I leave with you, my peace (shalom) I give you,” he is recorded as saying.
And then He goes on to qualify the shalom He is giving: “I do not give to you as the world gives.”
In other words, this shalom is “other worldly.” And the inference is that Jesus’ shalom is far greater than anything the world would call peace.
The dictionary definition of peace is “a state of quiet and tranquility.”
Shalom incorporates that definition of peace and expands it with “harmony, wholeness, and completeness.”
In Jesus’ “sermon on the mount” declaration, He was describing the peace maker (the shalom pursuer) who would stand before the fearful group in the locked house after His death and resurrection. “When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you’.” (John 20:19)
In that room, filled with fear and anxiety, Jesus pursued shalom and then flooded it into the situation and to everyone there. Jesus’ shalom filled every crack and crevice with peace, tranquility, harmony, wholeness, and completeness.
This is the picture of what Jesus was talking about when He said “Blessed are the peace makers (shalom pursuers).”
Shalom pursuers come into a space and infuse everything, everyone, and, indeed, the very atmosphere with shalom.
Jesus spoke the words “Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called sons of God” over 2,000 years ago, but His declaration is just as applicable for us today.
Three actual modern day examples of “shalom pursuers” in action:
- The city’s leaders were made aware that a level three sex offender was intending to move into one of their neighborhoods. Fear set in among the people. Christian leaders in the city came together to pray about the situation and “shalom” came upon them. Fear lifted. They became excited to welcome the young offender back into the community since It was learned that he was a former resident. The Christian leaders began to pray for him, always using his first name, and prepared to serve him in whatever way the Lord directed. Shalom seemed to come over the entire community as the day for the young offender’s move came closer. No public outcry was heard. At the last minute, the young offender decided not to move to the city. There was actually disappointment expressed by the church leaders. They continued to pray for him.
- News of a local bank robbery spread quickly throughout the small community. It soon became known that one of the bank robbers was a young resident of the community. The robbers turned themselves in and were sentenced to serve jail time. A few weeks after the sentencing, one of the bank robbers walked into the weekly community prayer meeting escorted by a regular meeting attendee. With the bank robber sitting among them, the leaders asked if they could pray for her. She told them that she had attended one of the churches in town throughout her childhood years and had even taught confirmation classes there. “I don’t know where I went wrong,” she said sobbing. Spontaneously, the male leaders at the meeting knelt before her and asked forgiveness for anyway they, as fathers of the community, had failed her. A local government official prayed for her. “I can’t release you from the consequences of your actions,” she said “But I can say on behalf of the community that you are forgiven.” Shalom filled the room with peace, tranquility, harmony, wholeness, and completeness.
- A young Christian women attending a friend’s wedding was seated next to a girl who had always been rude to her whenever they met. The young women never understood the reason behind the girl’s cruel treatment. The girl was now the one being treated rudely and was shunned by other’s at the wedding who were close friends of her ex-boyfriend. The young women felt compassion for the girl and spent most of the evening talking with her. By the end of the evening, the girl indicated that she would like to get to know the young women better and suggested that they meet in the near future. The young women’s kindness to the girl was noticed by others at the wedding and it inspired an outpouring of greater friendliness and respect throughout the group.
Shalom is the opposite of drama, of anxiety, of anything that would stem from fear. Shalom was the lifestyle of Jesus Christ and we are invited to pursue the same shalom within ourselves and let it flow out into the world. What would hold us back from the desire to be shalom pursuers?
Catholic Apostolic Group 